| sjwalker38 | 27 Jan 2015 9:38 a.m. PST |
Apologies if I've asked this before on this forum but I need some suggestions for a set of colonial rules I'm working on – I need some suitable native terms that might roughly translate as "Big Man", "Mighty Warrior" etc. The Zulu term would be 'iziKhulu' but what might be the equivalent for the Mahdists and Hadendowah of the Sudan in 1884-1898, the Pathans and North West Frontier tribes or, indeed, other colonial opponents of the British such as the Maoris? All suggestions much appreciated! |
| zippyfusenet | 27 Jan 2015 10:18 a.m. PST |
If your natives are Muslim there will be a tendency to adopt Arabic terms and names. Ghazi is a holy warrior and Ghazi Hassan is a bad mofo wherever he hails from. He could be a Pathan or Sudanese or Moro or Malay. |
 enfant perdus  | 27 Jan 2015 10:26 a.m. PST |
Bahadur would be very suitable for the NW Frontier, as well as much of the rest of the Subcontinent. Its literal meaning is "brave", but it denotes something more than that. It was often bestowed as an honorific to great warriors or soldiers, and in later days to other very accomplished individuals. |
| sjwalker38 | 27 Jan 2015 10:49 a.m. PST |
I was thinking of 'Bahadur' as 'Burra Sahib' seemed a bit too 'colonial' somehow. Any idea what the plural of 'Bahadur' would be? Someone else suggested 'Mahavira' meaning 'Great Hero' as well, but I'm not sure? |
| enfant perdus | 27 Jan 2015 2:30 p.m. PST |
No idea of the plural. The advantage of bahadur is that, while we Anglophones associate it with the Raj, it predates British India and extends to a wide variety of cultures. It was used by Muslims, Hindus and Sikhs, from Afghanistan to the Carnatic and across the Deccan. In its cognate form it was also used in Persia, Georgia, and by the Turkic speaking tribes of Central Asia. Mahavira is Sanskrit and would not really be fitting. |
| Henry Martini | 28 Jan 2015 5:35 a.m. PST |
Malik is used across a wide swathe of Asia to mean chief, prince, or king, and also as a first name for boys. |
| Smokey Roan | 29 Jan 2015 12:00 p.m. PST |
In ancient Mexican and Spanish, the word for "Mighty Warrior" is "El Cholo". Some Hispanic gals used to call me that all the time. |
| blacksmith | 29 Jan 2015 1:33 p.m. PST |
El cholo? I think that's exclusively Mexican. |
| Smokey Roan | 29 Jan 2015 7:00 p.m. PST |
They were Mexican gals who called me that, Blacksmith. :) I do know it means "Mighty Warrior, Hot Dude" That's what they told me. |
 ochoin | 30 Jan 2015 3:17 a.m. PST |
"Toa" is the Maori word for brave man/warrior. |
| sjwalker38 | 31 Jan 2015 4:50 a.m. PST |
Oh, that's a useful one, ochoin, just the sort of thing I need, thanks a lot! |
