# simba the elephant **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [August 21, 2005, 11:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/simba-the-elephant/318031 "2005-08-21T23:07:48Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![jdatk99](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f08c70/32.png) [@jdatk99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jdatk99)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2005, 11:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/simba-the-elephant/318031/1 "2005-08-21T23:07:48Z")
Before the lion king movie came out I had always associated the name Simba with an elephant. I can still hear someone in a movie saying" Up, Simba, up!!" asking the elephant to lift something heavy to save the day. It’s not the elephant who saved charlton heston in “the greatest show on earth” I think it’s from one of the tarzan movies. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2005, 11:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/simba-the-elephant/318031/2 "2005-08-21T23:16:44Z")
That would be odd indeed, since “simba” means lion in Swahili. Maybe not as odd as a chimpanzee named Cheetah, though. ---
**Author:** ![Patty\_O\_Furniture](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/96bed5/32.png) [@Patty\_O\_Furniture](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Patty_O_Furniture)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2005, 11:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/simba-the-elephant/318031/3 "2005-08-21T23:18:33Z")
And your question is… Anyway I am always reminded of [Kimba the white lion](http://www.inthe80s.com/july1995/animate/simba.html). ---
**Author:** ![Derleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Derleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Derleth)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2005, 11:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/simba-the-elephant/318031/4 "2005-08-21T23:20:46Z")
That would be interesting, given that [simba is Swahili for lion.](http://research.yale.edu/cgi-bin/swahili/main.cgi?right_frame_src=http%3A//research.yale.edu/cgi-bin/swahili/lookup.cgi%3FWord%3Dsimba%26EngP%3D0) It’s certainly possible that elephants were called simba, especially in movies not interested in accuracy, but there’s no connection in the African language the word actually comes from. (Note that the link above gives many possible translations for simba. The translation I mention is what most Americans think of.) ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2005, 11:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/simba-the-elephant/318031/5 "2005-08-21T23:25:17Z")
Tembo is Swahili for lion. ---
**Author:** ![Patty\_O\_Furniture](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/96bed5/32.png) [@Patty\_O\_Furniture](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Patty_O_Furniture)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2005, 11:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/simba-the-elephant/318031/6 "2005-08-21T23:26:57Z")
Looks like **Colibri** is drunk and posting again. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![samclem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a9a28c/32.png) [@samclem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samclem)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2005, 11:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/simba-the-elephant/318031/7 "2005-08-21T23:35:45Z")
> [@Colibri](#): > > Tembo is Swahili for lion. No doubt you meant “elephant” rather than “lion.” Remember, it’s 5 parts _quinine_ to 1 part _gin_, not the other way around. 😃 And it would be easy to confuse “tembo” with “simba” in my opinion. Especially if an early memory. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2005, 11:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/simba-the-elephant/318031/8 "2005-08-21T23:37:10Z")
> [@Colibri](#): > > Tembo is Swahili for lion. Damn, I meant Tembo is Swahili for elephant. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2005, 11:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/simba-the-elephant/318031/9 "2005-08-21T23:40:24Z")
Y’know, I caught that right away, but it wouldn’t let me post a second time within 60 seconds. And by then I needed to top up the Scotch. Gin! The very idea! ---
**Author:** ![Peter\_Morris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peter_morris/32/359_2.png) [@Peter\_Morris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peter_Morris)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2005, 3:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/simba-the-elephant/318031/10 "2005-08-22T03:31:14Z")
> [@jdatk99](#): > > Before the lion king movie came out I had always associated the name Simba with an elephant. Erm, possibly Jumbo? Well, its 2 syllables with _mb_ in the middle. ---
**Author:** ![wheelie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/b4bc9f/32.png) [@wheelie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wheelie)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2005, 4:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/simba-the-elephant/318031/11 "2005-08-22T04:10:52Z")
It’s from the Johnny Weismuller Tarzan movies. Found a reference on [this](http://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&sl=fr&u=http://www.leconcombre.com/biblio/filmographie/serials-39.html&prev=/search%3Fq%3Dtarzan%2Bsimba%26start%3D80%26hl%3Den%26lr%3D%26client%3Dsafari%26rls%3Den-us%26sa%3DN) site about _Tarzan’s Secret Treasure_ (1941). > [@](#): > > Medford and Vandermeer are devoured by the crocodiles. The brave man O’ Doul receives like gift of good-bye, a melon filled with gold nuggets and leaves the jungle on the back of an elephant to which Tarzan gives his last instructions : "Simba, Umgawa! " ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2005, 3:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/simba-the-elephant/318031/12 "2005-08-22T15:07:57Z")
According to other sites, “Umgawa” or “Ungawa” was a word made up by the movie screenwriters which could mean almost anything, “Get down,” “Let’s go,” etc. Edgar Rice Burroughs created an ape-language for the books, in which “lion” was “numa” and “elephant” was “tantor.” Apparently the screenwriters changed these words to either Swahili (sometimes with no relation to the real meaning) or to gibberish because of copyright issues.