BASENJI  AFRICA DOG

informtion worth knowing about Basenjis

               

 

 

BASENJI NARRATIVES

 

 

Basenjis were high estimated beloved catlike dogs in the Pharaohs age and they are it till this day in Africa

 

 

A Basenji in Ancient Egypt

 

 

Taf. XX Bilderwelten und Weltbilder der Pharaonen

Ph.von Zabern Verlag

 

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.

 

"Jackals and Basenjis do not mate except when under human influence, even if they might have ample opportunity to do so."  Prof. Dr. sc. Konrad Senglaub Wildhunde Haushunde Urania Verlag

 

 

Jackal and Basenji

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. Till now the native Basenji breed belongs to the Schensi dogs on the equatorial region. 

 

 

The difference between the paw of a basenji and a normal dog

 

 

 

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  is shown like a Jackal or a Basenji

 

Museum Cairo

 

 

Maybe, the Nubians, who ruled Egypt from about 1070 to 655BC, brought the Basenjis with them from the Sudan. The first dog names were documented in Egypt. We assume that Basenjis as catlike dogs were held in high esteem As hunting dogs, they are highly regarded to this day and their market value is correspondingly high. 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.  

 

 

gold weights as money

 

 

 

In some areas of Africa it is believed that dogs including Basenjis stole " the fire" from the gods. In some African tribes they are known as "talking dogs" or "witches dogs" and the more dogs that are owned by the Medicine man, the stronger his powers and healing skills. Basenjis were sacrificed in their  rituals  up to date. With the downfall of Egypt, knowledge about Basenji Type Dogs disappeared. In the middle of the 19th century European Africa explorers discovered Basenjis in Central Africa.