Part a)
My name is Modia Batterjee. Modia my
first name pronounced "mo/dee/ya"; I don't know what it means. My mom
named me after her grandmother Modia Jewels Cunningham; she was an American
from Kentucky; a descendent of William Cunningham of Scotland. Saudi people
call me "modi" (mu/dhee) because modia is not an Arabic name. Modi
is a very Bedouin name that means the shimmer of the blade of a sharp sword.
My last name is a Saudi name from Hijaz with an unknown origin, however
many Indian people I meet tell me it's a typical Indian name. In Arabic the
root word of Batterjee, "batter" means amputation. And the entire
word together means "he who amputates". My nick name is "mo-dee,
Mod, mobi, mox, Snow White, or dingbat". Nobody else has my name besides
my great grandmother.
Part b)
Modia is a pretty name, it has a
sweet sound to it. I like my name Modia. But unfortunately people don't use it.
I don't like Mu-dhee because its beduin and I'm not beduin. It messes me up
inside when people call me Mu-dhee and then gasp with surprise when they see me
and they say that I don't match my name. It's too heavy, old, and traditional.
Women with my name are beduin grandmothers and deep voiced women. I've tried to
change my name but I can't imagine another one for me. Modia feels right,
Mu-dhee doesn't but the culture forces me to have it. I need therapy. My mom
gets mad at me when I discuss the issue.
Part c)
When I search my name on the Internet
I either get companies named MODIA, or Modia Bulter who is the Chief of Staff to Mayor of Newark, a man of African
decent (I wonder how he pronounces it?), or
I get myself. How annoying is that? There is just not that many people out
there. If I search Modia Jewels Cunningham I find her (my great grandmother) and
her entire family tree. That is exciting. At one point a few years ago I did
search her and I found family members whom I still keep in touch with today on
Facebook. Through these members we were able to fill in the missing parts on
the family tree that included all Modia Jewels’ decedents. I’m sure she would
be intrigued to know that her linage has extended to the Middle East.
Part d)
I like Modia, I like Jewels, and I wish my name was Modia
Jewels, but that wouldn’t work here, it’s not an Arabic name. I wish I could
just be called Modia. I think I love jewelry because I love her name; I like
how Jewels sounds and feels when I say it. Modia Jewels, how pretty is that? I
told my husband that my fortieth birthday gift to myself would be to change my
name. He asked me the tough question, “what would you name yourself?” Honestly,
I have no idea.
I find myself attracted to fine things like lace, roses and
teacups; do you think that has to do with the little Scottish blood I have? I
think so, there has to be some kind of genetic effect even if is just your
taste, likes and dislikes. It is very interesting to look within and find
ancestral characteristics of people you have not ever met. I wonder if Modia
Jewels would like me? She doesn’t know I exist, or does she? She died giving
birth to her third child sometime in the twenties, they named her baby girl
“jewels”, just jewels. Jewels died with her mama. That we found out recently
from our new relatives. Isn’t that interesting? My grandmother never knew she had a baby sister and she
never knew why her mama died. They told her that she died of a broken heart
because their father died a few months before his pregnant wife.
I don’t like the name Mudhee (that’s how it is pronounced in
Arabic), although it has a sexy meaning. It makes me feel sad and gives my
heart a heavy feeling of rejection. Why is that? Is it because I don’t relate
to the Bedouin culture? Or is it because of the reaction I get when people ask
me my name. They react with a shocked look and say something like this “what?
Your name is Mudhee? That’s old and very Bedouin! You don’t look like a Mudhee.
I imagined you to be a big fat old lady with a deep voice”. I smile and that
feeling casts itself over me like a cloud.
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Please exercise proper manners and respect for all. Thanks