Girallon Name Generator

Girallon names and their meanings

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Cutter Nicknames

Blunt names given by cane cutters to individual apes, based on a habit or mark.

• Bup Knuckle'Bup' for the blunt sound of knuckles drumming a cane trunk.
• Dum Lurch'Dum' for the heavy, rocking gait through cut cane rows.
• Gom Snatcher'Gom' for a quick hand stealing fruit from a cutter's basket.
• Bod Ear'Bod' for the torn ear tuft snagged on a thorn fence.
• Dub Grunt'Dub' for the low grunt repeated before each terrace crossing.
• Gub Rooter'Gub' for the muzzle that worries up buried cane roots.
• Bum Hunch'Bum' for the hunched back that clears the low stone wall.
• Dog Knocker'Dog' for the ape that knocks loose stones downhill with its heel.
• Dug Nibbler'Dug' for the small cane ends chewed from every cut bundle.
• Bog Limper'Bog' for the stiff-legged climb after a fall in the furrow.
• Bun Scratcher'Bun' for the palm that scratches at a scarred shoulder.
• Gor Hauler'Gor' for dragging whole branches to its favored ledge.
• Dum Tumbler'Dum' for rolling down scree, then rising without pause.

Troop Names

Names for a whole troop, taken from the terrace or scree it works.

• SanivelTerrace name worn from a feast-day call, ending in a soft valley consonant.
• MardalenA cut-down feast name kept by herders on the lower stone steps.
• BeluvetOld terrace feast-name, shortened in use until its source blurred.
• DoramelA three-beat place name passed from cane cutters to wary goatherds.
• GuravenWorn scree-side feast name for the troop ranging above the goat pens.
• BonavetA terrace name rubbed smooth by generations of spoken warnings.
• DumarelOld feast-name attached to the broad ledge where cane rows end.
• GorivanA worn day-name marking the troop's usual route across the terrace steps.
• BuvanelScree-place name softened by use among farmers who avoid looking uphill.
• DorevenA faded feast-name for the troop feeding beside the split rock terraces.
• MugavelTerrace name from an old feast call, now ending in a farmer's soft murmur.
• GonurelA worn three-beat place name for the troop above the cane mill.
• BoduvanOld scree-side name, its feast-day roots lost to everyday warning cries.

Low Given

Single names with round vowels, spoken low and quickly by people who would rather not draw attention.

• GobuRound vowels make this name easy to murmur behind a stone wall.
• BuduTwo blunt beats for the dark-backed ape seen near the goat track.
• DoboA quick, rounded call used when the troop descends toward cut cane.
• BugoA pair of broad vowels suits the heavy ape at the spring ledge.
• DuroA quick low name for the one that waits beside the stone trough.
• GuduIts rounded beats are murmured when an ape watches from the fig wall.
• DuguBlunt opening and rounded finish suit a shadow moving below the terrace.
• GoroA low, rolling sound used for the broad one that guards the ledge.

Grudge Names

Names that record a petty quarrel, such as a stolen perch or a lunch rock held too long.

• Bup Took My PerchThe name recalls Bup claiming the goatherd's lookout rock for three mornings.
• Dum Kept My GourdA remembered complaint about Dum holding the water gourd beyond the path.
• Gom Took LunchThe cutters named Gom for lifting an entire meal basket from the wall.
• Bod Broke GateThe short name records Bod wrenching the pen gate off its hinges.
• Dub Holds RockA petty grievance after Dub sat on the lunch rock through noon.
• Gub Stole CapThe complaint marks Gub snatching a herder's cap from the fence post.
• Bum Took SeatThe name recalls Bum settling on the one dry seat above the furrow.
• Dog Kept RopeA goatherd's complaint after Dog dragged the tether rope into the scree.
• Dug Took PoleThe name marks Dug carrying off the cane pole used to mend a fence.
• Bog Held BucketThe complaint remembers Bog clutching the milking bucket beside the spring.
• Bun Took StoolA blunt reminder of Bun sitting on the stool during the evening milking.
• Gor Kept StoneThe name recalls Gor guarding the flat sharpening stone from the cutters.

How girallon names are made

Girallon names are not chosen by girallons. They come from the cane cutters and goatherds who share the terraces with them, and they sound like it: short, low and blunt. The sound palette leans on round vowels (o, u, long a) and stops made at the front of the mouth, b, d, g, m, with an occasional rolled r. Thin, bright vowels and hissing sibilants are rare, because the people doing the naming are usually saying the word under their breath while backing away. Most names run one or two syllables.

An individual ape gets a single name first, then a plain trailing word once it has done something memorable: a perch it claims, a tuft it lost, a grudge it keeps. Troops are named for the terrace or scree they work, and those place names are often saints' days or feast names worn down by use until the saint is hard to find in them. Anything that sounds like a person's name is avoided, and so is anything white, since nobody wants to remind a troop of a rival. Older animals drop the trailing word and keep only the first; the young are named for whatever they are caught doing. Example shapes: a heavy two-syllable name with a rounded vowel; one blunt syllable plus a habit word; a worn saint's-day name ending in a soft consonant.

The girallon: bestiary entry

Questions about girallon names