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Phil_in_the_UK
.275 member

Reged: 30/04/03
Posts: 60
Loc: United Kingdom

Mopane
#24229 - 16/01/05 04:01 AM

Gentlemen, I was wondering just how the word mopane is pronounced.

Always reading about hunting in the stuff but I heard it pronounced a third variation on Discovery last night.

They can’t all be right, or are there regional variations.

I never heard it pronounced when I was hunting in Namibia, no mopane in the area.

Is it “mo pain”?

Is it “mo faani”?

Or is it “mo paani”?

If you get what I mean.

Regards

Phil

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EricD
.416 member

Reged: 27/02/04
Posts: 4636

Re: Mopane [Re: Phil_in_the_UK]
#24231 - 16/01/05 04:54 AM

“mo paanee”.

If you get what I mean!

Erik

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vapodog
.300 member

Reged: 28/12/04
Posts: 237
Loc: Nebraska USA

Re: Mopane [Re: EricD]
#24233 - 16/01/05 05:04 AM

Erik, do you mean mo (like in Mow the grass) pony (like in short horse).....except the "O" in pony is really an "A" like in apple?...try this ...mo'panny.....eh?

--------------------

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EricD
.416 member

Reged: 27/02/04
Posts: 4636

Re: Mopane [Re: vapodog]
#24239 - 16/01/05 07:54 AM

Vapodog,

Mo (like in the "Mow" the lawn), Pa (like if you say "Pa" instead of Pappa to your father), Nee (like "knee", between thigh and leg)

I hope this was clearer!

At least that's the pronounciation we heard throughout southern africa.

We used Mopane a lot for making campfires, and it creates fantastic coals to make a braai on. The coals often last till morning.

Erik

Ps. "Mopane worms" are yummy!

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mikeh416Rigby
.450 member

Reged: 24/02/03
Posts: 6051
Loc: The beautiful Oley Valley, PA....

Re: Mopane [Re: Phil_in_the_UK]
#24262 - 16/01/05 01:26 PM

What ErikD said in his last post.

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shakari
.400 member

Reged: 09/02/03
Posts: 1107
Loc: South Africa

Re: Mopane [Re: mikeh416Rigby]
#24289 - 16/01/05 07:47 PM

Erik's right. Amongst other uses for Mopane it's a source of the mopane worm which can be roasted and eaten if you don't have anything better! If you debark the branch and scorch it over a fire it becomes much harder and more useful for building, it's often used in making furniture and it's a popular food source for game........esp Elephants.

--------------------
Steve "Shakari" Robinson
Kuduland Safaris (Africa) Ltd
info@kuduland.com
www.kuduland.com

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SAHUNT
Sponsor

Reged: 27/12/04
Posts: 900
Loc: Centurion, RSA

Re: Mopane [Re: EricD]
#24291 - 16/01/05 08:10 PM

ErikD
You are good with the explaining part, you should be able to learn "Afrikaans" words easily.

Shakiri
I tried Mopani worms in a chilly saauce,the sauce was very nice but the worms was tasteless for me. However it it a deli with the blacks, they usually eat it with "mielie pap".

--------------------
Life is how you pass the time between hunting trips.
Sometimes I do not express myself properly in the English language, please forgive me, I am just a boertjie.
Jaco Human
jacohu@mweb.co.za
SA Hunting Experience

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shakari
.400 member

Reged: 09/02/03
Posts: 1107
Loc: South Africa

Re: Mopane [Re: SAHUNT]
#24294 - 16/01/05 08:36 PM

I've also eaten them and wasn't very impressed either, but to quote a famous Aussie........."taste's like shit, but it'll keep you alive"

Personally, I'd rather have a nice steak.......actually, I'd even prefer Buffalo to mopane worms.........and I get sick to death of Buffalo!

--------------------
Steve "Shakari" Robinson
Kuduland Safaris (Africa) Ltd
info@kuduland.com
www.kuduland.com

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EricD
.416 member

Reged: 27/02/04
Posts: 4636

Re: Mopane [Re: shakari]
#24296 - 16/01/05 08:50 PM

I've eaten Mopane worms with a chilli sauce, and with a peanut(groundnut) sauce. The latter was best, and I rather liked it! But then the worms beat other stuff I had to eat in north africa such as moldy dried camel meat and rotten fishheads...

Erik (Connoisseur of odd food sources!)

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mikeh416Rigby
.450 member

Reged: 24/02/03
Posts: 6051
Loc: The beautiful Oley Valley, PA....

Re: Mopane [Re: shakari]
#24306 - 17/01/05 02:20 AM

One of the true delights of being on Safari is returning to camp in the evening and smelling the sweet smoke of a mopane fire while you're enjoying a sundowner.

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SAHUNT
Sponsor

Reged: 27/12/04
Posts: 900
Loc: Centurion, RSA

Re: Mopane [Re: mikeh416Rigby]
#24330 - 17/01/05 08:51 AM

I will never forget the first Kudu bull I shot. I came across a group of Kudus and I moved around and wait for them to move into a clearing. As I sat behind a tree the wind blowed the smell of the Mopane passed my nose, I was so taken up with the smell of the Mopani I almost missed the Kudus, luckily I did get mine.

--------------------
Life is how you pass the time between hunting trips.
Sometimes I do not express myself properly in the English language, please forgive me, I am just a boertjie.
Jaco Human
jacohu@mweb.co.za
SA Hunting Experience

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AussieMike
.300 member

Reged: 01/09/04
Posts: 236
Loc: Southern Tablelands, NSW, Aust...

Re: Mopane [Re: SAHUNT]
#24450 - 18/01/05 01:23 PM

Is Mopane the wood that gives you diarrhoea if you use it to make a barbecue?

mike

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mikeh416Rigby
.450 member

Reged: 24/02/03
Posts: 6051
Loc: The beautiful Oley Valley, PA....

Re: Mopane [Re: AussieMike]
#24469 - 18/01/05 03:20 PM

Mike, not that I'm aware of. We've used it in every camp I've been in, and have never had a problem.

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shakari
.400 member

Reged: 09/02/03
Posts: 1107
Loc: South Africa

Re: Mopane [Re: mikeh416Rigby]
#24473 - 18/01/05 03:52 PM

You're thinking of the Tamboti (Spirostachys Africana). The resin will cause severe stomach upset if you use it to cook with. Also the resin can cause severe eye irritation. The good news is that small pieces of bark scattered in your clothes will act as a moth repellant and once it's properly seasoned it's great for carving.

Another tree that has masty resin is the Euphorbia Ingens (Candalabre Tree).......in fact any of the Euphorbia family. Good uses for the resin is to burn away warts and it can also be used to stun fish........just lop off a branch and chuck it in a waterhole.

--------------------
Steve "Shakari" Robinson
Kuduland Safaris (Africa) Ltd
info@kuduland.com
www.kuduland.com

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AspenHill
Sponsor

Reged: 08/01/03
Posts: 1528
Loc: Vermont, USA

Re: Mopane [Re: shakari]
#24521 - 19/01/05 06:47 AM

I really enjoy the smell of Tamboti wood fires. I get the impression the "natives" are not affected by cooking on this wood. Each time I am in Natal it seems you can smell the Tamboti scent rising up the hills from the local's fires.

--------------------
~Ann

Everyday spent outdoors is the best day of my life.

Aspen Hill Adventures

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shakari
.400 member

Reged: 09/02/03
Posts: 1107
Loc: South Africa

Re: Mopane [Re: AspenHill]
#24630 - 20/01/05 07:05 AM

Ann,

They usually avoid it like the plague.........I doubt very much that it's burning tamboti you smelled, not only because of what it does to the stomach but also because it only occurs near watercourses and that would mean that the wood gatherers would have to carry it up more hills to get it home.

Dependant on area, they would probably burn acacia of some kind.......

Tamboti is very easy to identify. It has a darkish broken bark and if you pull a leaf off the tree it will weep white stcky sap. Other ways to identify the tree are little or nothing growing in it's shade (it changes the PH level of the surrounding soil to discourage competitive growth) and it's often been ringbarked by porcupines which are about the only animal that can eat it.........The other way is to look in the tree book!

--------------------
Steve "Shakari" Robinson
Kuduland Safaris (Africa) Ltd
info@kuduland.com
www.kuduland.com

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mikeh416Rigby
.450 member

Reged: 24/02/03
Posts: 6051
Loc: The beautiful Oley Valley, PA....

Re: Mopane [Re: shakari]
#24647 - 20/01/05 12:14 PM

Shakari-on my last trip to Zulu Land we stayed in a bush camp in Umfolozi Game Reserve. While there, my P.H./friend pointed out a tree to avoid (can't recall the name), but he said if you happen to even come into contact with smoke from a fire made from it, it causes severe skin blistering/irritation/itching. Could this be the same tree? It also weeped a white, sticky sap.

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vapodog
.300 member

Reged: 28/12/04
Posts: 237
Loc: Nebraska USA

Re: Mopane [Re: mikeh416Rigby]
#24651 - 20/01/05 12:40 PM

In reply to:

pointed out a tree to avoid (can't recall the name),

This is the "foo" tree (rhymes with screw) and is especially serious if the sap gets in your eyes. It has the unusual property that until it comes in direct contact with water it's only an irritant but as soon as one tries to wash it away it blinds the hunter immediately and can even cause death. The sap sadly has a horrible odor (like shit) and it is from this tree and it's unusual nature that the saying developed....."if the foo shits, wear it!

--------------------

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shakari
.400 member

Reged: 09/02/03
Posts: 1107
Loc: South Africa

Re: Mopane [Re: mikeh416Rigby]
#24664 - 20/01/05 03:59 PM

Mike,

I don't know of a tree that can be that nasty. It could be that the guy who told you about it was adding a bit of good old Afrcian exaggeration or it could be that I simply don't know about it. I guess I know the bush pretty well and I certainly was lucky enough to have some great teachers, but I certainly wouldn't claim to know everything about it.....actually, the more I know about the bush the more I realise there's even more to learn.

The two worst trees that I know of (esp in zululand) are the tamboti which I've described and the euphorbias which look like giant (green) cactus, but are actually a tree. The most common euphorbia in Zululand (now KZN) is the Euphorbia Ingens of giant candelaba tree.

Both trees also have good uses.

Vapordog

.............I'll have to remember that one !

--------------------
Steve "Shakari" Robinson
Kuduland Safaris (Africa) Ltd
info@kuduland.com
www.kuduland.com

Edited by shakari (20/01/05 04:01 PM)

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Bigfive
Sponsor

Reged: 06/01/03
Posts: 362
Loc: Freestate,South-Africa

Re: Mopane [Re: shakari]
#24666 - 20/01/05 05:25 PM

Shakari,Isnt this tree also called the Naboom???If not I know that the naboom also have a milky juice to when breaking or damaging it and it is a fact that the bushmen used to cover their arrowheads with this milk as a poison when hunting.

--------------------
"Hunting is a way of life"
Bigfive,South Africa

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shakari
.400 member

Reged: 09/02/03
Posts: 1107
Loc: South Africa

Re: Mopane [Re: Bigfive]
#24703 - 21/01/05 04:40 AM

Bigfive

The problem with the non- scientific names is that they can cause a lot of confusion. The same tree can have different names in different areas. I think Naboom is an Afrikaans name and I'm afraid my Afrikaans is lousy, so I can't give you a definative answer on that one........however, Bushman county is generally very dry and I'm not sure the Euphorbia Ingens would occur in such a dry climate.....but I guess some of the smaller Euphorbia's might. Which might possibly mean that the sap might be more potent or concentrated?

The person I could have gone to for an answer got killed by an Elephant last year so I'll just have to work on it myself and see if I can find out any more info on this.......

--------------------
Steve "Shakari" Robinson
Kuduland Safaris (Africa) Ltd
info@kuduland.com
www.kuduland.com

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