JJHACK
New member
What’s in a name?
A few years ago during my hunting season in the Northern Province of South Africa I had a couple hunting with me named Dan and Susan, and a another man named Tom who was also hunting. They had never met before this trip. Susan was just there for the experience of the Bush, the Smells and sounds, and of course the African Wildlife.
We had hunted fairly hard for the first few days. Susan was scratched from the thorns and a little worn out from the long walks and hot sun. The other hunter was also an older somewhat over weight man who was easy to convince that we should sit over a water hole. This would allow us to view game and possibly see an exceptional trophy in the open. Dan the husband was fit and anxious to hunt every day but the wife and the older hunter were holding him back from his preferred walk and stalk style, at least a little bit. I felt awkward as I really wanted Dan to have a great experience but he was in a bind with Tom and his wife being along. These folks had all agreed up front to the two hunter’s and one PH situation to save some money on the trip. It’s much less expensive to share a Professional Hunter then to cover the cost for a ten day trip for your own personal PH. The “2X1” situation as it’s typically called, is a good arrangement when the hunters are fairly equal physically and also good friends. It is sometimes a compatibility gamble when done this way as I was seeing yet again.
We decided to hunt a water hole in a couple different places for a couple mornings and evenings. This would give them a chance to take a break from the longer walks we had been doing. The early evening of the second day sitting near water the husband and I decide that one of the more exceptional animals that visited the water deserved a better look which would require a bit of a walk. It was a very big impala ram. I had Rubin my black game scout along with me this evening. I told the others that Dan and I would circle around and come back in a little bit. The stalk would be too noisy with only two people much less the whole group. In Afrikaans I told Rubin to stay put until I got back, we would be make the shot or we would return soon.
Dan and I left at a brisk pace and I could see the excitement in Dan’s face and his overall attitude. We made fantastic time and arrived to the view point I had in mind within fifteen or twenty minutes. While glassing the Impala ewes hoping to see the huge ram we caught a glimpse of another animal. I big Waterbuck! I know the area very well so I suggest we head over the small ridge and close the distance to about 150 yards. We moved quickly through the bush. I’m grateful Dan is fit and capable. Few other clients I have had would have been able to do this as fast and quiet as Dan did.
When we crest the ridge we spot the waterbuck but a bit too much bush in the way of a clear shot. We are less then one hundred yards but no clear shot is available. I think its best we sit tight and wait for him to walk into a clear spot. Any more movement and we would likely be busted. The wind is good and there is quite a bit of open area around us that the big bull could walk into. After about 20-30 minutes I suggest we go back because we have now been gone an hour and it will be dark in 10-15 minutes. I say to Dan that his wife might panic that we have been gone so long. He feels differently, saying his wife will be fine and we should stay until the Waterbuck moves into a better position for the shot. However there are now too many waterbuck cows around the big bull blocking a safe shot. We eventually have to go back. By the time we arrive at the hide near the water the others are gone! I’m stunned that Rubin would leave the hide, we head back to the truck about 150 yards away and there is nobody there either!
Now I’m trying not to panic in front of Dan but I know Rubin would have stayed there unless something happened. We get in the truck and drive the few roads near the water. Eventually we see them walking in an open area near a road. I Beep the horn and yell for them. Seeing the headlights of the truck they come to the road. At this point I’m angry with Rubin, and Susan wants to kill Dan for being gone so long. Tom is just fine and was anxious to tell us of the huge warthogs they saw while walking down the road.
Back at camp we clean up and prepare for dinner. While the clients are busy resting around the campfire I drive to the skinning shed to make sure the paperwork is complete and trophies tagged. While I’m there I am listening to Rubin and the others talking in Afrikaans about the evening. He said that the hunter’s wife was mad at Fakawe and her husband for being gone too long. She was so afraid. There was other chatter amongst them that I was too busy to pay attention to. I did express my anger at Rubin for leaving the hide. He said the Lady hunter just packed her things and walked off looking for us. He was sorry but had to go with her so she would not be lost or get in trouble. When I was finished with my administrative work and Rubin’s story I forgave him and headed back to the lodge for dinner. When I arrived in my room I was making sure the batteries were charged in my lights and radios when I heard a knock on the door. It was Joanne one of the maids bringing my clean clothes back to the room. She laid the clothes on my bed and said thank you Fakawe and closed the door as she left. I don’t know all the black languages so I did not understand the word “Fakawe” She was nice as usual so I more or less ignored this and finished my business to head over for dinner. After Dinner one of the young black guys who works as a house boy was clearing the table. When he came to me he said Fakawe are you finished? I said yes, it was the first time I think I realized that they were referring to me as Fakawe.......... As in they thought that it was my name.
There is an interesting cultural trait among the blacks in most camps and lodges that work for white families. They typically give the white people black names. As an example my partners son Freddie is actually called Maku by the blacks. It’s accepted as his “black name”. Even Lizette his mother calls him Maku frequently. So I was beginning to now assume that the blacks had come up with this name “Fakawe” for me? It is a respectful and endearing thing to happen. Who was I to challenge this? Later in the week as the name really began to stick with all the staff, I asked one of the black ladies who is a house keepers there, “who named me Fakawe”, and why that name. She said that Rubin said it was my name. She also said the hunters wife used it as a reference to me frequently. Now I’m really confused, where did he get that, and since when was Susan calling me Fakawe? Susan had never even once called me Fakawe or referred to me as Fakawe during the entire 10 days of hunting. At least not that I had heard. I spoke to Rubin later in the week when we had a day between Safaris. I said to him how come you’re calling me Fakawe now? He said the lady hunter from last Safari called me Fakawe. So he thinks this must be my name. I said I never heard her say Fakawe when did she call me this?
He went on to tell me the story of the day they were lost in the bush. The Lady hunter (Susan) was very angry and insisted they go to look for her husband and I. While they were walking through the bush she continued to ask for Fakawe and her “man” and asked where did we go. She kept saying “where the Fakawe”? Over and over. He stated that “she ask for you by name many times”, she asked “where the Fakawe”. So now I have a new black name. It was created by the differences in languages and slang term familiarity. It’s amazing the way these things happen. Rubin had no idea what she was saying and how vulgar the phrase is. It’s English and his capacity to speak and understand English was very limited. None of us pick our names. We are stuck with what our parents give us. However I’m now stuck with this paradox of a name that indicates I have no idea where I’m at, even though I’m a Professional hunter! Not very confidence inspiring to my prospective clients is it! So now I’m saddled with this odd name which I felt I should explain in the event any question about my navigation skills should ever come up!
A few years ago during my hunting season in the Northern Province of South Africa I had a couple hunting with me named Dan and Susan, and a another man named Tom who was also hunting. They had never met before this trip. Susan was just there for the experience of the Bush, the Smells and sounds, and of course the African Wildlife.
We had hunted fairly hard for the first few days. Susan was scratched from the thorns and a little worn out from the long walks and hot sun. The other hunter was also an older somewhat over weight man who was easy to convince that we should sit over a water hole. This would allow us to view game and possibly see an exceptional trophy in the open. Dan the husband was fit and anxious to hunt every day but the wife and the older hunter were holding him back from his preferred walk and stalk style, at least a little bit. I felt awkward as I really wanted Dan to have a great experience but he was in a bind with Tom and his wife being along. These folks had all agreed up front to the two hunter’s and one PH situation to save some money on the trip. It’s much less expensive to share a Professional Hunter then to cover the cost for a ten day trip for your own personal PH. The “2X1” situation as it’s typically called, is a good arrangement when the hunters are fairly equal physically and also good friends. It is sometimes a compatibility gamble when done this way as I was seeing yet again.
We decided to hunt a water hole in a couple different places for a couple mornings and evenings. This would give them a chance to take a break from the longer walks we had been doing. The early evening of the second day sitting near water the husband and I decide that one of the more exceptional animals that visited the water deserved a better look which would require a bit of a walk. It was a very big impala ram. I had Rubin my black game scout along with me this evening. I told the others that Dan and I would circle around and come back in a little bit. The stalk would be too noisy with only two people much less the whole group. In Afrikaans I told Rubin to stay put until I got back, we would be make the shot or we would return soon.
Dan and I left at a brisk pace and I could see the excitement in Dan’s face and his overall attitude. We made fantastic time and arrived to the view point I had in mind within fifteen or twenty minutes. While glassing the Impala ewes hoping to see the huge ram we caught a glimpse of another animal. I big Waterbuck! I know the area very well so I suggest we head over the small ridge and close the distance to about 150 yards. We moved quickly through the bush. I’m grateful Dan is fit and capable. Few other clients I have had would have been able to do this as fast and quiet as Dan did.
When we crest the ridge we spot the waterbuck but a bit too much bush in the way of a clear shot. We are less then one hundred yards but no clear shot is available. I think its best we sit tight and wait for him to walk into a clear spot. Any more movement and we would likely be busted. The wind is good and there is quite a bit of open area around us that the big bull could walk into. After about 20-30 minutes I suggest we go back because we have now been gone an hour and it will be dark in 10-15 minutes. I say to Dan that his wife might panic that we have been gone so long. He feels differently, saying his wife will be fine and we should stay until the Waterbuck moves into a better position for the shot. However there are now too many waterbuck cows around the big bull blocking a safe shot. We eventually have to go back. By the time we arrive at the hide near the water the others are gone! I’m stunned that Rubin would leave the hide, we head back to the truck about 150 yards away and there is nobody there either!
Now I’m trying not to panic in front of Dan but I know Rubin would have stayed there unless something happened. We get in the truck and drive the few roads near the water. Eventually we see them walking in an open area near a road. I Beep the horn and yell for them. Seeing the headlights of the truck they come to the road. At this point I’m angry with Rubin, and Susan wants to kill Dan for being gone so long. Tom is just fine and was anxious to tell us of the huge warthogs they saw while walking down the road.
Back at camp we clean up and prepare for dinner. While the clients are busy resting around the campfire I drive to the skinning shed to make sure the paperwork is complete and trophies tagged. While I’m there I am listening to Rubin and the others talking in Afrikaans about the evening. He said that the hunter’s wife was mad at Fakawe and her husband for being gone too long. She was so afraid. There was other chatter amongst them that I was too busy to pay attention to. I did express my anger at Rubin for leaving the hide. He said the Lady hunter just packed her things and walked off looking for us. He was sorry but had to go with her so she would not be lost or get in trouble. When I was finished with my administrative work and Rubin’s story I forgave him and headed back to the lodge for dinner. When I arrived in my room I was making sure the batteries were charged in my lights and radios when I heard a knock on the door. It was Joanne one of the maids bringing my clean clothes back to the room. She laid the clothes on my bed and said thank you Fakawe and closed the door as she left. I don’t know all the black languages so I did not understand the word “Fakawe” She was nice as usual so I more or less ignored this and finished my business to head over for dinner. After Dinner one of the young black guys who works as a house boy was clearing the table. When he came to me he said Fakawe are you finished? I said yes, it was the first time I think I realized that they were referring to me as Fakawe.......... As in they thought that it was my name.
There is an interesting cultural trait among the blacks in most camps and lodges that work for white families. They typically give the white people black names. As an example my partners son Freddie is actually called Maku by the blacks. It’s accepted as his “black name”. Even Lizette his mother calls him Maku frequently. So I was beginning to now assume that the blacks had come up with this name “Fakawe” for me? It is a respectful and endearing thing to happen. Who was I to challenge this? Later in the week as the name really began to stick with all the staff, I asked one of the black ladies who is a house keepers there, “who named me Fakawe”, and why that name. She said that Rubin said it was my name. She also said the hunters wife used it as a reference to me frequently. Now I’m really confused, where did he get that, and since when was Susan calling me Fakawe? Susan had never even once called me Fakawe or referred to me as Fakawe during the entire 10 days of hunting. At least not that I had heard. I spoke to Rubin later in the week when we had a day between Safaris. I said to him how come you’re calling me Fakawe now? He said the lady hunter from last Safari called me Fakawe. So he thinks this must be my name. I said I never heard her say Fakawe when did she call me this?
He went on to tell me the story of the day they were lost in the bush. The Lady hunter (Susan) was very angry and insisted they go to look for her husband and I. While they were walking through the bush she continued to ask for Fakawe and her “man” and asked where did we go. She kept saying “where the Fakawe”? Over and over. He stated that “she ask for you by name many times”, she asked “where the Fakawe”. So now I have a new black name. It was created by the differences in languages and slang term familiarity. It’s amazing the way these things happen. Rubin had no idea what she was saying and how vulgar the phrase is. It’s English and his capacity to speak and understand English was very limited. None of us pick our names. We are stuck with what our parents give us. However I’m now stuck with this paradox of a name that indicates I have no idea where I’m at, even though I’m a Professional hunter! Not very confidence inspiring to my prospective clients is it! So now I’m saddled with this odd name which I felt I should explain in the event any question about my navigation skills should ever come up!
