Doktor Gigi

The majority of people Bali have one of four names: Wayan (first born) Made (second born) Nyoman (third born) Ketut (fourth born). If there’s a fifth child, he or she is named Wayan and the naming cycle starts all over again.

There is some variation on this, with different names depending on Hindu social class. i.e. Wayan could be I Wayan, Putu or Gede, Made could also be Ketut or Nengah, Nyoman could also be Komang.

I'm not capturing all of the subtleties in naming, but in short, there AREN'T that many different names to choose from. And if people have a name that strays dramatically from the above list, it’s usually a nickname- i.e. there’s a surfer guy named Spider whose real name is Putu, the guy who owns my corner store is called Rama even though he’s truly the 2nd Wayan in his family (i.e. kiddo #5), and my landlord’s son Wayan is called Neo, after the hero in Matrix and also because it means 1st born in Greek.

So when I first got to Bali, I thought it was funny that so many doctors had the same nickname: Doctor Gigi. There were signs everywhere for these Doctors Gigi whom I thought had been influenced somehow by French Film Noir or whatnot. Gigi’s a pretty cool nickname! Well, the jokes on me, because “Doktor Gigi” means “tooth doctor”- i.e. a dentist.