- See Fuzzy Wuzzy for other meanings
Fuzzy-Wuzzy is a poem by the English author and poet Rudyard Kipling, published in 1892 as part of Barrack Room Ballads.
"Fuzzy-Wuzzy" was the term used by British colonial soldiers for the nineteenth century Hadendoa warriors supporting the Sudanese Mahdi in the Mahdist War. The name "Fuzzy-Wuzzy" may be purely English in origin, or it may incorporate some sort of Arabic pun (possibly based on ghazī, "warrior"). It alludes to their butter-matted hair which gave them a distinctive "fuzzy" look. They are mentioned in a poem by Rudyard Kipling.
The Beja people were one of two broad multi-tribal groupings supporting the Mahdi, and were divided into three tribes. One of these, the Hadendoa, was nomadic along Sudan's Red Sea coast and provided a large number of cavalry and jihādiyya (referring to mounted infantry units). They were armed with swords and spears and some of them carried breech-loaded rifles which had been captured from the Egyptian forces, and some of them had acquired military experience in the Egyptian army.
Kipling's poem Fuzzy-Wuzzy praises the Hadendoa for their martial prowess, because "for all the odds agin' you, Fuzzy-Wuz, you broke the square." This could refer to either or both historical battles between the British and Mahdist forces where British infantry squares were broken. The first was at the Battle of Tamai, on March 13, 1884, and the second was on January 17, 1885 during the Battle of Abu Klea. Kipling's narrator, an infantry soldier, speaks in admiring terms of the "Fuzzy-Wuzzies", praising their bravery which, although insufficient to defeat the British, did at least enable them to boast of having "broken the square"—an achievement which few other British foes could claim. The poem takes a satirical look at the British soldiers of the time who perceived themselves as invincible.
In the film Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, Caractacus' father refers to the "Fuzzy-Wuzzys" when speaking of his time in the army. Additionally, in the BBC situation comedy Dad's Army, Lance Corporal Jack Jones (Clive Dunn) continually refers to the Fuzzy-Wuzzies in his reminiscences about his days fighting in the Sudan under General Kitchener.
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Wikisource has original text related to this article: |
- Historical background to the Kipling poem
- Kipling.org line-by-line explanation of references
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