That's Not My Name

There has been an election. Not a political one, but the people have spoken; the people of Pollensa. So long as you are over 16 and registered in the town, you can participate in this act of local democracy, the one to choose who plays whom during the climax to the annual Patrona fiesta in Pollensa. The two plum gigs are that of the hero Joan Mas and the Moorish pirate Dragut - Christian and Moor, all part of the re-enactment of the battle between the Christians and Moors which saw the latter repelled. You can see a representation of Joan Mas in the square by Saint Domingo; arm raised and sword at the ready, he was the defender of Pollensa and the vanquisher of the Moors.

It must, one presumes, be quite an honour to be nominated as Joan; less so perhaps Dragut, but somebody's got to do it, though whoever it is knows that he cannot reverse the truth of history - Dragut always gets bested. The honour this year has fallen to one Miquel Cifre, and "one" is quite apt as there are a lot of Miquel Cifres knocking around. I don't know the most popular combination of male names here, but Miquel Cifre must be hovering somewhere at the top of the list.

It should, I suppose, come as little surprise that on an island with a relatively small indigenous population that there is such a lack of diversity in names, both Christian and surname. In the case of Christian names, this has more to do with the sheer constraints that exist - saints names and a strict code that does not allow "new" names mean that males are Joans, Peps or Miquels, females are Joanas, Catis or Marias. At times it can feel like that old Python sketch about Australians - Bruce, Bruce and Bruce. The restrictions on Christian names creates a homogeneity of appellation; personally, I prefer the free-for-all that exists in Britain. It does little for a sense of individuality when everyone seems to have the same name. One of the reasons for imposing this restriction is to prevent the child being in some way demeaned by an embarrassing name. There is some sense in this; the downside of the free-for-all is that it does not always reflect the child's best interests among his peers as he or she grows up. The Mallorcan would not only not call his kids Wayne or Kylie, he could not. The Christian name stock is only enlivened by incomers who bring with them Shane or Scarlett.

The surname, and bear in mind that there are two surnames, seems even more uniform. Two of my neighbours are Claderas. This, together with the likes of Cifre, Rotger and Ferrer, appears to cover most of the population, most of whom also seem related in some way or another. When I'm handed a personal cheque, it is remarkable the repetitiousness of the surnames that one reads; when I'm with a Mallorcan, it is also remarkable the number of cousins and second cousins who can happen to pass by. It has been said to me that some Mallorcan surnames do not sound very Spanish, by which I guess people mean that anyone from Spain should be called Gonzalez or Garcia. But the names reflect a different heritage - certain ones, such as Vanrell or Plomer, appear quite divorced from "Spanish".

And so one comes back to Patrona and this year's "Joan". One good thing perhaps is that if someone asks who's doing Joan this time, then replying Miquel Cifre would be a pretty good guess - and it would happen to be right.


Note by the way that the name Joan is pronounced like the girl's name in English - Joanne. The "j" is basically as it is in English and not the h-sound of, say, Juan in Spanish. Note also that some names, mine for instance, invariably get changed. I've given up (in truth I have never really bothered to protest) trying to get the name written with a w; instead it has a u or sometimes an iu. Whatever.


QUIZ
Yesterday's title - Queen (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wdt5QwssWY4). Today's title - very easy.

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