Having blogged samples of my books on English place names and also examined the etymologies of the nations of the world and their respective capitals I thought it time I cast my net a little wider. As English place names share some links to other tongues it would be interesting to see if any of the elements contributing to our place names could be found elsewhere. Continuing an alphabetical tour of the world and a look at the largest Sudan cities.
Omdurman is from the Arabic Umm Durman and translates as 'mother of Durman', however we have no idea who she may have been and what role she played.
Khartoum's origins are uncertain, although most often given as from Arabic khutum meaning 'trunk' or 'hose' and thus referring to the strip of land between the Blue Nile and White Nile before they meet. Others cite the Dinka tongue, where khar-toum would refer to 'where the rivers meet' and thus the same geographical feature, albeit looked at from a different angle. Captain J. A. Grant thought the name came from the Arabic qurtum 'the safflower', known to science as Carthamus tinctorius, grown extensively here as it was used as a fuel. Some point to the Nubian word Agartum 'the abode of Atum', while others look to the Beja language and see hartoom 'meeting'.
Nyala comes from the Daju tongue and means 'the place of chatting'.
Port Sudan takes the name of the nation, itself coming from Arabic bilad as-sudan and meaning 'the land of the blacks'.
El-Obeid comes from the Arabic al-Abyad meaning 'white'.
El-Gadarif is derived from the Arabic Alli qada-Ye-rif meaning 'he who has finished selling or buying should leave'. This comes from the announcement at the end of market day, when Arab noamdic tribes would return to the plains.
Al-Fashir took its name from the word fashir, an itinerant court.
Ar-Rahad is from the Arabic and means 'the water shrine'.
Kosti was founded shortly after 1899 by the Greek merchant Konstantinos 'Kostas' Mourikis and named in his honour.
Suakin was known as U Suk which may be from the Arabic suq or 'market'.
Note the spellings of the places are English as the piece is written in English.
Showing posts with label Nile. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Nile. Show all posts
Sunday, 12 April 2020
Sunday, 27 December 2015
Chad Place Names Explained
Having blogged samples of my books on English place names and also examined the etymologies of the nations of the world and their respective capitals I thought it time to cast my net a little wider. This time Chad and a look at some of its largest settlements and most interesting names and starting with the capital.
N'Djamena may be the capital and by far the largest city but was only founded on May 29th 1900. Initially known as Fort Lamy, as suggested by the French commander Emile Gentil to honour his colleague Amedee-Francois Lamy who was killed at the Battle of Kousseri just days earlier.In April 1973 President Francois Tombalbaye officially changed the name to N'Djamena, this from the nearby village of Nigamina, an Arabic name meaning 'place of rest'.
Sarh took its name from the Sara people. Native to this southern part of Chad, they get their name from the Arabic Sa-Ra meaning 'sons of Ra', the ancient Egyptian sun god.
Am Timan is named from the Arabic for 'mother of twins', although just why it is known as such is a mystery.
Kanem is a reminder of the Kanem Empire of the Kanembu people, a once nomadic people of northeast Africa who eventually settled in this part of Chad.
Baguirmi is a department of Chad, taking its name from the kingdom of Bagirmi and the Bagirmi people whose name has never been explained.
Dar Tama gets its name from the indigenous Tama people and their Nilo-Saharan language.
Tibetsi is the name given to the mountain range and is the etymological version of the old chicken and egg question for the name means 'the place where the mountain people live'. This is the Toubou, a group who derive their name from Old Tebu for 'the rock people' which further confuses the question as to which came first - unlike the chicken and egg poser, where clearly the egg came first as eggs are also laid by reptiles, amphibians, dinosaurs (the chicken''s ancestor), fish, insects, and marine invertebrates for billions of years before the chicken.
Note the spellings of the places are English as the piece is written in English.
N'Djamena may be the capital and by far the largest city but was only founded on May 29th 1900. Initially known as Fort Lamy, as suggested by the French commander Emile Gentil to honour his colleague Amedee-Francois Lamy who was killed at the Battle of Kousseri just days earlier.In April 1973 President Francois Tombalbaye officially changed the name to N'Djamena, this from the nearby village of Nigamina, an Arabic name meaning 'place of rest'.
Sarh took its name from the Sara people. Native to this southern part of Chad, they get their name from the Arabic Sa-Ra meaning 'sons of Ra', the ancient Egyptian sun god.
Am Timan is named from the Arabic for 'mother of twins', although just why it is known as such is a mystery.
Kanem is a reminder of the Kanem Empire of the Kanembu people, a once nomadic people of northeast Africa who eventually settled in this part of Chad.
Baguirmi is a department of Chad, taking its name from the kingdom of Bagirmi and the Bagirmi people whose name has never been explained.
Dar Tama gets its name from the indigenous Tama people and their Nilo-Saharan language.
Tibetsi is the name given to the mountain range and is the etymological version of the old chicken and egg question for the name means 'the place where the mountain people live'. This is the Toubou, a group who derive their name from Old Tebu for 'the rock people' which further confuses the question as to which came first - unlike the chicken and egg poser, where clearly the egg came first as eggs are also laid by reptiles, amphibians, dinosaurs (the chicken''s ancestor), fish, insects, and marine invertebrates for billions of years before the chicken.
Note the spellings of the places are English as the piece is written in English.
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