On My Mind: 5-8-21

Amita Suman

Albatross Names - The Department of Conservation in New Zealand recently set out to name a new albatross chick! The theme was "kaitiaki", the Māori concept of guardianship over the land, sea and sky. While the voting has since closed, if you would like more information, follow this link. 

Out of the options there were:

Mahara, which means to "think about, consider, or remember".

Ururaki, which means "winds of the sky", and is the name of a star in the star cluster. It's appearance over New Zealand marks the Māori New Year.

Tiaki, meaning to "protect, preserve, and care".

Kaihautū, meaning "navigator".

And finally Ataraki, which means "morning sky".

I personally chose Ururaki!

Amita and Inej - I'm currently watching (and loving and obsessing over) Shadow and Bone on Netflix! The character of Inej is a favorite of mine, and I can easily see the name catching on. It's pronounced "EE-nezsh". The actress that plays Inej is Amita Suman, who is Nepali, and whose name is not only beautiful but has a really wonderful meaning of "immeasurable, infinite" in Sanskrit. There are a plethora of names that I could see people picking after reading the books or watching the show: Kaz, Genya, Zoya, Jesper, Wylan and many more.

Seol - I'm reading the excellent The Silence of Bones by June Hur (check back on my book blog for a review!), set during the Joseon era in Korea. It follows the young damo Seol, as she tries to solve the politically charged murder of a Noblewoman. Damos are indentured servants to the Police Bureau, and at the time it was against the law for a man to touch a woman he was not related to, even a corpse. Seol, to my understanding, means "snow", depending on the hanja.

Edit: In the book, when Seol introduces herself to a man, he inquires after her name.
"As in snowflake?" He asks.
She corrects him and says "As in storyteller."