BASENJI
AFRICA DOG
Basenji Information worth knowing
"Dogs are probably the oldest domesticated animals." ( Josef H. Reichholf )
According to the latest research, all dogs originate in Asia. The ancestor of the dogs is the wolf. With the migration of men, dogs also reached new areas. Even today Basenji-type Schensi dogs live in the equatorial zone in AFRICA. They were made useful in hunting. In the Philippines, with the Dayak on Borneo and on Sumatra with the Bakta Schensis live under similar conditions. On Borneo still exist a few dwarf elephants like in the Ituri rain forest with the pygmies in Africa.
Dwarf Elephant
Photos WWF-Canon/Rick Weyerhaeser
In the then still fertile Sahara, a Savannah landscape inhabited by nomads, wild animals were domesticated. The nomads began to raise domestic animals, the first of which probably was the dog, because it was helpful in hunting. Due to climate change (brought about by changes of the direction of the monsoon winds) the Sahara desert developed and the early men migrated in the 7,000 to 5,000 BC period with their Basenji-like hunting dogs to the Nile. The people became settlers. Thousands of years BC, the age of the pharaohs ascended at the Nile.
As a consequence of the last climate change in the Sahara about 1000 years ago, humans migrated south with their Basenji-type hunting dogs. It was the beginning of the relocation of the Bantu, a migration of considerable magnitude. The Bantu moved toward the east to the large lakes and penetrated south into the Congo forest region, the Ituri Rainforest. The latter today is the remaining habitat of Pygmies and their Basenjis. Basenjis inhabit two different climate zones, the savannah and the rain forest.
savannah rainforest
SCHENSI DOGS
SCHENSI LOGO © Jürg Furrer
Photo courtesy of J.RotterBasenji Schensi-dog in Africa
Is the homeland of the Basenji breed Africa? Yes.
The original Basenjis, that are known in the East African Swahili ( Bantu Language ) as Schensi dogs, live in the equatorial zone, the hoe-farming culture. Schensis are identifiable by erect ears, a reddish fur, and short hair. They were made useful in hunting. In contrast to the Pariahs who live independently from humans, Schensis belong to a person have a name and are valued either for personal reasons ( family dog ) or because of their market value. Basenjis live in a pack with their tribes, but they must be clever to find enough food for survival. Schensis are among the oldest members of the canis familaris race. The most convincing theory about the lineage of Basenjis relies on paintings in the Sahara of Northern Africa. The rock paintings show hunting dogs very similar to Basenjis. At the beginning of 21. century more and more rock paintings were discovered.
Schensi dogs cave paintings Teshouinat
Photo Sahara Art Rupestre Les Editions de L'amateur
Rock Paintings with hunting dogs Tandrart
Photo Peter v. Sengbusch
Drawing on a petroglyph
ennedi.free.fr/photo5.html Hunting with Basenjis
Egyptians are indeed counted among the oldest dog breeders in the world. Possible Basenjis were carefully bred as family dog or hunting companion. It is possible that by crossing dogs and jackals a basenji Type dog was created, probably the Tesem of Ancient Egypt. "Jackals and Basenjis do not mate except when under human influence, even if they might have ample opportunity for do so." ( Professor Dr. sc. Senglaub Wildhunde Haushunde Urania Vlg.)
Jackal and Basenji
Ethiopien Wolf canis simensis Black-backed Jakal canis mesomelas
Photos Wikipedia
One assumes that Basenjis carry some Jackal genes. It is noteworthy that their paws are different from those of other canine species: their middle toes are partially grown together. Gene research might attest to this eventually. Meanwhile modern genetic testing shows that Basenjis are related to all other dogs and are descended from the wolf, Canis lupus.The native Basenji breed belongs to the Schensi dogs on the equatorial region.
The world - renowned Basenji expert Miss Veronica Tudor - Williams wrote an article ( Journal of the Society for the Preservation of the Fauna of the Empire, Nr. 54 ) on the Basenjis of Central Africa and called them a "living fossils". She wrote: "It would be a tragedy if these canines of such ancient lineage, having maintained their identity over numerous centuries, would now be lost to us forever as a consequence of expanding civilization".
The god Anubis a jackall
Maybe, the Nubiens, who ruled Egypt from about 745 to 655 BC, brought the Basenjis with them from the Sudan. We assume that Basenjis as catlike dogs were in high esteem as hunting dogs, or as beloved household pets. They are highly regarded to this day and their market value is correspondingly high.
Basenji with Bell in the camp of the Efe pygmies 1990
Photo William F. Wheeler
gold weights as money
It is possible that Basenjis arrived in Egypt from Central Africa, Chad, Somalia, Sudan or the Congo region, where they still exist to this day. They may have been brought as trophies or presents for the pharaohs together with the pygmies .These “dwarfs” as sacral dancers were of immeasurable value to the Pharaohs. In one travel diary of the only female pharaoh Hatschepsut 1490 - 1468 BC can mention be found about dogs that were brought along from the country Punt, the Somalia of today. Were these dogs Basenjis? The description may be right.
Basenji Type dog,is it the Tesem of Ancient Egypt?
Bilderwelten und Weltbilder der Pharaonen Philipp v. Zabern Vlg.
The ancestors of Basenjis probably are so called Tesem dogs of Ancient Egypt but there is no scientific proof. It is known that Basenjis were frequently depicted often with bells on their neck and were abundant. This practice still exist today in Africa. They can be found today unchanged in Africa. As in the time of pharaohs Basenjis are considered valuable still today.
Bibliotheca Alexandrian Mosaic Hellenistic Period
bibalex.org/English/artsmuseums/antiquitiesmuseum/overview.htm
touregypt.net/featurestories/dogs.htm
Limestone Stele with dogs
Detail from a bas-relief on the Mastaba of Akhethotep
May be a Basenji with a duck ?
Basenjis beloved pets in the Ancient Egypt Stele des Iti
Curtesy Museo Antichita Egiziedi Torino
bleedingeyeballs.com/basenjiart/artifacts.htm
Narratives out of Africa
In some areas of Africa it is believed that dogs including Basenjis stole " The Fire " fro the gods. In some African tribes they are known as " talking dogs " or " witches dogs ". Dogs, including Basenjis, have always been used as sacrifices in ritual ceremonies. The more Basenjis that are owned by the Medicine man, the stronger his powers and healing skills. Basenjis were sacrificed in their rituals up to date. Some documents never written down until much later mention Basenjis ending up in the cooking pot if it did not measure up to hunting quality. With the downfall of Ancient Egypt, knowledge about Basenji Type Dogs disappeared.
Rituals
Goro - vodun medical ritual 1980
Photos Soul of Africa Vlg. Könemann
The god Egou, the causer of car exidents, asks for dog blood
Photos Die Medizin der schwarzen Götter Haymon Vlg.
Rediscovery of Basenjis
In the middle of the 19th century European explorers discovered Basenjis in Central Africa. Dr. Georg Schweinfurth was the first Africa Explorer to report on Basenjis and doing so created curiosity about these dogs. He assigned them to the class of Spitz dogs. They served with natives as hunting dogs. First report about Basenjis and their homeland. At the end of his travels, he also succeeded in solving an ages old ethnological problem by discovering the Akka pygmies. He was the first to bring, as a believable witness, knowledge of pygmies in Europe. In 1895 at Cruft`s Show ( Great Britain ) the Basenjis were exhibited. These Basenjis were the very first ever seen in Europe. At the turn of the century, "Congo terriers" were reported in European newspapers and were displayed in zoos, such as in Berlin and Paris.
Basenjis Zoo Berlin
Photo Dr.O.Heinroth Pariah Hunde R.Menzel
Bosc " Congo Terrier" Zoo Paris 1890
Under great difficult the breeding of Basenjis start in Great Britain. Breeding Start In 1937 the bred was established in Great Britain by Mrs. Olivia Burn, "of the Bleans " Basenjis.
Basenjis exhibited at Cruft show 1937
Photo The complete Basenji by Elspet Ford
More information in the book " Basenji Dog from the Past " by Forrest Bryant Johnson