6l2 SO.Ml-". PLACK-NAMKS OF TSOI.O. 



obtained here, used for making mats. The idea of a mat may, 

 however, have been suggested by the apjjearance of the extensive 

 forest which is stretched out hke a mat. Probably a new word 

 lies hidden here, and further investigation sliould be made on the 

 spot. 



Qungu. — The tambookie grass used for thatching by the 

 natives (Andropogon marginaius) is probably found plentifully 

 in this vicinity, hence ihe name, which is the word for tambookie 

 gra«s. 



W .—Named after Animals. 



Qebeyi.—Th.\s place-name may with equal propriety be classi- 

 fied under the previous section, for not only is it the name given 

 to a certain snake, but also is it given to a certain grass. Curiously 

 enough, l)oth this particular grass and the snake are plentiful in 

 that neighbourhood. There is a great superstition attaching 

 (amongst the Pondomisi) to this snake. Certain tribes will not 

 kill it if they come across it on the veld. I cannot give its 

 scientific name, but it is well known in the district, and is brick- 

 red in colour, with a white spot on the neck. In winter the qeheyi 

 grass is turned by the frost to a ])urplish brick-red colour. 



Ntibane, apparently a Hlulji name. The si-Xosa equivalent 

 would be (I believe) Ntittyane — a word not recorded in dictionary 

 —and, moreover, ntibane in Tsolo does not refer to the red- 

 capped lark (CalandreUa cinerea), but to the variety of lark so 

 ])lentiful in Tsolo District, especially at this spot. 



Tshisane. — Also new word, name of a bird not yet identified, 

 whitish grey in colour, size of a dove, and hawk-like. 



Ntyzvenka. — A deejj ])ool — the sort of place a hi])po])otamus 

 would live in. Equivalent to Dutch " zeekoe gat." 



In.vu. — I ha\e always understood that this name was the 

 Kafifir equivalent of the Dutch name for the River, vis., Wilde- 

 beeste. It may be, however, that the naming was quite inde- 

 pendent, and so the derivation of the Kaffir name does not refer 

 to the gnu at all. In Davis's English-Kaffir Dictionary we are 

 informed that the gnu is called inqu. Rut the difference in the 

 words is only one of a click, the 7 or the .r click? In (Jodfrev 

 inxH is not given, but inqu is given as the while-tailed gnu. 

 McLaren also gives this explanation. It would seem then that the 

 spelling of this name is in error, and that we are ])erpetuating the 

 mistake. 



Ntabengive. — The name of a ridge fringrd with bushes and 

 rocks, just the sort of place in which the leopard (Felis pnrdns) 

 would delight to make its lair. " The mountain of the leopard " 

 is the meaning of the name. 



Mbinja. the name of a trading station, has a curious deriva- 

 tion. Evidently a fierce, and or ugly, dog Tpo.ssibly even a bull- 

 dog seen for the first time by the natives) was kept at this place 

 and by the coalescence of two words meaning "ugly dog" the 

 place was named. 



