The Racist Source Of The British Tongue Twister "Fuzzy Wuzzy Was A Bear"

Jonathan Jones, Oct 21, 2014

"Fuzzy-Wuzzy" was the term used by British colonial soldiers for the 19th-century Beja warriors supporting the Sudanese Mahdi in the Mahdist War. The term Fuzzy Wuzzy is purely of English origin and is not connected with Arabic.

Kipling's poem 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 13 March 1884, and the second was on 17 January 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.

****
Edited by Azizi Powell

Latest update: A video of the Beja added 8/20/2023

This is Part II of a two part pancocojams series about the term "Fuzzy-Wuzzy". 

This post showcases a sound file of Farnham Town Crier reciting the 19th century poem entitled "Fuzzy Wuzzy". That composition was written by English poet Rudyard Kipling. "Fuzzy Wuzzy" was a nickname that British colonial soldiers coined as a referent for the Beja people who they fought in two battles in the Sudan, North Africa in 1884 and 1885. Information about that composition and the words to that poem are also included in this post. 

The text to the tongue twister entitled "Fuzzy Wuzzy Was A Bear" whose author is unknown is also included in this post, along with the words to that composition and brief notes about it. Online summaries of this tongue twister either state or suggests that that composition originally referred to the Beja people of North West Africa who the British called "Fuzzy Wuzzy" because of the texture of their hair and the ways they wore their hair.

Click https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2023/08/two-youtube-videos-of-beja-people-of.html for Part II of this pancocojams series. That post showcases two YouTube videos of the Beja people of Sudan, North Africa. Some information about the Beja people is included in this pancocojams post along with selected comments from those videos' discussion threads.

The content of this post is presented for historical, socio-cultural, and educational purposes.

All copyrights remain with their owners.

Thanks to the Beja people who are referred to in Rudyard Kipling's poem. Thanks to all those who are quoted in this post. Thanks also to the publisher of this video on YouTube.

****
SHOWCASE VIDEO #2 : BEJA TRIBE - TRAD. MUSIC AND DANCE

NAGA BUNTAVARU, Oct 15, 2012
-snip-
Here's a comment from that video's discussion thread:
@DANVIIL, 2016
"Beja were the warriors that fought the Brits and faced a machine gun, but still broke the square. Brits called them Fuzzy Wuzzies"

****
INFORMATION ABOUT RUDYARD KIPLING'S POEM ENTITLED "FUZZY WUZZY"
From https://www.gradesaver.com/rudyard-kipling-poems/study-guide/summary-fuzzy-wuzzy "Rudyard Kipling: Poems Summary and Analysis of "Fuzzy-Wuzzy" "

[...]

"Analysis

"Fuzzy-Wuzzy", published in the Barrack-Room Ballads, and Other Verses in 1892, is often a favorite of Kipling's readers. It expresses the admiration of a British soldier for the Sudanese Beja warriors who fought against the British in the Mahdist War. These men had very bushy heads of hair and were thusly nicknamed by the British. The poem's structure consists of four eight-line stanzas that speak to the Fuzzy-Wuzzies themselves, cheering them for their fighting prowess and the particular victory they had of taking the square in the Battle of Tamai.

Britain was a supporter of Egypt in the late 19th century, working to protect the Suez Canal and ending the Sudanese slave trade. Even though Britain tried to stay out of the Egyptian-controlled Sudan, Prime Minister Gladstone was finally forced to send troops in 1884 when the Egyptians could no longer resist the aggression of the Sudanese, who, ordered by their Mahdi, had declared a Jihad against the Egyptians. The two tribes who opposed the Egyptians and British were the Baggara and the Beja. The former was the dominant group; the latter was not entirely hostile to the British, but contained intensely accomplished warriors. One British sergeant commented that, "...without a doubt, these Arabs are the most fierce, brave, daring and unmerciful race of men in the world." Their nickname seems rather incongruous, but it has been suggested that the nickname is intended to mitigate their very real threat.

The "square" that Kipling writes of – "But for all the odd agin' you, Fuzzy-Wuz, you broke the / square" – refers to a military formation that consisted of 1,000-1,500 men that had ranks of infantry or cavalry on all four sides and the artillery, animals, machine guns, and transports in the center. This style of defense only worked when the enemy did not possess modern mechanized weapons; this was true of the Sudanese in this conflict. Twice during the conflict was the British square broken by the Beja warriors, and it is commonly assumed that this instance refers to the Battle of Tamai on March 13th, 1884.

Kipling uses the vernacular in this poem. His language is decidedly informal, the language of lively young soldiers. Words are truncated or replaced with a deliberately misspelled version of the word. The speaker has a tone of cheerful admiration, perhaps underlain with a bit of bitterness that is barely detectable. He talks about other Eastern warriors and how they were somewhat formidable but ultimately paled in comparison to the Beja. The soldier says that he would be happy to "'ave a romp with you whenever you're / inclined" and that Fuzzy-Wuzzy is a "first-class fightin' man".

There is, of course, a great deal of racism in this poem, which explains why it has fallen out of favor in modern times. The speaker calls the subject of the poem a "pore benighted 'eathen" and a "big black boundin' beggar". The language is certainly cringe-worthy. It is certainly apparent that the speaker cannot praise the Fuzzy-Wuzzies without adding a layer of scorn and disgust.".
****
WORDS TO RUDYARD KIPLING'S POEM ENTITLED "FUZZY WUZZY"
(Soudan Expeditionary Force)

We've fought with many men acrost the seas,
An' some of 'em was brave an' some was not:
The Paythan an' the Zulu an' Burmese;
But the Fuzzy was the finest o' the lot.
We never got a ha'porth's change of 'im:
'E squatted in the scrub an' 'ocked our 'orses,
'E cut our sentries up at Suakim,
An' 'e played the cat an' banjo with our forces.
So 'ere's to you, Fuzzy-Wuzzy, at your 'ome in the Soudan;
You're a pore benighted 'eathen but a first-class fightin' man;
We gives you your certificate, an' if you want it signed
We'll come an' 'ave a romp with you whenever you're inclined.
 
We took our chanst among the Khyber 'ills,
The Boers knocked us silly at a mile,
The Burman give us Irriwaddy chills,
An' a Zulu impi dished us up in style:
But all we ever got from such as they
Was pop to what the Fuzzy made us swaller;
We 'eld our bloomin' own, the papers say,
But man for man the Fuzzy knocked us 'oller.
Then 'ere's to you, Fuzzy-Wuzzy, an' the missis and the kid;
Our orders was to break you, an' of course we went an' did.
We sloshed you with Martinis, an' it wasn't 'ardly fair;
But for all the odds agin' you, Fuzzy-Wuz, you broke the square.
'E 'asn't got no papers of 'is own,

'E 'asn't got no medals nor rewards,
So we must certify the skill 'e's shown
In usin' of 'is long two-'anded swords:
When 'e's 'oppin' in an' out among the bush
With 'is coffin-'eaded shield an' shovel-spear,
An 'appy day with Fuzzy on the rush
Will last an 'ealthy Tommy for a year.
So 'ere's to you, Fuzzy-Wuzzy, an' your friends which are no more,
If we 'adn't lost some messmates we would 'elp you to deplore.
But give an' take's the gospel, an' we'll call the bargain fair,
For if you 'ave lost more than us, you crumpled up the square!
 
'E rushes at the smoke when we let drive,
An', before we know, 'e's 'ackin' at our 'ead;
'E's all 'ot sand an' ginger when alive,
An' 'e's generally shammin' when 'e's dead.
'E's a daisy, 'e's a ducky, 'e's a lamb!
'E's a injia-rubber idiot on the spree,
'E's the on'y thing that doesn't give a damn
For a Regiment o' British Infantree!
So 'ere's to you, Fuzzy-Wuzzy, at your 'ome in the Soudan;
You're a pore benighted 'eathen but a first-class fightin' man;
An' 'ere's to you, Fuzzy-Wuzzy, with your 'ayrick 'ead of 'air --
You big black boundin' beggar -- for you broke a British square!

Online source: https://www.poetryloverspage.com/poets/kipling/fuzzy_wuzzy.html

****
NOTES ABOUT THE TONGUE TWISTER "FUZZY WUZZY WAS A BEAR"
Excerpt #1
From https://allnurseryrhymes.com/fuzzy-wuzzy-was-a-bear/
"Fuzzy Wuzzy is one of the most popular tongue twisters. The origins of this nursery rhyme aren’t clear but the term “fuzzy wuzzy” was used to describe the Hadendoa warriors in Sudan in a 1892 poem by Rudyard Kipling.
The nursery rhyme was first mentioned in a 1942 edition of “The Yorker” magazine with no reference to its origins.
The link between the Hadendoa warriors and the nursery rhyme is fuzzy, there is no definitive link between the two but it is possible the rhyme refers to the bravery of the Hadendoa (hence they are a bear)."

****
Excerpt #2
From https://playtivities.com/fuzzy-wuzzy-was-a-bear/
"Fuzzy Wuzzy is a tongue twister, a nursery rhyme for kids to learn how to spell tricky words. While we don’t have the actual details of its origin, we do know a few things. The rhyme was first recorded in the 1942 edition of The Yorker magazine. 
It seems like a fun little rhyme with extended lyrics added over time. However, there are hints 
of racism in the rhyme’s background. Though there is no definite information, the tongue 
twister could have been a racist reference to the Beja warriors."...
****
THE WORDS TO THE ORIGINAL VERSION OF THE TONGUE TWISTER "FUZZY WUZZY WAS A BEAR"
From  https://playtivities.com/fuzzy-wuzzy-was-a-bear/
"Original Version:
Fuzzy Wuzzy was a bear,
Fuzzy Wuzzy had no hair,
Fuzzy Wuzzy wasn’t really fuzzy,
Was he?"

****
TWO CONTEMPORARY EXTENDED VERSIONS OF "FUZZY WUZZY WAS A BEAR"
These versions are given in no particular order and are numbered for referencing purposes only.
1. 
"I remember this very clearly from when I was a little girl in 1965 I remember the record cover was Fuzzy hanging on a Barber Pole with the seals looking at him
Fuzzy Wuzzy was a bear
Fuzzy Wuzzy had no hair
Fuzzy Wuzzy wasn’t Fuzzy was he?
They say that all the seals in Hudsen Bay
Envied Fuzzys Fuzz
But when he cut his Fuzz away
He wasn’t what he use to wuz – cuz
Fuzzy Wuzzy was a bear
Fuzzy Wuzzy had no hair
Fuzzy Wuzzy wasn’t Fuzzy was he?
-Terri, March 6, 2009, https://misslucy.wordpress.com/2008/08/06/fuzzy-wuzzy/

**
2.
"Fuzzy Wuzzy was a bear
Fuzzy Wuzzy had no hair
Fuzzy Wuzzy wasn't fuzzy
No, by gosh, he wasn't, was he?
Silly Willy was a worm
Silly Willy wouldn't squirm
Silly Willy wasn't silly
No, by gosh, he wasn't really
Iddy Biddy was a mouse
Iddy Biddy had no spouse
Iddy Biddy wasn't pretty
Oh, by gosh, it was a pity
Fuzzy Wuzzy was a bear
Fuzzy Wuzzy had no hair
Fuzzy Wuzzy wasn't fuzzy
No, by god, he wasn't, was he?"
-Cooltime Kids, August 21, 2015, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FilnW5NWevo

****
Thanks for visiting pancocojams.

Visitor comments are welcome.