Capital City Origins ~ Africa Part 4

Here we go ! The fourth and final African section of the blog series.

In this part we shall be covering the east side of Africa from the "Z's" to Sudan via the Horn and the Serengeti and Masai Mara Game Reserves. Look out for the lions !

The north eastern part of the continent is also the part with closer connections to the Arab world, and some of the placenames reflect this. It is after all just a short distance across the Red Sea to the Arabian peninsula. A place we shall visit soon.

So, in the words of Marc Bolan of the band T-Rex, let's "Bang a Gong" and "Get It On". Sorry for you youngsters, it's a glam rock band from the early 1970's, Waaaay before your time, Ask your grandparents !

Here we go Part 4.....

During the days of British rule the country of Zimbabwe was known as Rhodesia, and it's capital was Salisbury. British rule ended with the country's independence in 1980. salisbury was renamed in 1982 on the second anniversary of the independence.

Harare took its name from a local village, (renamed Mbare) and from the Shona chief Neharawe. His name means "he who does not sleep"

HARARE = CITY THAT DOESNT SLEEP

The earliest evidence of habitation in the area around Lusaka is from the 6th century AD with a settlement in the 11th century. Although the foundation sof the modern city were laid in 1906 during the time of the British Empire.

The British South African Company built a railroad between the Copper producing areas and Cape Town and built a water stop for locomotives at the place now known as Lusaka.

The city takes it's name from a local Lenje chief called Lusaaka.

LUSAKA = PLACE OF LUSAAKA

Lilongwe replaced the city of Zomba as the capital in 1975, however the last government department didn't relocate until 2005. Situated on trade routes between Zambia and Mozambique, the city grew as trade increased.

The city's name comes from the Lilongwe River, however little is known about the origins of the name. It is thought however that the word lilongwe just means "river" in an old dialect.

LILONGWE = RIVER

Although Dodoma was declared the capital in 1996 (announced in 1974) the majority of governmental business is still conducted in the old capital of Dar es Salaam (meaning "House of Peace" in Arabic). Due to many projects being abandoned and development being painfully slow, many embassies also remained in Dar.

The rather appropriate meaning for Dodoma in the local Bantu language of Gogo is "It has Sunk"

DODOMA = IT HAS SUNK

Gitega is one of our newest capital cities. In 2018 the Burundi president announced the follow up of a 2007 promise to return the capital to Gitega. Following a vote in parliament the move was made official in 2019.

Unfortunately Gitega is another unknown city where etymology is concerned. Even the CIA don't know according to their World Factbook website.

The previous capital of Bujumbura is thought to relate to the local words for "marketplace".

GITEGA = ? (Once again, if you know leave a comment below. Thank you)

Situated almost in the centre of the country, Kigali is Rwanda's largest city. Founded in 1907 by German explorer Richard Kandt, it was under Belgian rule following World War One until the country's independence in 1962.

The city's name comes from the Rwandan language, Kinyarwanda, and means "wide" or "broad"

KIGALI = BROAD (or WIDE)

Listed as one of the fastest growing cities in Africa, Kampala has also been ranked as East Africa's best city to live in.

Originally Kampala was the name of the hill given to British colonists, now known as Old Kampala Hill. The hill was originally a hunting ground and the name means "Hill of the Impala"

KAMPALA = HILL OF THE IMPALA

Often refered to as the "Green City in the Sun" Nairobi was founded in 1899 as a stop on the Uganda-Kenya railway. The city quickly grew and replaced Mombasa as the capital in 1907.

The city's name comes from the Maasai language and from the phrase Enkare nairobi that refers to the Nairobi River that flows through the city. The phrase means "cool waters"

NAIROBI = COOL WATERS

At the time of writing, (20th November 2021) Juba is the world's newest capital city. It was established in 1920 on the site of a village of the same name.

Juba became the capital of South Sudan after the country's independence in 2011, however the government has announced that the capital will be moving to ramciel at some time in the future.

The city's name is derived from Djouba another name for the Bari people.

JUBA = PLACE OF THE BARI PEOPLE

DNA studies have found that all humans evolved from a point near Addis Ababa 100,000 years ago.

Addis Ababa is known as the "Political Capital of Africa" due to it's historic, diplomatic and political significance.

It's name derives from the Amharic words for "New Flower"

ADDIS ABABA = NEW FLOWER

This city has traded as an Indian Ocean port for thousands of years, although it was at it's peak in the 14th and 15th centuries. Mogadishu was once considered the wealthiest city on the East african coast.

There are several theories as to the derivation of the name, but the most likely is that it comes from a melding of two Somali words, muuq and disho which means, literally, "Sight" and "killer" or "Blinder". It is thought this refers to the city's "blinding beauty".

MOGADISHU = SIGHT KILLER

Formerly known as French Somaliland, the country of Djibouti gained it's independence from France in 1977.

Djibouti City, as it is sometimes known, has been inhabited since the Bronze Age, and is a major port near one of the world's busiest sea routes. It is the main seaport for imports and exports to neighbouring Ethiopa.

Djibouti, the city, gave it's name to the country, and is thought to derive from the Afar word gabouti meaning "plate" refering to the geography of the area. There is also reference to the word gabood that means "plateau"

DJIBOUTI = PLATE or PLATEAU

The site of Asmara was first settled in around 800BC, but it wasnt until four villages unified to live in peace in the 12th century that the city was founded.

The merger of the four villages is reflected in the name. Originally called Arbate Asmara meaning "the four made them unite". Eventually the Arbate part of the name was dropped, leaving Asmara which means "They made them unite"

ASMARA = THEY MADE THEM UNITE

And Finally we come to Khartoum, our last African capital. Located at the confluence of the White Nile and the Blue Nile, Khartoum is a city in three parts divided by the rivers.

There are several theories for the city's etymology. Arabic scholars believe it derives from the word khurtum meaning "trunk" of an elephant. this probably refers to the shape of the land between the rivers.

Another theory is two words from the Dinka language, khar-toum, meaning "place where rivers meet". This seems to be the most realistic, although I do like the "Elephant's Trunk" idea.

KHARTOUM = PLACE WHERE RIVERS MEET or ELEPHANT'S TRUNK

There you are then. Africa finished, all fifty-seven capital cities done. Well almost. Two have eluded us, Lobamba in Part 3, and Gitega in Part 4. I'm gutted that I haven't been able to find the origins of these two names, I feel like I have failed you. I shall continue to try and find out, and obviously edit the blogs accordingly, if this is the case. Please leave a comment in the appropriate blog episode if you know the answers.

"What's next ?", I hear you ask. Well, it's a short dhow ride across the Red Sea from Sudan to the Arabian Peninsula, so I think I will start there on Asia Part 1.

Now the African continent is finished I'm looking forward to Asia. Starting in the Middle East and meandering our way to the Far East in three or four parts. There are 48 countries in Asia (49 if you count Palestine, although seeing as it has the same capital city as Israel, I could lump them together, now there's a controversy) so I could divide the sections into 3 with 16 capitals in each, or 4 with 12, you'll have to wait and see. I think I will just stick to the Jetpunk accepted list of countries and capitals and maybe do Palestine and some other partly recognised nations as another blog at the end of the series.

Anyway, thats enough from me except to say, thank you again for reading my blogs, and for the exceptionally kind comments.

Oops, almost forget again...AFRICA = DUSTY. Presumably because only the north was originally known, the Sahara preventing further exploration, so early peoples presumed the whole continent was the same.

Now where's the captain of that dhow gone.....