The Poisonwood Bible Lesson Plan

What is the significance of the Kikongo word nommo? How do the Price children's Kikongo names suit them?

Nommo means name or word, and it is what gives something its essence. Adah and Nelson discuss that all things are just here until they are named, then they become alive, whether it is an animate object or not. Adah uses that to help her understand how she and Leah are so different despite being twins.

Rachel is Nommo Mvula; mvula is a pale termite.

Ruth May is Nommo Bandu: littlest one on the bottom and, according to Ruth May, "the reason for everything."

Leah is Nommo Leba: a fig tree.

Adah is Nommo Benduka: a "crooked walker" or a swallow.

How has life changed...