I have often wondered where this saying came from, and discovered it today in T.V.Bulpin’s book, The Hunter is Death, the story of George Rushby on page 161.

“It’s just a lion, somewhere towards the Njombe district,” he said sleepily. “He’s quite harmless, I assure you.”

Old Lamek chuckled from his side of the fire.

“Do you know what the lion says?” he asked, ”Listen carefully, he says ‘Hi ni inchi ya nani? Yangu! yangu! yangu!’ Do you know what it means? It means ‘Whose country is this? Mine! mine! mine!’

George Adamson in his book Bwana Game translated the roar similarly:

“Who is lord of this land?! I am! I am! I am!”


I love this stuff...;-)

Not the roar, but the grunts that say that. I love lions. And they will shock roar, like a turkey will shock gobble, in response to a loud noise. Learned that checking zeros at first light of day one on a safari. Sounded very promising, but alas ... Was a great hunt. But no lion.

HMMM, after seeing the heading I thought it might have been misplaced from the P.F. because regardless of leftist extremism, I still believe it to be true.