In Africa
The word can also be used to refer to a number of naming and incantatory customs that are native to the African continent. Ranging as these do from the single word Iziduko of the Xhosa people of Southern Africa to the great stanzas of Oriki that are found amongst the Yorubas of West Africa, hereditary cognomens in this case are used in much the same way today as the Cognomina were during the classical period of Rome. They typically distinguish a family or clan from others of the same tribe, honour its founder and remind his or her descendants who make up the said family or clan to live up to their legacy.
Beyond this particular form, there are also traditions of tribespeople taking either group names or individual names following a ritual initiation, though this would probably be more of a religious name than a cognomen.
Read more about this topic: Cognomen
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