where do the CRK knife names come from?

sogflash

sogflash

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Sebenza, Umfaan, Mnandi, Umnumzaan and the list goes on.

where are these names from? what's the inspiration or reason behind them?
 
They are all Zulu words. Mr. Reeve is South African and the names are derived from the tribes he grew up around ...I believe that's the answer anyway.
 
I'm pretty sure that Sebenza means 'worker', Insingo means 'razor' or 'sharp', and Umnumzaan means 'boss'. I don't know what Umfaan or Mnandi translate as.
 
They come from the same place as me and Chris.........The South African province of Natal. The city of Durban to be more precise.

The predominant black tribe in Natal are the Zulu's. All the weird CRK names are Zulu words.

Most of us who grew up in Natal have a smattering of Zulu but Chris's Zulu was very good.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Durban
 
Alfaholic said:
They come from the same place as me and Chris.........The South African province of Natal. The city of Durban to be more precise.

The predominant black tribe in Natal are the Zulu's. All the weird CRK names are Zulu words.

Most of us who grew up in Natal have a smattering of Zulu but Chris's Zulu was very good.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Durban
Click to expand...

Im curious, when you say "smattering" do you mean able to speak the language?
 
;)
lemmuhj said:
Im curious, when you say "smattering" do you mean able to speak the language?
Click to expand...

It may be the polite way of saying he can swear fluently in Zulu but any other conversation will be a bit fragmented ;)

Sebenza is also the name of an industrial area in Johannesburg, I see signs pointing me toward Sebenza(s) most days ... it does the desire for another one no good!
 
lemmuhj said:
Im curious, when you say "smattering" do you mean able to speak the language?
Click to expand...

It's complicated.

Growing up in Apartheid South Africa whites did not learn Black languages in school. Indeed at my my school Black languages were not even offered. So in those days Whites who spoke Black languages were few and far between.
I learned English as my first language and Afrikaans as a second language. Today English is quickly becoming the dominant language in South Africa and I estimate that in a few more generations all the other ethnic languages will be sidelined.

Chris may have a gift for languages which allowed him to pick up conversational Zulu or he may have been around a lot of Zulu's as a boy and picked it up there. Most of us know phrases and words but little more than that.


psquared said:
;)
It may be the polite way of saying he can swear fluently in Zulu but any other conversation will be a bit fragmented ;)
Sebenza is also the name of an industrial area in Johannesburg, I see signs pointing me toward Sebenza(s) most days ... it does the desire for another one no good!
Click to expand...

Greetings and welcome to BF. Nice to see another homeboy here.:)
Is that the area near OR Tambo Airport? Durban has a few roads and areas called Sebenza as well........
 
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Alfaholic said:
It's complicated.

Greetings and welcome to BF. Nice to see another homeboy here.:)
Is that the area near OR Tambo Airport? Durban has a few roads and areas called Sebenza as well........
Click to expand...

Ta, been lurking for a while, couldn't resit replying to your post though.

Quite right, it's that industrial area on the way to the airport from Jo'burg. Parts of it are looking a bit grim these days as newer industrial areas with better access and buildings are developing.
 
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