Narina in Narina or Narina’s Trogon … in French (1 Viewer)

Here´s yet another somewhat "tricky" etymology issue …

Regarding the African species Narina Trogon Apaloderma narina STEPHENS 1815 (based on Levaillant 1806) a k a "Narina's Trogon".

It is sometimes claimed to origin in the Khoi-khoi, Khoisan (Hottentot) word Narina meaning Flower, other claim its original intension was being an eponym; commemorating the wife of "Klaas"*

According to Lesson, she, Klaas's wife, "Narina" (also?) had an ill-sounding and unpronounceable name and thereby was called "Narina" (Fleur/Flower) by Levaillant (as well, according to some, being his mistress!? If the latter also derives from Lesson, if so when and where, I do not know). But doesn´t the genitive s in the alternate Common name "Narina's" indicate that we actually are looking for a person?

This species was described for the first time under the head-line "LE COUROUCOU NARINA" (and on the Plates Le Couroucou Narina) by Levaillant in 1806 (as usual, of him, without any scientific, binary names, or other linnean nonsense, French was good enough!) in Histoire naturelle des Oiseaux d´Afrique: pp. 104-107. (attached). Link to full volume (here).

The text starts with the sentence:

"Ce couroucou d'Afrique auquel je donne le nom de narina qui en langue hottentote signifie fleur, a ans doute beaucoup ... "

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... that, with my limited knowledge of French, simply seem to support the first claim, but there might be more hidden in that account. Is she, Klaas's wife, mentioned at all? In any, whatsoever subtle or discreet way?

Anyone of you guys, with better understanding of French, feel like reading it, and tell me if it reveal the truth of either claim?

If so, please pin-point any certain quote-worthy part that verifies either one.

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*Commemorated in "Le Coucou de Klaas" a k a Klaas's Cuckoo Chrysococcyx klaas STEPHENS 1815 (based on the same book, by Levaillant). He was the French exlorer François Levaillant's native servant and guide. His actuall, native, original name is unknown.

"Ce couroucou d'Afrique auquel je donne le nom de narina qui en langue hottentote signifie fleur, a sans doute beaucoup ... "

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"This African trogon to which I give the name of narina which in the Hottentot language means flower, has probably a lot..."

He gives no other clue.

What I do know, she was the mistress of Francois Levaillant. But can't source it now. One sample quickly found.

The story of Narina was related by Levaillant himself in his Voyage dans l'intérieur de l'Afrique [here].
But as far as I can see, she was just a 16-year-old girl he noticed in the crowd in a village where he had stopped, ie., absolutely not Klaas' wife.

p.369:

Je trouvois son nom difficile à prononcer, désagréable à l'oreille, et très insignifiant pour mon esprit; je la débaptisai et la nommai Narina, qui signifie fleur en language Hottentot; je la priai de conserver ce beau nom qui lui convenoit à mille égards; elle me promit de le porter tant qu'elle vivroit, comme un souvenir de mon passage dans son Pays et comme un témoignage de son amour, [...]

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"I found her name difficult to pronounce, unpleasant to the ear, and very insignificant to my mind; I unbaptized her and named her Narina, which means flower in Hottentot language; I asked her to keep this beautiful name that was proper to her in a thousand ways; she promised me to bear it as long as she would live, in memory of my visit in her Country and as a token of her love, [...]"

The wording is quite similar to that used to name the bird, but there is no clear evidence that both are related. Note that he did not capitalize narina for the bird, but did it for the girl. It is in any case completely different from the cuckoo, which is clearly named "Coucou de Klaas", with a long text explaining why. He was pretty expansive about Narina in Voyage, so why would he have made his dedication hidden here?

There has been some suggestion (see, eg., [here]--it's in Dutch, sorry; should be ok for Justin, a bit harder for Björn) that the whole "Narina love story" may well have been a fake, entirely created by Levaillant in order to make his book more romantic.

An article from 1805 in French about Narina? A "une fable convenue" a story agreed upon?
Page 169:
http://books.google.com/books?id=az...r+en+language+Hottentot&source=gbs_navlinks_s .

mb1848 said:

An article from 1805 in French about Narina? A "une fable convenue" a story agreed upon?
Page 169:
http://books.google.com/books?id=az...r+en+language+Hottentot&source=gbs_navlinks_s .

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The main text is an excerpt from Levaillant's Voyage dans l'intérieur de l'Afrique, which I linked above, here reproduced in a book that presents a compilation of novels. The introducing text may be relevant, though. Particularly:

On a dit de l'histoire que c'était une fable convenue et cela n'est que trop vrai. On a dit des voyageurs A beau mentir qui vient de loin et cela n'est pas moins vrai. On l'a dit sur tout de le Vaillant. Sans vouloir aggraver cette inculpation, ni même la prendra au sérieux, nous extrairons de son premier voyage un épisode que le rédacteur (M. Varon) y avait ajouté pour égayer ou varier le sujet. Ce n'est pas à nous qu'il appartient de trouver mauvais qu'on mêle le roman aux voyages. Cela justifie seulement la liberté que nous prenons d'emprunter quelquefois les récits des voyageurs.

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The meaning is more or less:
"It has been said of history that it is an agreed-upon story, and it is but too true. It has been said of travellers that those from afar can lie with impunity, and it is no less true. This has been said chiefly about Levaillant. Without wishing to worsen this charge, or even take it seriously, we will extract from his first travel a chapter that the editor (Mr. Varon) had added to brighten or vary the subject. It is not up to us to find it bad that romance gets mixed to travel. This only justifies the freedom that we take, to borrow sometimes their stories from the travellers."

Levaillant was born and raised in Guyane, and apparently did not master French too well. For his first book (Voyage), he used the help of an editor, Casimir Varon, to enhance the style of his text. The above introduction, from 1805, already says that the Narina story is fake, claiming that it was added to the text by Varon.

One small question ... to Justin

JustinJansen said:

What I do know, she was the mistress of Francois Levaillant. But can't source it now. One sample quickly found.

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Justin, from what little I can understand (helped by Google translate) of the link you attached , doesn´t that indicate (exactly what Laurent is telling us) that Levaillant's romantic affair with this Narina was only fiction?

I tend to agree ...

One little question-mark, Laurent ...

... before I try to conclude my entries in this thread.

l_raty said:

The story of Narina was related by Levaillant himself in his Voyage dans l'intérieur de l'Afrique [here].
But as far as I can see, she was just a 16-year-old girl he noticed in the crowd in a village where he had stopped, ie., absolutely not Klaas' wife.

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How come the definite "absolutely not ..." ?

Marriages is far from unheard of, especially of various indigenous people (as well among westerners) at that age, in that Era?

I don´t claim you are wrong, no no, I more and more tend to agree that this so-claimed romance was a way of "spicing up" the story, but I´m curious of your choice of wording. Do you maybe have some unknown proof showing that she, by no way, impossibly, could have been Klaas's wife?

Like I said; just curious.

I surely agree that the narina vs Narina does indicate that Levaillant (unregardless of the girl, or whatever realation he had, or had not, to her) gave the Bird the name Fleur (Flower).

Calalp said:

How come the definite "absolutely not ..." ?

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To the extent that we can believe what he wrote... Klaas appeared much earlier in the story and was a Hottentot proper. She was a Gonaqua, thus of different ethnicity, and part of a group of people that he met while travelling (with Klaas). She had a mother and a sister, but he says nothing about any husband.

Good reply! I get it.

Cheers!

I cannot find anything more in this matter …

I now think it´s fairly safe to claim that narina does means Fleur (flower) and that the Trogon wasn´t named after any girl with the same "nickname" (Narina - unregardless if she was anyone's mistress, wife or not). Also compare with HBW Alive.

I think the alleged "romance" between Narina (the Hottentot girl) and Levaillant, or/and the suggested marriage to Klaas, was only a way to spice up the stories, to put some "romance" (sex, intrigue and infedelity) into Levaillant's Great Adventure. Even then they knew how the market, the minds many readers, worked. And works.

There seem to be no trustworthy evidence (that I, with my meager French!) can find of any closer relationship whatsoever connecting her to neither Levaillant nor Klaas.

Giving us the etymology: Narina Trogon Apaloderma narina = "Flower Trogon"

But it was worth checking it out! That´s that.

narina … over and out!