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Meaning of the name, "Basenji"

Basenji Talk
  • Hello everyone,
    On Wikipedia.com, today, whilst I was browsing, I was doing some reasearch on Basenjis, I found this: The Azande and Mangbetu people from the northeastern Congo region describe Basenjis, in the local Lingala language, as mbwá na basɛ́nzi. Translated, this means “dogs of the savages”, or “dogs of the villagers”. The word basɛ́nzi itself is the plural form of mosɛ́nzi which is a deformation of the French insult once used to describe illiterate indigenous Africans: mon singe (meaning “my monkey”). In Kiswahili, another Bantu language, from East Africa, mbwa shenzi translates to “wild dog”. Another local name is m’bwa m’kube m’bwa wamwitu, or “jumping up and down dog”, a reference to their tendency to jump straight up to spot their quarry.
    I have to admit, when I saw, "My Monkey," I laughed out loud. Perfectly seems to describe the Basenji attitude and personality, huh? :D That and the "jumping up and down dog" :) Here is the link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Basenji Yeah, this post is a little random, but I thought it might make some of you smile. ;)

  • that site is terrific, just went thru the learning area… showed some people in our chat room, right at moment basenji ites outnumber border collies LOL

  • Abbey heard something in the hedge and she went up on her hind legs and started jumping up and down like she was on a pogo stick! Every time she went up she would sort of hang in midair and do a visual sweep before she landed. Now I know why they call them jumping up and down dogs. I've read they do that in the high grass when they lose sight of the prey.

  • Abbey sounds so hilarious!

  • She sure is! I named her Abbey because it was a sweet feminine little girl name, but she turned out to be a real Wild Thing, a true basenji. Sometimes she's just a doofus like the day she knocked the ironing board over on her head while I was in the shower.

  • She sure is! I named her Abbey because it was a sweet feminine little girl >>name, but she turned out to be a real Wild Thing, a true basenji

    LOL, I named Jazzy in anticipation of a little spitfire, a Jazzy Lady.
    Instead I got a sweet feminine little girl.
    She's not so Jazzy as she is Easy Listening! LOL

  • When I would walk Nala up the road - I should say she'd be pulling me - my neighbor would laugh and say…I used to have a Basenji and she was just "charming"! It sounds like Jazzy is one of those rare "charming Basenjis"...I'm so envious!

  • Well, leash-walking is NOT her strong suite, to be sure. But it's not awful, either. I'm sure Cesar Milan would have something to say about the fact that Jazz is always in front, and the leash is not usually loose. But generally, after the first few excited minutes she calms down. . . a bit.
    I don't let my kids walk her very often,though, because she can be unpredictable. {duh}

  • Hmmm, I wonder if we got Joey and Jazzy together, if their pups would be laid back? Joey is pretty calm compared to most bs that I have heard of or seen.

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    My Rosa wrote the "How To Be a Basenji DIVA" manuscript - as many rules there were, it was so worthy of a 'script' at the end! She, and all her offspring, had spring and fall heats, but I only bred her once in the spring. That produced one puppy, my Captain. She always ruled over her pups, except when Captain came along - she did what HE said when he was about 2 weeks old!
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    @B5004EVER , sounds familiar! Yes, they do like to make themselves comfy at your expense. One of mine liked to sleep horizontal across the bed, leaving my husband and me to cling to the edges, as you describe. Another caused us to almost die.....laughing. The covers were pushed up, and when we moved them we discovered her sleeping on her back, legs in the air, little butt right next to our heads! Hysterical! But most of the time our Basenjis were trouble free sleeping companions, although on occasion they did snore....
  • Changing a basenji's name??

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    MacPackM
    Dogs learn quickly, especially if their former home was not so nice. Then a new name is perfect. We changed Nicky's name from Nyako, picked a "sound alike" and she learned it pretty quickly, well, as much as some basenjis ever "learn" their name. Some days she doesn't recognize it at all, haha. Eddie was Skippy, I looked at him and called him Fast Eddie and it stuck. That boy knows his name all the time! And do tell, what is the awful name???
  • "Free" Basenjis =/

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    Oh, and I bet they are intact…sigh...we will be seeing lots of b's and b mixes coming up... Darn it!!!
  • The "Look"

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    Basenji seem to be the masters of the non-verbal put down. And I also agree with Basenji Boy's comment, reminds of that bumper sticker: the more I know of people, the better I like my dog. What is the correct plural of Basenji? 'Basenjis' or 'Basenji'? A Yodel of Besenjis?
  • Who gets "groomed" by their "B's"?

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    nobarkusN
    If I put my arm around Nika when we're on the couch and my hand rests on her leg, she'll lick my hand for 10 minutes.