The Naming of Zambia's Waterfalls

A Test Case in Critical Toponymy

Bibliographic Data

ID22041007
AuthorsRichard West (0000-0001-5100-0666, University of Manchester, corresponding author)
Year2025
Volume6
Issue2
Publication date2025-01-10
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueJournal of Law and Social Sciences (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 2226-6402
PublisherDirectorate of Research and Graduate Studies, University of Zambia (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.53974/unza.jlss.6.2.1300
OpenAlexW4404567277
LanguageEN
References cited9

It has been claimed that the indigenous names of waterfalls were frequently replaced by European names. This critical toponymic claim is challenged in a test case investigating the names of Zambian waterfalls. The research was undertaken in three parts. First, a quantitative study showed that 97 per cent of 150 named waterfalls have indigenous rather than colonial names. Second, the colonial practices and policies that ensured that Zambian waterfalls retained their indigenous names were traced through contemporary documents. Third, the naming motives of 99 waterfalls were examined through a toponymic typology to reveal how the indigenous names reflect aspects of indigenous culture that are in danger of being marginalised or lost. The results refute the critical hypothesis of toponymic silencing and establish an evidence- based narrative of a colonial policy that ensured that the indigenous names of waterfalls were retained. European names were adopted only if an indigenous name could not be identified

Archaeology · Colonialism · Ethnology · Genealogy · Geography · Indigenous · Linguistics · Narrative · Toponymy · Typology · African history and culture analysis · African history and culture studies · History · Language, Metaphor, and Cognition · Philosophy · Ecology

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