# Anijo



## jugen

Dear foreros,
I'm translating Judeo-Portuguese tombstone inscriptions from Jamaica (17th-18th centuries) into English and am puzzled by one word.  As I am working from a transcription, there may be some errors.  That said, here is the text:  "Sa. [=sepultura] Do *Anijo *Abraham, Filho de Aaron Rodrigues Portello, que levou Deus pera sy...."  I can't seem to make out the word "Anijo" unless it's something like "anejo" which I understand to be used only for wines, meaning "aged."  If any of you have some ideas, I'd be very grateful.
JuGen


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## spielenschach

Não será o primeiro nome?
*Anijo*

*001*

*002*



**


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## jugen

Acho que não.  O que nome seria?
j.


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## spielenschach

jugen said:


> Acho que não. O E que nome seria? - Anijo
> j.


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## MKolbe

Não seria *anjo* (angel), *anjinho* (little angel)?

Veja um exemplo:


> "Quando nasci, um *anijo *esbelto, desses que  tocam trombeta, anunciou: "vai carregar bandeira". Cargo muito pesado pra mulher, ..." (Adélia Prado)


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## Vanda

Nice guess MKolbe!
_Do *Anijo *Abraham, Filho de Aaron Rodrigues Portello, que levou Deus pera sy...."_

It can be anjinho (little angel), because it was an old habit to call dead babies as angels God took them back to Him. If the tomb belongs to a child (the son of Aaron Rodrigues...) it can be a reference to anjinho.


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## Cineclubista

Prezados,
creio que se trata de um primeiro nome, "first name", incomum, mas existente. (In the context, it can't evidently be a "Christian name"...)

"Anjo" ou "anjinho" é usado para crianças falecidas muito novas e batisadas na religião católica (pelo menos, aqui no Brasil). Portanto, é sentido que só caberia no caso de lápides sob as quais estivessem judeus portugueses convertidos ao catolicismo. 

Um abraço!


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## MKolbe

Cineclubista,

Sua observação é interessante, até porque Anijo está escrito com maiúscula. 
Será que se fosse mesmo "anjo" estaria escrito com minúscula?
É comum nomes duplos (Anijo Abraham) entre os judeus? 
Mas veja bem, o sobrenome "_Rodrigues Portello" não parece ser de um "cristão-novo"?
_ E agora?_
Será que Jugen vai ter que fazer uma pesquisa genealógica para traduzir a lápide?
Seria um fato curioso...

_


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## jugen

These are all wonderful suggestions.  Unfortunately my Portuguese is not good enough to respond in kind (witness the error of my first attempt!).  I'm thinking "anjo" might be the correct word, as this is a place holder on these stones for words like "bemaventurado/a", before the first name of the person buried. (But is the *anijo* on the Adélia Prado quote a misprint?)  Unfortunately Aaron's age at death is not noted on the stone.

 As these people are probably the first of their generation to be able to practice Judaism openly, Cineclubista's hypothesis is not so far off, in fact the art on these tombstones is closer to the traditional Portuguese Christian cemetery art.
(See the grave of Gabriel Riesser for an example of non-typical (non-Kosher)Jewish grave-art.)
JuGen


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## Vanda

> But is the *anijo* on the Adélia Prado quote a misprint?) Unfortunately Aaron's age at death is not noted on the stone.


 
No, the word in Adelia's poem is anjinho - little angel. 
I think you have another mystery in your hands like that other one you had some time ago about these stones!


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## jugen

Prezados,
Most of these inscriptions are entirely in maiúscula, sometimes with spaces in the wrong places, so that does not help us.  First names can be double, especially in the case of patronymics, which can be multiple, e.g. IAHACOB HIZKIJAHU HAIJM BARUH ALVARES.  I have never heard/seen the name *Anijo* as a given name.
Indeed, MKolbe, these are all _cristãos-novos, _who were permitted once again to practice Judaism under British control of Jamaica, albeit with many restrictions on their lives.
And your sentence on genealogy is perfect :>) - as I got this particular trans. job through my genealogical research in Jamaica!
Jugen


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## MKolbe

Jugen,

If you "google" for *anijo* you'll find it several times as proper names.
But it´s not likely to be a jewish nor portuguese name, so it's probably "little angel" indeed.
Can you look for similar tombstones in (100%) christian cemeteries?


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## Outsider

I do not think that _anijo_ is a given name. If it were, 


Why would it be followed by another given name (Abraham)?
Why would it be preceded by an article (o Anijo)?
I am also skeptical that it is meant to be "anjo":


Would it be considered proper in Judaism to assign to a mortal person a supernatural qualifier? 
How likely is it that they would have misspelled so crudely such a simple word (_anijo_ sounds nothing like _anjo_!), in an important inscription like a tombstone?
Could it be some kind of title?


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## Dom Casmurro

Maybe Anijo is but a mispelling for Anísio, which is a typical Portuguese name. Could also be the way Anísio was spelled back then.


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## MOC

Procurando no google também não é fácil esclarecer. A maior parte das páginas em que aparece "Anijo", aparece como um nome, mas realmente, pelo menos em Português nunca tinha ouvido esse nome.


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## Dom Casmurro

Dom Casmurro said:


> Maybe Anijo is but a mispelling for Anísio, which is a typical Portuguese name. Could also be the way Anísio was spelled back then.


I would just like to add that there is a very famous (and controversial) guy in Rio whose name is Anísio Abrahão David. The names sound very much alike, don't they? - Anijo Abraham... Anísio Abrahão...


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## jugen

Prezados,
A few days ago I presented a problem around the word "Anijo" on an 18th-century Judeo-Portuguese tombstone. I have since found another stone, proving the "Anijo" to be a mistranscription for "Anjo," confirming the application (from Vanda?) of the word to a person who dies young:

"Sepultura do *Anjo *Jahacob, filho de Ishac Touro, faleceu...de Ydade de Dous Annos"
Obrigada a tudos!
JuGen


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## spielenschach

I don’t know, but in Portugal one called the little children ‘*anjinhos’*, diminutive of *anjo*, and when the died here wasn’t to admire when on his tomb appeared the inscription ‘o *anjinho* F… died…’


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## jugen

Yes, Spielenschach, I guess these terms exist across religions.
jugen


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## spielenschach

1. Não se deve chorar a morte de um *anjinho* pois as lágrimas molharão as suas asas e ele não alcançará o céu.
2. Não chorem que não morreu. Era um *Anjinho* do céu.


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## jugen

Lovely sentiments, though it really doesn't ease the pain of a child's death (my opinion)
j.


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