is nearly impossible for a Basenji owner to take a walk with his dog without
being irritated by the attention lavished upon his four-legged companion
by passers-by. In this context a handbook made mention of the fact that
a Basenji is not suitable for people who do not wish to attract attention.
No wonder then, that the fascinating sleek and elegant dog with its red-white,
black-white, brindle or tri-coloured pelt, its dainty body, high runners
and its conspicuous tail, curled halfway up its upper thigh, attracts
so much attention. An owner can often be seen being dragged in a preposterous
slanted posture through the streets by his 40 cm high panting companion.
Although theses dogs have existed for thousands of years, they are still rather unknown in Europe. The Basenji exists as an official breed for approximately 60 years.
The Basenji - a gift from Afrika
The Basenjis are amongst the oldest dogs of the World. The name Basenji means "small wild thing from the bush", which sounds in the language of the Pygmies like "Basenji". This indicates already the origin in Central Africa, that stretched from the heart of the Congo Basin to South Sudan. The Basenjis lived there for thousands of years in a close relationship with the natives e.g. the Pygmy tribes. Normally the dogs lived as an independent pack near to the villages and supported themselves as a rule (dependant on the tribe culture).Also reproduction took place for thousands of years without any special control from humans.
breed has therefore remained very original. Basenjis are regarded as
belonging to the group known as "Schensi-Dogs". This describes dogs
that have not been domesticated, that remain wild. Other well known
members of the Schensi family are the well known Australian dingo or
the Canaan dog from Israel. The origin of the Basenji becomes clear
through one thing, that it, like the wolf, comes on heat only once a
year and then for a period of 30 days. Also Basenjis cannot bark-caused
by their flat larynx. The bark is for humans an appropriate dog characteristic.
Also the wolf, as forerunner of the dogs, as well as the original dog
breeds does not have this ability. Although the Basenji lives completely
independent from the affiliated native tribe, it is inestimably useful.
The “small wild thing” - from the palace of the Pharaoh to Europe
The origin of the breed lies in darkness. The first drawings of the type were found in the tombs of the Great Pyramid of Khufu (Cheops), built approx. 2700 BC in the IV Dynasty. They show small dogs sitting near the feet of their owners or under the chairs. Amongst other tomb furnishings of rich Egyptians and Pharaohs were statues and illustrations of these dogs, which because of its extremely cat like nature ( it moves silently, is free from dog smells and washes itself like a cat) was highly prized by this civilised nation. Presumably the first Basenjis reached Egypt as gifts from the Pygmies to the Pharaohs. With the decline of the Egyptian culture, the knowledge about the Basenji also disappeared.
Another presumption is that the Basenjis reached Central Africa as war trophies; Egypt had lost a war against the Sudan and the victors required for their people the at-that-time most valuable things, namely, precious metals, woman and dogs.
Once again around 1870, African explorers discovered a breed of dog that was small, had long legs, a ringed tail and a short silky fur, in short the Basenji. One of the first Africa explorers, who also described the dwarf Pygmies with strange dogs, was Dr. Schweinfurth. Fascinated, he decided at the end of one of his studies to take a bitch, that appeared to him to be particularly intelligent, back to Europe. The Basenjis urge for freedom came however on the return trip to Europe in Alexandria where she jumped to her death from the second floor of a hotel.
In 1894 appeared finally the first report about Basenjis, still not introduced as breed, in Europe. Since about 60 years the BASENJI is recognised as a breed.
first big breeder of Basenjis was Mrs Olivia Burn, who repeatedly acquired
dogs from the Pygmies in the Congo basin. After several failures (the
dogs died from distemper) she established the breed. In 1937 she created
a sensation at Crufts with the exhibition of her first puppies. Judge
and breeder were positively besieged by the crowd and bombarded with
questions. In the fifties, another famous breeder, Veronica Tudor-Williams,
successfully acquired further Basenjis from Africa to freshen up the
European stock. She discovered the dog "Fula of the Congo" herself on
an expedition in the South Sudan on the border with Zaire, and later
wrote a book about it.
Why has this ancient breed remained so unknown to us?
Basenji is not suitable for all dog lovers. It is indeed highly intelligent
and social, very devoted and extremely clean. It does not bark but this
does not mean that it is dumb. They express their pleasure in meeting
again with a joyful howl that is similar to a jodel. They register their
displeasure with an impressive growl and possess a diverse form of articulation
in their dealings with the other pack members. The natives describe
it often as a "talking dog".
When however the “bad” habits of the breed as described are not disturbing, one can find with a Basenji a loving, devoted, intelligent companion, prepared at any time for a joke.