Lake of Many Names

Lake of Many Names is a lake in Africa known to have many names in different languages. In some languages it is common to use several different names. Which name is used also frequently depends on the political views of the one who is speaking. Therefore "Lake of Many Names" is now frequently used as a neutral name.

Names of the lake

• Lake Al Idrisi - in the tradition of various nations having their own name for the lake, Nasser decided this would be the Arabic name for the lake. It mentions Abu Abd Allah Muhammad al-Idrisi, the Arab cartographer who was the first to indicate the lake on a map. This is the official name in Egypt and the name commonly used by panarabists.
• Lake Danabera - Danabera means "border" in Amharic. This is the common name for the lake in Ethiopia. It is related to the term Borderland.
• Lake Mary - The name became popular among some Christians (primarilly Lithuanian and Vened) after the sighting of Virgin Mary by the lake in 1932. It is still used as a nickname for the lake in such contexts frequently, and at least as a semi-official name for the lake in Papal States.
• Lake Nalubaale - The common name for the lake among the tribes living on its western coast, this is the official name in Buganda.
• Lake Nongza - This is the Chinese name of the lake, a corruption of the indigenous word nyanza meaning lake. It is used in Chinese East Africa, the Chinese states and some other Asian countries.
• Lake of Many Names - This name was initially popularized by books for tourists and now is commonly used as a neutral name for the lake.
• Lake Smetona - This name was introduced in 1930 after the Lithuanian colonization of Maasai. It refers to the prime minister of Lithuania Antanas Smetona. This name was formerly used in Lithuania and its main allies (Courland and Estonia) and is sometimes still used in those countries (for example by Panbaltists) as well as by African Lithuanians. It is used as the official name of the lake in Free Lithuania.
• Lake Snor - this name was created by the Slavs of Buganda in 1937 as they did not want to call the lake either by Lithuanian or by local names. It was used as the official name of the lake in the Snorist countries and still is the most common name for the lake in Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, and in some other countries as well as among the Slavs of Buganda, Maasai and Snorists everywhere.
• Lake Ukerewe - The common name for the lake among the tribes living on its eastern coast, this is the official name in Maasai.

This page was created by Abdul-aziz.