Bush Names
Like in the military, in the Lowveld of South Africa where I (Enslin) worked extensively in my younger years as a field guide (safari/ranger), you haven’t been fully accepted by your peers unless you have been assigned a call sign. In this area it stems from the guides active need to communicate with each other with regards to sightings that they have an interest in, or having to convey changes or updated within any given “loc”(sighting location). Working with international tourists, it is extremely important for the experience they receive to feel as authentic and exiting as possible, with that there is a mutual understanding amongst all the guides from all of the various Lodges on the reserve to keep valuable information about the animals being viewed as secret as possible. The general consensus is to use an obscure language that predictably the guests would be unaware of to communicate with each other. In the area I worked in it was the Tsonga language, for example. To all the Tsonga puritans excuse, or feel free to correct the spelling ;).
“On loc with Nthlambi Ngala static lalapanzi next to Nyari bamba”. Being a tourist on drive we feel confident that you will not know that what we said is that, I am on loc with a pride of lions, not moving and laying down/sleeping next to a buffalo kill. With this tactic we control the information being shared as well as managing the expectation for the guests. It would be pretty disappointing if we were to announce that sighting in English and we are too far away from the sighting to realistically make it in time to view, or the animals decide to abandon the carcass while we are on route and all we have to see when we arrive is a stinky buffalo.
So the call signs or bush names as we call them are usually assigned to you by one of the senior people on the reserve, and it can be assigned to you at anytime. It could be based on something you said on the radio, something dumb or funny you have done, physical appearance, skills, anything that stands out basically.
Story time.
I was on a drive in the early morning, and we hit up a few exceptional sightings and it was on the wind down of the drive on the way back to the lodge where we came across a big group of Zebra and what seemed to be a group of lions stalking them. I was still grappling with the new language that this reserve was using, so I inquired to the tracker I worked with on how to report this loc to the rest of the guys out on drive, I nailed the whole sentence perfectly, or so I thought. I did convey the message accurately but I did not say the right word for Zebra, I still blame the tracker, he misspoke :o . I heard ‘Mankwe’ but the right term is ‘Mangwa’. No one including my partner corrected me so for the next month I repeatedly got it wrong and that was the birth of Enslin ‘Mangwa’ Scheepers.
So with all this in mind, we decided it was a good idea to give each of the kids we work with their very own Bush name. We will use these special names in our blogs posts from here on out, because of the abuse the kids have experienced in the past, we can never share their real identities or show their faces. So we thought this was a nice way to make them feel special like they deserve.
Here are all the Bush names so far!
Enslin
Bush Name: Mangwa
Meaning: Zebra
Story: a repeated mispronunciation of a Tsonga word over the course of a month ended with the name of Mangwa becoming the official call sign.
Savannah
Bush Name: Iliso Iwekhozi
Meaning: eagle eye (Xhosa language) vulture eye (Zulu language)
Story: very sharp eyes for spotting animals and so sharp that “she can see into the future” as Enslin says. My Zulu friend Toko agreed the name was fitting, for in his language it means “vulture eye” and vultures have been known to see in the future because their eyes are so good. Toko said I was always the best tracker with the best eyes, so he agreed with this Bush name for me I am proud to say!
Bush Name: Nyeleti
Meaning: Firefly
Story: this name was perfect for the oldest girl, as she has a bright and shining personality, and she seems to lighten up any place she goes just like a firefly. Strong and bright she is not afraid to try something new and work hard to follow her dreams. This name is Zulu in origin.
Bush Name: Kambaku
Meaning: grumpy elephant
Story: although full of personality and a real funny guy, the oldest boy we work with is definitely a teenager. He starts off grumpy in morning, but definitely stands out as a leader and jokester. He has no fear in leading the group and stands out as a strong speaker. This name is a Tsonga word for a grumpy bull elephant, or a ‘tusker’.
Bush Name: Buchu
Meaning: Buchu, a type of flowering ‘miracle herb’
Story: although shy and reserved, this girl has a laugh that brightens every heart. She has a miraculous backstory, and we think this miraculous girl deserves a name from the beautiful South African plant that holds miraculous healing properties and has the most beautiful flowers that grow throughout many seasons.
Bush Name: Ichelesi
Meaning: honey badger
Story: this is a Xhosa word for honey badger. This boy has a fearless spirit, he is a little shy at first but he always ready for the adventure. And he LOVES sweets. He is always on the look out for some sweets. So we thought, with a fearless spirit and a hunger for sweets, honey badger is the perfect animal for him.
Bush Name: Igala
Meaning: meerkat
Story: this is a Xhosa word for meerkat. And it is a very fitting animal name for this girl! She has got a bubbly personality, she is very social and full of a joyful endless energy, she has no fear and will try anything new. So we thought this name was a nice fit, considering how social and energetic the meerkat is.
Bush Name: Nci-nci Quagga
Meaning: Little zebra
Story: both a Xhosa and a Khoi-San name, ‘nci-nci’ means little in Xhosa, and ‘quagga’ means zebra in the ancient Khoi-San language which is the lineage this boy has. His favorite animal is the zebra, and this clever and funny guy has the full energy of a young zebra. And because he is often laughing and joking, we thought a zebra fits his personality with their calls sounding like laughter. The group name for zebra is also ‘dazzle’, well fitting for his dazzling personality.
