EtymologyThe origin of the name Barbados is either the Portuguese word Barbados or the Spanish equivalent los Barbados, both meaning the bearded ones It is unclear whether bearded refers to the long, hanging roots of the bearded fig-tree (Ficus citrifolia), indigenous to the island; or to the allegedly bearded Caribs once inhabiting the island; or, more fancifully, to the foam spraying over the outlying reefs giving the impression of a beard. In 1519, a map produced by the Genoese mapmaker Visconte Maggiolo showed and named Barbados in its correct position. Furthermore, an island in the Leewards that is very close in name is Barbuda and was once named Las Barbudas by the Spanish. The uncertainty lies in which European nation arrived first in Barbados. According to some sources it was the Spanish during the early Voyages of Christopher Columbus.[citation needed] Others believe the Portuguese, en route to Brazil,[11][12] were the first Europeans to come upon the island. The original name for Barbados in the Pre-Columbian era was Ichirouganaim according to accounts by descendants of the indigenous Arawakan-speaking tribes in other regional areas, with possible translations including Red land with white teeth,[13] Redstone island with teeth outside (reefs),[14] or simply Teeth.[15][16][17] Other names or nicknames associated with Barbados include Bim and Bimshire. The origin is uncertain but several theories exist. The National Cultural Foundation of Barbados says that Bim was a word commonly used by slaves and that it derives from the phrase bi mu or either (bem, Ndi bem, Nwanyi ibem or Nwoke ibem)[18] from an Igbo phrase meaning my people or my place. In colloquial or literary contexts, Bim can also take a more deific tone, referring to the goddess Barbados.[citation needed] The words Bim and Bimshire are recorded in the Oxford English Dictionary and Chambers Twentieth Century Dictionaries. Another possible source for Bim is reported to be in the Agricultural Reporter of 25 April 1868, The Rev. N. Greenidge (father of one of the islands most famous scholars, Abel Hendy Jones Greenidge) suggested the listing of Bimshire as a county of England. Expressly named were Wiltshire, Hampshire, Berkshire and Bimshire.[18] Lastly in the Daily Argosy (of Demerara, i.e. Guyana) of 1652 it referred to Bim as a possible corruption of the word Byam, who was a Royalist leader against the Parliamentarians. That source suggested the followers of Byam became known as Bims and became a word for all Barbadians
Posted on: Mon, 03 Nov 2014 17:05:22 +0000
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