Ngorongoro Meaning

What does Ngorongoro mean?

What does Ngorongoro mean?

What does Ngorongoro mean ? ; Ngorongoro is the Maasai word that the Maasai warriors use to term the sound of the jingle bell that is always tired on the throat of the lead cow in the group. The jingle bell was used as a sign of presence by the cows and to tell the speed at which the cows are moving while grazing. The bell makes the “ngor ngor” alarm which then made the Locals to name the area Ngorongoro. The term originated from the echo which the hills could reverse back “ngor ngor” like another animal was on the other side and hence coming up with the word Ngorongoro which was modified by the coming of the Europeans to the current conservation area as Ngorongoro.

What does Ngorongoro mean?
What does Ngorongoro mean?

Currently Ngorongoro is the most famous word used worldwide to mean the largest ever volcanic caldera in the world and it’s one of the 7 wonders of Africa. It’s no doubt that the place is a home of a wide range of different animal species including the rare Black Rhinos and different bird species from the largest inland bird that is the ostrich to the smallest.

Ngorongoro is now a conservation area the only conservation area where human beings live together with wildlife at the most harmonious way with no one interfering the daily leaving of another. The name has an Onomatopoeic origin from the local Maasai Pastoralists, with more facts surrounding the conservation area. It’s believed that the area was one of the first areas human settlement took place in Africa dating back 3 million years ago basing on evidence on fossils in Olduvai Gorge discovered by Dr Leakey.

The area was first occupied by the hunter gatherers which later were replaced by the current local Maasai pastoralists known as the Mbulu who were later joined by the Datooga group who occupied mostly the North West part of the Ngorongoro which is occupied by the big Fig trees. The big fig trees historically and culturally believed to have been planted by the Datooga leaders to represent the graves or the position where their leaders were buried after death on the war.

It’s on record that the place was only occupied by the locals till 1892 when Oscar Baumann visited the area, in 1921 the preservation ordinance was passed that restricted hunting of the wildlife but gave chance to only registered hunters who were recognised by the government.

In 1928 hunting was stopped in the area both in the crater rim and neighbouring places which also not only affected the locals but also the permitted hunters and this led to the drafting of the National park ordinance in 1948 and it was implemented in 1951 as Serengeti national park. The locals were not happy on this move since they were to be displaced outside the park and this created problem between the different tribes in the area due to re-settlement measures hence resulting into the 1959 Ngorongoro conservation ordinance that clearly separated the conservation area of Ngorongoro with the park.

This allowed the locals of the Maasai mara to remain in the conservation with all their live stork and enjoy the privileges of Ngorongoro.

Relevant Links

Wikipedia

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