Sorry for a dumb question, but there are Sherpa people taking part in this expedition and then among them there’s Mr. Sherpa? Is that his real name or maybe he introduced himself as “Sherpa” and the author just took it as his name?
Thanks, but I’m still confused. Does that mean that Sherpa people don’t use last names and just call themselves by ethnicity (perhaps trying to emphasize that they are skilled climbers and can be hired as guides, for example someone calling themselves “Layne Australia” to emphasize that she is an experienced surfer) or is this a legit last name and they have other last names too?
Correct, kind of. They don’t use last names tradtionally, and can use “Sherpa” as last name when it’s needed to fit into other culture’s naming schemes.
But they are often given two names at birth (which may be added to or changed later in life): One for the weekday they were born at and a religious or otherwise significant name.
Example: One of the 2 first men to climb everest was Tengzin Norgay. He was born named Namgyal Wangdi. His father’s name was Ghang La Mingma and his mother’s was Dokmo Kinzom.
So in international recognition, his 2 given names are treated as first name and last name.
Sorry for a dumb question, but there are Sherpa people taking part in this expedition and then among them there’s Mr. Sherpa? Is that his real name or maybe he introduced himself as “Sherpa” and the author just took it as his name?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sherpa_(surname)
Thanks, but I’m still confused. Does that mean that Sherpa people don’t use last names and just call themselves by ethnicity (perhaps trying to emphasize that they are skilled climbers and can be hired as guides, for example someone calling themselves “Layne Australia” to emphasize that she is an experienced surfer) or is this a legit last name and they have other last names too?
Correct, kind of. They don’t use last names tradtionally, and can use “Sherpa” as last name when it’s needed to fit into other culture’s naming schemes.
But they are often given two names at birth (which may be added to or changed later in life): One for the weekday they were born at and a religious or otherwise significant name.
Example: One of the 2 first men to climb everest was Tengzin Norgay. He was born named Namgyal Wangdi. His father’s name was Ghang La Mingma and his mother’s was Dokmo Kinzom.
So in international recognition, his 2 given names are treated as first name and last name.
I was wondering the same thing lol