Tweebuffelsmeteenskootmorsdoodgeskietfontein

26°10′S 26°28′E

Two buffaloes – killing both with a single shot requires considerable marksmanship

Twee­buffels­met­een­skoot­morsdood­geskiet­fontein is a farm in the North West province of South Africa that is noted for its unusually long place name of 44 characters—the longest in South Africa and possibly fourth-longest in the world. Located in the Ditsobotla Local Municipality of the Ngaka Modiri Molema District Municipality, some 20 kilometres (12 mi) east of the town of Lichtenburg and 200 kilometres (120 mi) west of Pretoria, the name in Afrikaans means "the spring where two buffaloes were shot stone-dead with one shot" (Afrikaans: Twee buffels met een skoot morsdood geskiet fontein). Originally granted to A.P. de Nysschen on 24 April 1866 by the government of the South African Republic, Twee­buffels­met­een­skoot­morsdood­geskiet­fontein is also sometimes known by the shortenings Twee buffels (Two buffaloes) and Twee Buffels Geskiet (Two buffaloes shot).

Name

The name in Afrikaans means "the spring where two buffaloes were shot stone-dead with one shot" (Afrikaans: Twee buffels met een skoot morsdood geskiet fontein).^[1] 44 characters long, it is the longest place name in South Africa and possibly fourth-longest in the world.^[2][3] The literal translation is "Twee buffels" = "Two buffaloes", "met een skoot" = "with one shot"; "morsdood" = "stone dead"; "geskiet" = "shot"; "fontein" = "spring (river source)" or "fountain".^[1] For brevity, it is sometimes known by the shortenings Twee buffels (Two buffaloes)^[4] and Twee Buffels Geschiet (Two buffaloes shot).^[5]

The name follows a common format for Afrikaans-language place names in South Africa, and illustrates the compounding nature of Germanic languages including Afrikaans, itself derived from Dutch. All the descriptive terms relating to one concept can generally be tied together into one long word.^[6] Another example of this would be onderwysleierskapontwikkelingsprojek, which means "education leadership development project."^[6] Such use is, however, not common, and such words are often separated using one or more hyphens if they become too long or unwieldy.^[6]

Farm

The farm consists of a farmhouse and ranch, and is located in the Ditsobotla Local Municipality of the Ngaka Modiri Molema District Municipality, North West province of South Africa some 20 kilometres (12 mi) east of the town of Lichtenburg and 200 kilometres (120 mi) west of Pretoria.^[7][8]

History

The farm was originally granted to A.P. de Nysschen on 24 April 1866 by the government of the South African Republic. It is referred to in a 1914 survey diagram as "Twee Buffels Geschiet" (Two buffaloes shot) and shown as having an area of 6,119 morgen and 429 square roods (5241.7 hectares).^[5] Records from British concentration camps during the Second Boer War records five residents of Twee­buffels­met­een­skoot­morsdood­geskiet­fontein in 1901.^[9] In 1985, Twee­buffels­met­een­skoot­morsdood­geskiet­fontein was the subject of an Afrikaans-language song written by Fanus Rautenbach [af] and performed by Anton Goosen. Rautenbach had originally written the song in 1978, and it tells of the supposed hunter Gysie Grootlief who volunteers to shoot a giant buffalo with twelve-foot wide horns terrorising the hamlet of Sannaspos.^[10]

See also

• Afrikaans grammar
• Longest word in Afrikaans

References

1. Berger, Nathan (1982). Chapters from South African History, Jewish, and General (2 ed.). Kayor Publishing House. p. 181.
2. Euston, K.; Euston-Brown, Kim; Heese, Sue (2003). New Africa Social Science. New Africa Books. p. 25. ISBN 978-1-86928-282-0.
3. Douglas, Andrew (18 August 2022). "Longest Place Names In The World". World Atlas. World Facts. Retrieved 4 April 2023.
4. "Column 8". The Sydney Morning Herald. 13 November 2003. Retrieved 4 April 2023.
5. Surveyor-General's Office (19 October 1914). "Twee Buffels Geschiet". Survey diagram A1695/1914. Registration Division. Archived from the original on 11 July 2020. Retrieved 2 May 2014.
6. Jenkins, Elwyn (2007). Falling Into Place: The Story of Modern South African Place Names. New Africa Books. p. 64. ISBN 978-0-86486-689-9.
7. 2626AB GaRamodingwana (Topographic) (3rd ed.). 1:50,000. South Africa Topographic. Chief Directorate: National Geo-spatial Information. 2006 – via Avenza Maps.
8. "Gqeberha: Changing names is symbolism, nothing more and nothing less". Independent Online. 27 February 2021. Retrieved 4 April 2023.
9. "Tweebuffels". British Concentration Camps Database (BCCD). University of Cape Town. Retrieved 4 April 2023.
10. Jenkins, Elwyn (August 2019). "Folksong and Ballad as Social Comment in some South African Railway Poems and Songs". English in Africa. 46 (2): 103–122. doi:10.4314/eia.v46i2.6. JSTOR 48563144. S2CID 204718799. Retrieved 4 April 2023.