origins of name Cissou

In Pennac again, there is a character called Cissou... (Cissou la neige, in fact, it's his nickname) Is this a North African name originally or French, does anyone know? Thanks again!

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Permalink Reply by Erwan on March 23, 2011 at 3:52pm

I don't know where the name Cissou come from. I can't find anything in my researches. The only thing I can say is that his nickname come from drugs and not from snow (but you probably already know that).

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Permalink Reply by Clare H on March 23, 2011 at 9:51pm

Thanks for looking... I also have drawn a complete blank with Cissou, although yes I knew about the drugs link. I was just trying to decide whether or not to keep Cissou in my translation... if it was French I might not, but if it was eg Moroccan I might... anyway I have to submit it tomorrow so will make a decision. Thanks again!

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Permalink Reply by Erwan on March 23, 2011 at 11:18pm

May be Cissou comes from six sous.

Sous was a very old French currency. But it still exists in the daily language and refers to the money.

It's really not sure but I've found an Italian wikipedia page about the Malaussène cycle and Cissou la neige was called Six La Neve (Six The Snow in English). It's perhaps a free interpretation or a lead to follow...

Good luck with your translation.

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Permalink Reply by Clare H on March 25, 2011 at 10:26am

Thanks that is interesting. I ended up calling him Cissou the Snowman!! which may sound crazy but snowman is apparently slang for drug dealer/user, which is appopriate in the novel, and I quite liked the comic side of it with Pennac's style in mind. I kept Cissou as a nod to his non-English origins, but not sure it really works. Thanks for your info! Clare