The Afghan Names of Char Khoone

In Iran they have Char Khoone, an Iranian television series that depicts Afghan characters as villains.

Since the beginning of the summer Iranian TV has aired a series named Char Khonneh every night. Sehat Sroush , the series’ director does not have any film making experience. At the beginning, this series did not have a large audience, but then the director created a new characters in order to make people laugh. Some of these characters are Afghans and their names are Shanbeh (means Saturday) and Charshanbeh (means Wednesday).

Though the Iranian declaration of this year as the year of Solidarity between Muslims, the Afghan blogger Dialog 3 says this is not a brotherly way to behave.

Dialogue 3 says examples like Afghans who call their children by the name of days of week, creates hatred between Moslem countries rather than solidarity

Surely the year of Solidarity between Muslims is the reason for all the diplomacy that Iran has been busy with this year. Trips to Saudi Arabia, Syria, Pakistan, Venezuela, Cuba, Peru, if I don't miss my guess Zimbabwe, North Korea and China too. If there is a Moslem or non-Moslem tyranny anywhere in the world that Ahmedinajad hasn't visited in his global perambulations this year I can't name it, unless you count the Fiery Pit of Hell as one.

And I think that dwells within him, anyway.

But more endearing to me is that Afghans are likely enough to name their children for days of the week and other quirky choices. In the English Speaking World we have movie stars like Tuesday Weld (right) and nursery rhymes like this one:

Monday's child is fair of face,
Tuesday's child is full of grace,
Wednesday's child is full of woe,
Thursday's child has far to go,
Friday's child is loving and giving,
Saturday's child must work for a living,
But the child that's born on the Sabbath day,
Is fair and wise and good and gay.

And naming children funny, non-traditional names is a pop-culture phenomenon. Camera Ashe, Seven Sirius and Puma Badu, Zowie Bowie, Sailor Lee Cook, Kal-el Cage, Suri Cruise, Peaches Honeyblossom Geldof, Heavenly Hiraani Tiger Lily Hutchence, Moxie CrimeFighter Jillette, Bogart Che Peyote and Rocco Kokopelli Rainey. These are the names of celebrity children. They are the names of the children of wealth. Only the wealthy dare name their children such fantastical names. Such names are an indication of parental wealth and the joy of parents in their children. Wealth comes in many forms. It can be money or power or confidence or happiness or culture. And the fact that names like that are found in Afghanistan says good things about Afghanistan, even if some Afghans are embarrassed by it.


Who knows, maybe Iranians are secretly jealous of names that don't remind them of a single day, always Friday.


Technorati Tags: Afghanistan, Iran, Child Names, Good News