Why did Europeans and the Maasai of Kenya give old place names to new settlements?

Europeans and the Maasai people of Kenya named their new settlements after their former homes to make them places, exploring the physical properties of space and the psychological and social meanings of place.

 

The Maasai people of Kenya, who were forced to relocate after being displaced by Europeans, named their new settlements after their original homes. Similarly, Europeans adopted European place names as they settled in the New World. Why did they give the new places the old names? It’s called turning “space” into “place”.
This phenomenon is not just about place names. The act of using familiar names in a new land preserved their identity and memory, and reduced the sense of strangeness in a new environment. By using old place names in new settings, they were perpetuating their history and culture. This was not a mere replication of place names, but an act of ensuring the continuity of their spiritual and cultural heritage. It also played an important role in the formation of new communities, as they did not lose their identity in a new land. This transfer of place names helped them to reaffirm their roots and form new social relationships in a new environment.
According to the positivist view, space is simply something that is physically located, something that can be geometrically measured and cut out in our minds. In this conception, space is seen as a backdrop against which humans operate, or as irrelevant to human activity.
However, according to the humanistic view, each space has natural and human features that distinguish it from other spaces, and the collection of these features is called a place. If space is a concept that contains universal and general properties, place is a concept that contains particular and exceptional properties. In other words, place is subjective, individual, and unique. Humans experience, interpret, and give meaning to various phenomena that occur in the spaces of their daily lives. Through these everyday experiences, physical “spaces” are transformed into symbolic “places” that are imbued with human emotions. For example, a tree-lined street that we pass by every day is a “space” for someone who has no connection to it, but for someone who has memories of a romantic relationship, it becomes a “place” of memories.
The meaning of place is not just limited to personal memories and emotions. Certain places are also important in social, cultural, and historical contexts. For example, historic buildings or traditional villages have cultural heritage value to the people who live there and play an important role in shaping community identity. These places are not just visible physical spaces; they function as symbolic places with stories and histories intertwined with them and the lives of the people who lived there.
These places have deep meaning to the people who live there and are closely connected to their identity. For example, an old tree in a village may be more than just a plant to its inhabitants, but an important symbol of the village’s history and traditions. Village meetings and festivals held under this tree serve to strengthen the community’s sense of solidarity and further cement their identity. In this way, places become more than just physical spaces, but meaningful spaces that are deeply connected to human life.
For humans, a place has a much deeper meaning than its practical use. This is evident in the actions of individuals and groups against external forces that seek to destroy their places, and it is also evident in people who long for or feel homesick for a place. In other words, to be human is to live in a world full of meaningful places, and places are the profound and complex ways in which humans experience the world.
Places give individuals and groups a sense of security and identity, so it’s important that we don’t lose our ways of experiencing, creating, and sustaining meaningful places. The loss of these ways is contributing to the spread of placelessness – the erosion of the unique and diverse experiences and identities of places. The destruction of distinctive places and the creation of standardized landscapes are two examples of this kind of de-placemaking, which shakes human identity. De-placemaking is all about cutting out roots, turning diversity into uniformity, and turning concrete places into conceptual spaces.
This phenomenon is even more pronounced in modern society. Due to urban development and globalization, traditional places are rapidly disappearing, replaced by sterile commercial spaces. These changes have a profound impact on human identity. People lose the sense of security and connection to the places they belong to, and feel anonymous and alienated. We must work to stop the spread of this phenomenon, protecting the meaningful places in our lives and creating new ones.
Individuals and communities can do this by building on their attachment to and respect for their places, preserving local culture, and protecting the environment. For example, communities can celebrate traditional festivals, events, and community activities to strengthen the bonds between people and keep their unique culture alive. Governments and municipalities should also take a thoughtful approach to development planning, taking into account the historical and cultural value of a place, with input from local residents.
At the end of the day, what makes a space a place in our world is the human emotions, experiences, and collective memories. In doing so, we can create more than just a physical space, we can create a meaningful and rich stage for life. Places are not just a backdrop, they are part of our lives and deeply connected to our identity. Therefore, we have a responsibility to recognize the value of places and work to protect them.