Zimbabwe Harare church records
In entering baptisms, under Nomen Paganum - is the name here to be treated as a surname ?
There are very few instructions regarding surnames.
Answers
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If you look under the Project Instructions there is a Latin Genealogical Word List
Nomen translates to name, but I couldn't find a translation for Paganum. (I couldn't with a quick search, and not with Latin to English translation sites.) Maybe another volunteer will know.
I usually Return the batches with Latin wording if I can't find a translation. There has been a previous request to provide a sample with Latin wording in the Project Instructions.
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There are a number of different topics about this aspect including https://community.familysearch.org/en/discussion/132803/zimbabwe-archdiocese-of-harare-church-records-1897-2021-part-b-m3b2-4c1#latest
Apparently Nomen Paganum means middle name
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Unfortunately, in reviewing I just came across pages (10 pages shown in previous images from 2001-2002) where the child's first and middle name are listed in the Xtianum column and the surname in the Paganum. In the father's name column there is only a first name; mother has first and last. I still could not find any church/baptismal reference to these two "Latin" terms. The closest I found is Pagan referred to village.
https://www.familysearch.org/indexing/batch/4afe3a8e-92cf-4046-a309-c6f8fce15ed7
I'm really questioning the Project Instructions example. Catholic parish records usually don't require a middle name. If you look at Line 2 in the example, Kanyai is the same as the father's last name. The other few entries in the column Paganum don't match with the father's last name, but there may be reasons why they don't.
I also ran all of the Paganum names on the PI example and the indexed/review batch thru a site I use to help with foreign name spelling, Forebears, and all of the names came up as possible surnames in Zimbabwe or Africa (except line 30). So to me it looks like the Paganum column should be shown as surname not middle name.
It would be very helpful if those writing Project Instructions viewed more pages before choosing one for an example.
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The project instructions usually only give 'easy' examples.
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I am not connected with FamilySearch.
I asked on another Forum, and the consensus was that it was a family/clan name, and closest to a surname.
Someone commented "Not quite a parallel but many of my friends in Hong Kong have a Chinese name and an English name, the latter of which is their baptismal name.
In Classical Latin, "cognomen" is more commonly used to mean surname.
Edited to add: From English Based Names in the Shona Culture of Zimbabwe -- Chitando (1998a:25) on the other hand, came up with four different epochs of Shona anthroponomastics. The first epoch is that before the colonial or missionary period. During this time the Shona people were giving culturally bound Shona names. The second period was between 1920s and 1950s when the Shona people adopted European names. According to Makondo (2009:33) missionaries during this period “made it mandatory that their converts adopt Christian names to show their commitment for change”. The Shona people were made to adopt mainly Christian names from the Bible or names of Catholic saints. It is worth noting that the Catholic baptism has two columns for names: Nomen paganum (Pagan name) and Nomen Christianum (Christian name). The nomenclature clearly exhibits the typical Christian aversion for the traditions of the converted peoples".
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"Pagan" makes more sense.
Some South African church records also used "heathen" to describe native South Africans. South Africa is well-known for its racist history against natives and Indians by Dutch and English settlers (as both a Dutch and British Colony). It's why all Indian's had to be registered, and we had that Natal project of Indian vital records (required by British law). The Republic of South Africa (free of Britain's monarchy) came into sovereignty in 1962. Apartheid didn't end until the 1990s.
Indexing entries may reveal societies norms or language that might not be considered socially acceptable today. Consider it another way researchers can learn about how their ancestors lived during that time and place.
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Just to add to the mix, having a look through a couple of various registers from around the country, it seems that each parish had its own column adaptation, only recorded on first page of reg, so whoever gets later pages wont have the first page reference image for comparison of headings. Some have used nomen paganum as surname, others as a first name. Nomen Sec has been used as surname or second name. I see much confusion ahead on the indexing horizon!
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A further, recent comment from the other Forum where I enquired
"In this context, paganum conveys non-Christian (pagan, in its correct sense in English). In Latin it meant something from the country, rustic. From the same root we also have peasant (from French paysan)"
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