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 should have been East Timor, as I'm running through the list in alphabetical order, but admit being unable to find sufficient information to fill much more than the back of a stamp - albeit a large stamp. Hence we jump towards the end of the alphabet and look at some of its largest settlements and most interesting names of Western Sahara.
Laayoune is from the Maghrebi Arabic name of Layoun, literally meaning 'the water springs'. The modern form is due to French influence, although under the Spanish this became El Aaiun with the same meaning.
Cape Bojador is sometimes found by its Portuguese name of Cabo Bojador and occasionally given as Cape Bojador. While this is said to mean 'the bulging cape', this can be discounted as it is simply wrong and such is only ever written when suggesting origins of the name. Correctly this is a Portuguese corruption of the Arabic Abu Khatar meaning 'the father of danger'.
Guelta Zemmur is from the Tamazight language and means 'the olive tree pool'.
Bir Lehlou comes from Hassaniya Arabic, where bir lahlu speaks of 'the sweet water well'.
La Guera, clearly of European influence, comes from the Spanish Aguera and describes a ditch used to bring rainwater to the crops - basic irrigation. Today the town is abandoned, save for a military post, and is slowly being engulfed by drifting sands.
Note the spellings of the places are English as the piece is written in English.
Showing posts with label Sahara. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Sahara. Show all posts
Sunday, 10 April 2016
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.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)