0 comments Bumi means Life

After much debate amongst our Tongan staff at Bumi Hills we have ascertained the following about the meaning of Bumi!

Bumi Hills was so named by the Tonga people that have inhabited the area for centuries and long before Lake Kariba was even an idea!  The Tonga are a very spiritual people and believe that when someone dies they live on in the natural form of trees located in high places.  According to Tongan people still resident in the Mola district surrounding the Bumi Wilderness Area these two factors, height and tree size, are central to the belief.  Bumi Hills Safari Lodge is situated on the highest hill in the surrounding area and is home to scores of Baobab trees, the biggest tree in the world.

Approximately 10km east of Bumi Hills the Ume river flows into Lake Kariba.  It is one of the biggest tributaries of the Zambezi.  Now this is the confusing part.  Ume and Bumi sound similar don't they?  Well Ume is the Shona word for Wild Dog.  History would tell us that the Shona only came to the Zambezi Valley after the Tonga.  This river was also called Bumi by the Tonga people.  So it is relatively feasible to say that the Tonga name for the river was overtaken by the Shona and renamed the Ume.

Bumi roughly translates from Tongan as "life" in English and from the stories described above we can begin to understand why!  A fascinating study on the history of this area remains an exciting opportunity for a keen anthropologist!