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Meaning of the name, "Basenji"

Basenji Talk
  • H

    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. ;)

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  • P

    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

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  • L

    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.

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  • H

    Abbey sounds so hilarious!

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  • L

    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.

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  • JazzysMomJ

    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

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  • nala121498N

    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!

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  • JazzysMomJ

    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}

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  • J

    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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