A safari (; ) is an overland journey to observe

wild animals Wildlife refers to undomesticated animal species, but has come to include all organisms that grow or live wild in an area without being introduced by humans. Wildlife was also synonymous to game: those birds and mammals that were hunted fo ...

, especially in eastern or

southern Africa Southern Africa is the southernmost subregion of the African continent, south of the Congo and Tanzania. The physical location is the large part of Africa to the south of the extensive Congo River basin. Southern Africa is home to a number o ...

. The so-called "Big Five" game animals of Africa –

lion The lion (''Panthera leo'') is a large cat of the genus '' Panthera'' native to Africa and India. It has a muscular, broad-chested body; short, rounded head; round ears; and a hairy tuft at the end of its tail. It is sexually dimorphic; adu ...

leopard The leopard (''Panthera pardus'') is one of the five extant species in the genus '' Panthera'', a member of the cat family, Felidae. It occurs in a wide range in sub-Saharan Africa, in some parts of Western and Central Asia, Southern Russia, ...

rhinoceros A rhinoceros (; ; ), commonly abbreviated to rhino, is a member of any of the five extant species (or numerous extinct species) of odd-toed ungulates in the family Rhinocerotidae. (It can also refer to a member of any of the extinct specie ...

elephant Elephants are the largest existing land animals. Three living species are currently recognised: the African bush elephant, the African forest elephant, and the Asian elephant. They are the only surviving members of the family Elephantida ...

, and Cape buffalo – particularly form an important part of the safari market, both for

wildlife viewing Wildlife observation is the practice of noting the occurrence or abundance of animal species at a specific location and time, either for research purposes or recreation. Common examples of this type of activity are bird watching and whale watchin ...

and

big-game hunting Big-game hunting is the hunting of large game animals for meat, commercially valuable by-products (such as horns/antlers, furs, tusks, bones, body fat/ oil, or special organs and contents), trophy/taxidermy, or simply just for recreation ...

Ernest Hemingway poses with water buffalo, Africa, 1953

Etymology

The Swahili word means "journey", originally from the

Arabic Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C. E.Watson; Walter ...

noun ar, سفر, safar, label=none, meaning "journey", "travel", "trip", or "tour"; the verb for "to travel" in Swahili is . These words are used for any type of journey, e.g. by bus from

Nairobi Nairobi ( ) is the capital and largest city of Kenya. The name is derived from the Maasai phrase ''Enkare Nairobi'', which translates to "place of cool waters", a reference to the Nairobi River which flows through the city. The city proper ...

Mombasa Mombasa ( ; ) is a coastal city in southeastern Kenya along the Indian Ocean. It was the first capital of the British East Africa, before Nairobi was elevated to capital city status. It now serves as the capital of Mombasa County. The town ...

or by ferry from

Dar es Salaam Dar es Salaam (; from ar, دَار السَّلَام, Dâr es-Selâm, lit=Abode of Peace) or commonly known as Dar, is the largest city and financial hub of Tanzania. It is also the capital of Dar es Salaam Region. With a population of over s ...

Unguja Unguja (also referred to as "Zanzibar Island" or simply "Zanzibar", in grc, Μενουθιάς, Menuthias – as mentioned in The ''Periplus of the Erythraean Sea'') is the largest and most populated island of the Zanzibar archipelago, in Tanza ...

. ''Safari'' entered the English language at the end of the 1850s thanks to explorer

Richard Francis Burton Sir Richard Francis Burton (; 19 March 1821 – 20 October 1890) was a British explorer, writer, orientalist scholar,and soldier. He was famed for his travels and explorations in Asia, Africa, and the Americas, as well as his extraordinary kn ...

. The Regimental March of the

King's African Rifles The King's African Rifles (KAR) was a multi-battalion British colonial regiment raised from Britain's various possessions in East Africa from 1902 until independence in the 1960s. It performed both military and internal security functions within ...

was "Funga Safari", literally 'set out on a journey', or, in other words, pack up equipment ready for travel. Which is, in English: On Kenya's independence from the United Kingdom, "Funga Safari" was retained as the Regimental March of the Kenya Rifles, the successor to the KAR.

History

In 1836,

William Cornwallis Harris Major Sir William Cornwallis Harris (baptised 2 April 1807 – died 9 October 1848) was an English military engineer, artist and hunter. Life and career Early life The son of James Harris of Wittersham, Kent, he entered Addiscombe Militar ...

led an expedition purely to observe and record wildlife and landscapes. Harris established the safari style of journey, starting with a not too strenuous rising at first light, an energetic day walking, an afternoon rest then concluding with a formal dinner and telling stories in the evening over drinks and tobacco. The hunting aspect traditionally associated with the safari is said to have its origins in the early 17th century in the region of

Évora Évora ( , ) is a city and a municipality in Portugal. It has 53,591 inhabitants (2021), in an area of 1307.08 km2. It is the historic capital of the Alentejo and serves as the seat of the Évora District. Due to its well-preserved old ...

Alentejo Alentejo ( , ) is a geographical, historical, and cultural region of south–central and southern Portugal. In Portuguese, its name means "beyond () the Tagus river" (''Tejo''). Alentejo includes the regions of Alto Alentejo and Baixo Alent ...

, where villagers got together to hunt wild

boar The wild boar (''Sus scrofa''), also known as the wild swine, common wild pig, Eurasian wild pig, or simply wild pig, is a suid native to much of Eurasia and North Africa, and has been introduced to the Americas and Oceania. The species is ...

and reclaim land for farming. The firm of Newland & Tarlton Ltd (founded 1904) were the pioneers of luxury tented safaris.

Literary genre

Jules Verne Jules Gabriel Verne (;''Longman Pronunciation Dictionary''. ; 8 February 1828 – 24 March 1905) was a French novelist, poet, and playwright. His collaboration with the publisher Pierre-Jules Hetzel led to the creation of the '' Voyages extra ...

's first novel ''

Five Weeks in a Balloon ''Five Weeks in a Balloon, or, A Journey of Discovery by Three Englishmen in Africa'' (french: Cinq semaines en ballon) is an adventure novel by Jules Verne, published in 1863. It is the first novel in which he perfected the "ingredients" of hi ...

'' published in 1863 and

H. Rider Haggard Sir Henry Rider Haggard (; 22 June 1856 – 14 May 1925) was an English writer of adventure fiction romances set in exotic locations, predominantly Africa, and a pioneer of the lost world literary genre. He was also involved in land reform t ...

's first novel ''

King Solomon's Mines ''King Solomon's Mines'' (1885) is a popular novel by the English Victorian adventure writer and fabulist Sir H. Rider Haggard. It tells of a search of an unexplored region of Africa by a group of adventurers led by Allan Quatermain for the ...

'' published in 1885, both describe journeys of English travellers on Safari and were best sellers in their day. These two books gave rise to a genre of Safari adventure novels and films.

Ernest Hemingway Ernest Miller Hemingway (July 21, 1899 – July 2, 1961) was an American novelist, short-story writer, and journalist. His economical and understated style—which he termed the iceberg theory—had a strong influence on 20th-century f ...

wrote several fiction and non-fiction pieces about African safaris. His short stories "

The Short Happy Life of Francis Macomber "The Short Happy Life of Francis Macomber" is a short story by Ernest Hemingway. Set in Africa, it was published in the September 1936 issue of ''Cosmopolitan'' magazine concurrently with " The Snows of Kilimanjaro". The story was eventually adap ...

" and " The Snows of Kilimanjaro" are set on African safaris and were written after Hemingway's own experience on safari. His books ''

Green Hills of Africa ''Green Hills of Africa'' is a 1935 work of nonfiction by American writer Ernest Hemingway. Hemingway's second work of nonfiction, ''Green Hills of Africa'' is an account of a month on safari he and his wife, Pauline Marie Pfeiffer, took in East ...

'' and ''

True at First Light 250px, alt=Bookcover showing a photograph of Mt. Kilimanjaro in the background and a green plain in the foreground , First edition (publ. Scribner) ''True at First Light'' is a book by American novelist Ernest Hemingway about his 1953–54 East ...

'' are both set on African safaris.

Cinematic genre

The safari provided countless hours of cinema entertainment in sound films from ''

Trader Horn Alfred Aloysius "Trader" Horn (born Alfred Aloysius Smith; 1861–1931) was an ivory trader in central Africa. He wrote a book, ''Trader Horn'', detailing his journeys. The book also documents his efforts to free slaves; meet the founder of Rhodes ...

'' (1931) onwards. The safari was used in many adventure films such as the

Tarzan Tarzan (John Clayton II, Viscount Greystoke) is a fictional character, an archetypal feral child raised in the African jungle by the Mangani great apes; he later experiences civilization, only to reject it and return to the wild as a heroic adv ...

Jungle Jim Jungle Jim is the fictional hero of a series of jungle adventures in various media. The series began on January 7, 1934, as an American newspaper comic strip chronicling the adventures of Asia-based hunter Jim Bradley, who was nicknamed Jungle J ...

, and

Bomba the Jungle Boy ''Bomba the Jungle Boy'' is a series of American boys' adventure books produced by the Stratemeyer Syndicate under the pseudonym Roy Rockwood. and published by Cupples and Leon in the first half of the 20th century, in imitation of the successful ...

film series A film series or movie series (also referred to as a film franchise or movie franchise) is a collection of related films in succession that share the same fictional universe, or are marketed as a series. This article explains what film series are ...

up to ''

The Naked Prey ''The Naked Prey'' is a 1965 American adventure film produced and directed by Cornel Wilde, who also stars in the lead role. Set in the South African veldt, the film's plot centers around a safari guide trying to survive in the veldt's harsh envi ...

'' (1965) where

Cornel Wilde Cornel Wilde (born Kornél Lajos Weisz; October 13, 1912 – October 16, 1989) was a Hungarian-American actor and filmmaker. Wilde's acting career began in 1935, when he made his debut on Broadway. In 1936 he began making small, uncredited app ...

, a white hunter, becomes game himself. The safari genre films were parodied in the

Bob Hope Leslie Townes "Bob" Hope (May 29, 1903 – July 27, 2003) was a British-American comedian, vaudevillian, actor, singer and dancer. With a career that spanned nearly 80 years, Hope appeared in more than 70 short and feature films, with ...

comedies '' Road to Zanzibar'' and '' Call Me Bwana''. A short 15-minute

helicopter A helicopter is a type of rotorcraft in which lift and thrust are supplied by horizontally spinning rotors. This allows the helicopter to take off and land vertically, to hover, and to fly forward, backward and laterally. These attribu ...

safari was shown in ''

Africa Addio ''Africa Addio'' (also known as ''Africa: Blood and Guts'' in the United States and ''Farewell Africa'' in the United Kingdom) is a 1966 Italian mondo documentary film co-directed, co-edited and co-written by Gualtiero Jacopetti and Franco Pr ...

'' where clients are armed, flown from their hotel and landed in front of an unlucky and baffled elephant. ''

Out of Africa ''Out of Africa'' is a memoir by the Danish author Karen Blixen. The book, first published in 1937, recounts events of the seventeen years when Blixen made her home in Kenya, then called British East Africa. The book is a lyrical meditation on ...

'' has

Karen Blixen Baroness Karen Christenze von Blixen-Finecke (born Dinesen; 17 April 1885 – 7 September 1962) was a Danish author who wrote works in Danish and English. She is also known under her pen names Isak Dinesen, used in English-speaking countrie ...

and famous hunter

Denys Finch Hatton The Honourable Denys George Finch Hatton MC (24 April 1887 – 14 May 1931) was an English aristocratic big-game hunter and the lover of Baroness Karen Blixen (also known by her pen name, Isak Dinesen), a Danish noblewoman who wrote about h ...

travelling, with Denys refusing to abandon home comforts using fine china and crystal, and listening to Mozart recordings over the gramophone while on safari trip.

Fashion

The safari-style originated from British officers and the jackets worn during their campaigns in Africa. There is a certain theme or style associated with the word, which includes

khaki The color khaki (, ) is a light shade of tan with a slight yellowish tinge. Khaki has been used by many armies around the world for uniforms and equipment, particularly in arid or desert regions, where it provides camouflage relative to sandy ...

clothing, belted

bush jacket A safari jacket or bush jacket also known as a “shacket” is a garment originally designed for the purpose of going on safari in the African bush. When paired with trousers or shorts, it becomes a safari suit. A safari jacket is commonly a lig ...

pith helmet The pith helmet, also known as the safari helmet, salacot, sola topee, sun helmet, topee, and topi) is a lightweight cloth-covered helmet made of sholapith. The pith helmet originates from the Spanish military adaptation of the native '' salako ...

s or

slouch hat A slouch hat is a wide-brimmed felt or cloth hat most commonly worn as part of a military uniform, often, although not always, with a chinstrap. It has been worn by military personnel from many different nations including Australia, Ireland, the ...

s, and animal skin patterns. Pith helmet was initially worn by the British military in the tropics and was adopted as streetwear between 1870 and 1950. Condé Nast describes safari jackets as, "crisp drill cotton with pockets, buttons, epaulets, belt," and a part of Kenyan colonial style. For Theodore Roosevelt's 1909–1910 safari trip, he was "outfitted" in safari-style by his friend Lord Cranworth during his post-presidential trip. Lord Cranworth's firm Newland & Tarlton, is a luxury safari outfitter, creating safari-style clothing. Additionally, other sources state Roosevelt was outfitted by Willis & Geiger in 1908. Hemingway, like Roosevelt on safari, chose to use British style rifles produced by Holland & Holland or Westley Richards. Within Hollywood, celebrities like Grace Kelly and Johnny Weissmuller wore safari jackets. Ernest Hemingway wore safari-style jackets, communicating a form of adventure also echoed in Hollywood. According to Conde Nast, the Safari jacket is still a part of contemporary fashion. In the 2005 spring/summer edition of British Vogue an article titled,"World Vision: the grown-up approach to global style,” featured ‘‘haute safari’’ style clothing. Contemporary American public figures such as

Melania Trump Melania Trump ( ; born Melanija Knavs , Germanized as Melania Knauss ; born April 26, 1970) is a Slovene-American former model and businesswoman who served as First Lady of the United States from 2017 to 2021 as the wife of 45th president Do ...

have worn safari fashion. Mrs. Trump wore a safari-style dress and jackets during her 2018 trip to Africa. On this trip Mrs.Trump went on a safari in Kenya, she wore a pith helmet. Some have criticized the choice as evoking colonial ideals. In 2014 Harper's Bazaar announced trend alerts featuring animal prints and “safari sleek" style. Couture designers in their 2015 fashion shows featured variations of safari-style in their collections. Designer Yang Lei featured a silk safari-style evening gown in his Spring/Summer collection during Paris fashion week. Alexander Wang's collection focused on a variety of white shirts, including a safari-style white shirt dress. The New York Times described designer Alberta Ferretti's 2015 daywear collection as "safari-sleek." In John Molloy's history of the leisure suit, he details that safari-style originated from British Officers wearing their uniforms outside military uses as "a status symbol, but only in casual settings." Molloy stated in 1975 that it continues to be a form of casual menswear. Alternatively, in Malindi Kenya, professional wear in the 1990s included safari-style clothing. Yves Saint Laurent's 1967 Africa collection featured the "Saharienne" safari jacket. In later collections, Yves Saint Laurent produced an iconic safari top. According to Harper's Bazaar, the collection was "a fantasy of primitive genius." On the other hand, differing fashion historians believe He had the gift of borrowing from one culture without being condescending to the other. The term ''safari chic'' arose after the release of the film ''

''. It included not only clothing but also interior design and architecture. Safari-style interiors feature African decor, various hues of brown, natural materials, animal print furniture, rugs and wallpaper. In 2005 Architectural Digest released a list of luxurious safari camps. Newland, Tarlton & Co. Furniture Collection, creates luxury safari-style furniture in featured safari camps, hotels and private homes. Safari fashion also extends to fragrance collections by American designer Ralph Lauren; The Safari fragrance created in 1990 was advertised as "a floral aroma with a light breeze scented by grasses, freedom, and the romance of vast open spaces."

References

External links

{{Authority control African culture Hunting Swahili words and phrases Types of tourism Tourism in Africa Adventure travel Types of travel sw:Safari