Basenji History history

The Basenji is one of the most ancient dog breeds. Originating on the continent of Africa, it has been venerated by humans for thousands of years. Basenjis can be seen on steles in the tombs of Egyptian pharaohs, sitting at the feet of their masters, looking just as they do today, with erect ears and tightly curled tail.

The Basenji had almost totally disappeared from the West when Europeans came across it in the Congo in 1895. There, the Basenji was prized by locals for its intelligence, courage, speed, and silence. They were assistants to the hunt, chasing wild game into nets for their masters. The Azande and Mangbetu people from the northeastern Congo region describe Basenjis, in the local Lingala language, as mbw� na bas??nzi. Translated, this means �dogs of the savages�, or �dogs of the villagers�. The word bas??nzi itself is the plural form of mos??nzi which is a deformation of the French insult white people used for illiterate indigenous people: mon singe (meaning �my monkey�). In Kiswahili, another Bantu language, from East Africa, mbwa shenzi translates to �wild dog�. Another local name is m�bwa m�kube m�bwa wamwitu, or �jumping up and down dog�, a reference to their tendency to jump straight up to spot their quarry.

Several attempts were made to bring the breed to England, but the earliest imports succumbed to disease. It was not until the 1930s that foundation stock was successfully established in England, and thence to the United States by animal importer Henry Trefflich. So it is that nearly all the Basenjis in the Western world are descended from these few original imports. The breed was officially accepted into the AKC in 1943. For a fascinating account of the importation of the Basenji from Africa, read The History of the Breed[1], a letter to the AKC in support of opening the stud book to admit new African imports. The AKC stud book was reopened to several new imports in 1990 at the request of the Basenji Club of America.

The title character of the 1954 novel Good-bye, My Lady, by James H. Street, is a Basenji.

Complete List
Afghan Hound	Airdale Terrier	African Wild Dog	Akita Inu	American Akita
Alaskan Malamute	American Cocker Spaniel	American Eskimo Dog	American Foxhound	American Staffordshire Terrier
American Water Spaniel	Anatolian Shepherd	Appenzeller Sennenhunde	Argentine Dogo	Australian Cattle Dog
Australian Shepherd	Australian Terrier	Azawakh	Basenji	Basset Hound
Beagle	Bearded Collie	Beauceron	Bedlington Terrier	Belgian Sheperd Dog (Laekenois)
Belgian Sheperd Dog (Malinois)	Belgian Sheepdog	Belgian Sheperd Dog (Tervuren)	Bergamasco	Bernese Mountain Dog
Bichon Frise	Black and Tan Coonhound	Black Russian Terrier	Bloodhound	Bluetick Coonhound
Border Collie	Border Terrier	Borzoi	Boston Terrier	Bouvier des Flandres
Boxer	Boykin Spaniel	Bracco Italiano	Briard	Brussels Griffon
Bulldog	Bullmastiff	Bull Terrier	Cairn Terrier	Canaan Dog
Cane Corso	Cardigan Welsh Corgi	Catahoula Leopard Dog	Caucasian Mountain Dog	Cavalier King Charles Spaniel
Cesky Terrier	Chesapeake Bay Retriever	Chihuahua	Chinese Crested Dog	Chinese Shar-Pei
Chinook	Chow Chow	Clumber Spaniel	Collie	Coton de Tulear
Curly Coated Retriever	Czechoslovakian Wolfdog	Dachshund	Dalmatian	Dandie Dinmont Terrier
Doberman Pinscher	English Bulldog	English Cocker Spaniel	English Fox Hound	English Setter
English Springer Spaniel	English Toy Spaniel	Field Spaniel	Finnish Spitz	Flat Coated Retriever
French Bulldog	German Pinscher	German Shepherd Dog	German Shorthaired Pointer	German Wirehaired Pointer
Giant Schnauzer	Glen of Imaal Terrier	Golden Retriever	Gordon Setter	Great Dane
Greater Swiss Mountain Dog	Great Pyrenees	Greyhound	Harrier	Havanese
Ibizan Hound	Irish Setter	Irish Terrier	Irish Water Spaniel	Irish Wolfhound
Italian Greyhound	Japanese Chin	Kerry Blue Terrier	Komondor	Kuvasz
Labrador Retriever	Lagotto Romagnolo	Lakeland Terrier	Lancashire Heeler	Leonberger
Lhasa Apso	L�wchen	Maltese	Manchester Terrier	Mastiff
Miniature Bull Terrier	Miniature Pinscher	Mudi	Neapolitan Mastiff	Newfoundland
Norfolk Terrier	Norwegian Buhund	Norwegian Elkhound	Norwegian Lundehund	Norwich Terrier
Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retriever	Old English Sheepdog	Otterhound	Papillon	Parson Russell Terrier
Pekingese	Pembroke Welsh Corgi	Perro de Presa Canario	Peruvian Inca Orchid	Petit Basset Griffon Vend�en
Pharaoh Hound	Plott Hound	Pointer	Polish Lowland Sheepdog	Pomeranian
Poodle	Portuguese Podengo	Portuguese Water Dog	Pudelpointer	Pug
Puli	Pumi	Pyrenean Shepherd	Rafeiro do Alentejo	Rat Terrier
Redbone Coonhound	Rhodesian Ridgeback	Rottweiler	Saint Bernard	Saluki
Samoyed	Schipperke	Scottish Deerhound	Scottish Terrier	Sealyham Terrier
Shetland Sheepdog	Shiba Inu	Shih Tzu	Siberian Husky	Silky Terrier
Skye Terrier	Sloughi	Smooth Fox Terrier	Soft Coated Wheaten Terrier	Spinone Italiano
Stabyhoun	Staffordshire Bull Terrier	Standard Schnauzer	Sussex Spaniel	Swedish Vallhund
Thai Ridgeback	Tibetan Mastiff	Tibetan Spaniel	Tibetan Terrier	Tosa
Toy Fox Terrier	Treeing Tennessee Brindle	Treeing Walker Coonhound	Vizsla	Weimaraner
Welsh Springer Spaniel	Welsh Terrier	West Highland White Terrier	Whippet	Wire Fox Terrier
Wirehaired Pointing Griffon	Xoloitzcuintli	Yorkshire Terrier