No dictionary is presently able to trace the linguistic origins of the name: some say it is ‘probably Pidgin in origin’. But through Setswana, we can see that se-bola means ‘stripe-like’ (bola is ‘line’ in Tswana: the sound-change from l to r is well-known in linguistics e.g. in Shona ‘dollar’ is pronounced ‘dorrah’)! However, there is possibly a different etymology not related to ze-bola. A ‘zebu’ is a bovine (cow-like) animal rather than an equine (horse-like) animal. Thus, knowing that the ancient Egyptian and Mesopotamian term ‘On’ – One in Tswana – refers to the Lord (as I have divulged in detail in numerous articles), the ‘se-buI’ in ‘Zebulon’, the name of one of Jacob’s sons (Genesis xx:xx) may have the different meaning of ‘bull-like’, thus implying that he was named after ‘Lord Zebul;. Now, we can easily trace this name to a Sumerian god known as Enlil (EN.L’ILLU: ‘Lord of the Illui (gods))’. He was reputed to be the ruling deity of the Age of the Bull (Taurus: 3786 to 2160 BC) and he frequently rode the airborne GU.DA.ANA (“Bull of the Sky”) as Sumerians remember him. Here, we get two interesting new terms for consideration: Taurus and GU as variations of ‘bull’.
‘Taurus’ (bull) comes from the Greek term ‘taura’ (or tauro) which I relate to the Setswana tern taolla or taollo (stretch/a stretching). How so? The proto-term au, as in ‘aura’, is a noun meaning ‘an extension of’. Thus, au-ra (au-ga in proto-Tswana) means ‘to become an extension of’ – the most common expression of this referring to a purportedly invisible halo of light surrounding (extending around) the head and being a projection of one’s inner thoughts or spiritual state. Indeed, ng-auga is a Setswana term meaning ‘rebel’, i.e. make one’s own ‘extension’ of an existing group. Greek letter Tau (T) has a horizontal stroke at the top which look like the horns of a bull (which horns ‘stretch out’ from the head), hence its association with the animal. Given this, we can now also understand why ‘nare’ (Setswana for ‘buffalo’) is, etymologically, deemed na-auri (bull-like) because of its thick horns.
