Naming Ritual

Teersa and Rost performing Aloy's Naming Ritual.

"All-Mother, this child needs a name by which to know her, that your love may warm her life as the rising sun warms all the earth! Speak her name!"

―High Matriarch Teersa performing the Naming Ritual

The Naming Ritual is a ritual performed by the Nora tribe to give infants born into the tribe a name.

Ceremony

The Naming Ritual is conducted on the overlook of All-Mother Mountain, high above the valley at sunrise. As Rost describes to a young Aloy, the entire village attends the ceremony, which is led by a High Matriarch. The infant is given their first mark of face paint, a single horizontal line on their forehead. The mother holds her child as she stands at the edge of the overlook as the High Matriarchs speak to All-Mother, followed by the mother loudly declares the child's name at the High Matriarch's command. However, in the absence of the mother, others may perform her role in her place, as Rost did for Aloy.

The Naming Ritual appears to take place either when an infant is six months old and is the first time the child is given a name; prior to that, it is assumed the child is nameless, with Rost addressing Aloy simply as girl before the ritual.

Rost wonders out loud if All-Mother will speak Aloy's name back. Presumably, this refers to the name being echoed back when declared. It is unknown what would happen in its absence, as Aloy's name successfully booms across the mountains. Grata mentions that during her Naming Ritual, her name was not spoken back, instead being kept close to All-Mother's heart.

Since Rost and Aloy are outcasts, the small ceremony Rost and Teersa perform for Aloy is very different from the normal ritual. As Aloy doesn't have a mother, Rost declares Aloy's name with only Teersa present to bless the naming.

Trivia

• The Naming Ritual has similarities to various religious practices in the 21st century. Much like the Nora naming, these ceremonies are often symbolic of the child being accepted into a (religious) community and the ceremonies are usually attended by family members and friends.
  • In Christianity, infant baptism occurs when a child is usually several months old, and often they are given a Christian name which the Church recognizes them by.
  • In Hinduism, naming a baby is a sacred ritual called Namakarana and occurs at least 12 days after the birth.
  • In Islamic tradition, on the seventh day after birth, the baby is given a name chosen by the mother and father; the name is usually an Islamic name with a positive or sacred meaning.
  • In Jewish tradition, boys are named on the eighth day after birth at a brit malah (the same ceremony where circumcision is performed) and girls are named within the first two weeks.
  • In proto-Turkic cultures, the child's parents took their children to the shaman of the tribe and demanded a name for them.
• Despite the Naming Ritual appearing to take place when an infant is six months old, Lansra berates Teersa that she had been planning Aloy's Naming Ritual all year, indicating that Aloy is actually one year old. Why Aloy's Naming Ritual came so late is unknown.