I just finished writing this for the soon-to-be-released new website on the server I run with a bunch of friends Svaha.Com. We get asked fairly often “What does Svaha mean?”. Well.. as it turns out, that’s a very good question:
Svaha = “(SVA-ha) The time between when you see the lightning and when you hear the thunder” – (Native American, tribe unknown)
… or so the story goes. Once upon a yesteryear there was a space on the campus of Antioch College called Svaha and campus rumor said that name meant the above definition and was a ‘Swahili’ word. This space had been created and so named that in the late 60’s or early 70’s, and I guess it was even a campus publication and information office at one time (where they could get you the answer faster than lightning or something like that). So when we formed Svaha and were looking for a name this one seemed particularly neat so we registered the domain svaha.com and started on our merry geeky way (in retrospect we probably could have registered any number or easier to say, spell and remember names, and sold them for ridiculous amounts 5 years later and retired, but oh well).
That’s the short answer. Do you really want to read more about our quest to find the definition of this word? Ok then.. here’s the ‘more than you ever wanted to know’ version:
Chance had it that in the mid-nineties Antioch College hired a very cool philosophy and african studies professor, Dr. Dismas Masolo, who spoke some Swahili and he verified for us that it was indeed … NOT a Swahili word. Hmmm. Web searches and other greps for this turned up little information. We even searched the Antioch College archives and found all the old ‘Svaha’ publications, after all they must have given the source where they got the word. No dice. We even found out via other faculty and alumni the name of the person who ostensibly named the space/paper and tried to contact him with no success. We gave up, it must just be an Antioch word. Oh well.
Then one day a friend tossed a paperback at me. SVAHA by Charles De Lint. On the cover was a native american with lightning flashing across the sky and it said “Between Thunder and Lightning — Comes A New Breed Of Warrior …”. Wait, this matches our definition! Does he cite a source for the word in his book? I thumbed through it madly, our search was almost over!
Turns out… not really, he just said “Svaha is Amerindian and means “the time between seeing the lightning and hearing the thunder; a waiting for promises to be fulfilled”.”. Amerindian? Huh? I sat down and read the book, which I actually quite enjoyed at the time, but Amerindian the term he uses for all the merged Native American tribes in the future. He never cites a specific language or tribe for the word. Sigh.
So we did what all good geeks too.. we searched the web for this author, found his e-mail and dropped him a note saying ‘Where’d you get that word? (and please don’t say a space at Antioch College).’
Date: Sat, 7 Sep 1996 23:53:51 -0400 To: mbaya@college.antioch.edu From: Charles de Lint &cdl@cyberus.ca' Subject: Re: svaha definition Hi Matthew, >So.. if you can spare a moment, if you can let me know what language its >from and its official definition, I would be very very happy. If you >don't know all this I am curious how you learned of the word and that >may help me in tracking it down. It's definitely a Native American word, and the meaning I gave in the book is the correct meaning. Unfortunately, I did the research for and wrote that book so long ago now, I can't remember the exact source. It might have been from an interview I did for the book, it might have been from one of the many reference books I used, it might have been something I picked up along the way, stuck in a notebook and pulled out when it felt right for that book. I pretty sure it's not from any of the Algonquin language groups. But since I never attended Antioch, I didn't get it from there. I'm not at home as I write this. When I do get back, I'll have a look through some of the notes I have for the novel, but can't guarantee I'll find anything. Glad you liked the book and sorry I couldn't be of more help. cheers Charles de Lint
… and then a few days later;
Date: Fri, 13 Sep 1996 15:58:48 -0400 To: mbaya@college.antioch.edu From: Charles de Lint &cdl@cyberus.ca' Subject: Re: svaha definition Hi Matthew, Got home and dug around in my files, but I can't find the source for svaha anymore--most of my notes on the book are long gone. Sorry about that. cheers Charles de Lint
“notes on the book are long gone”? Ugh. Back to square one, or real close to it but at least we have a place to look right? It’s …er… some Native American language, and we’re “pretty sure it’s not from any of the Algonguin language groups”
As the web grew so did search engines and we started seeing the word pop up in other places. For example, in the Wikipedia definition of Svaha it is listed as a minor Hindu godess, or a component in Buddhist mantras used roughly equivalent to the word amen in Christian prayers. Ok, not what we were looking for but not bad.
We also came across someone who registered Svaha.Net before we did, though it turns out she just liked the Charles de Lint book, man that guy is every where :). Over time I guess spammers have caused her to remove her ‘blog’ and basically abandon the domain. We’ve repeatedly offered to buy off her but no luck to date (offer still stands if you’re reading this Jennifer Dodd of Manassas Park, VA
On a more disturbing association there is apparently a Russian definition of Svaha “In the age old tradition of the Russian Svaha, or matchmaker, we are very pleased to introduce you to some of the nicest and most beautiful women of the Saratov Region of Russia.”
More recent searches have turned up a possible link to the definition we are looking for from the Ojibway (aka Chippewas) but none of these were definitive.
Another site says it’s a Navaho word “svaha [attrib. to Dineh (Navajo); provenance unverified] “The time between when you see the lightning and when you hear the thunder.” Useful to describe those svaha moments when you know exactly what will happen in the next few seconds but have no way to change it. It’s the feeling you have when you’re at a very fancy dinner party with heirloom wineglasses on the table and you turn and feel your elbow nudge something…”
Native-languages.org even claims the word Svaha is NOT a native american word.” If this saves even one more poor child from being named “Svaha” because his parents read on an Internet list that it was a “Native American” name, I have done a good deed today.” and “Believe me, you haven’t seen disappointed until you’ve had to break the news to junior-high-school-age Katet and Svaha that their names come not from Native American tribal tradition but from books written by Stephen King and Charles de Lint. “
There’s even a Svaha LARP, but again, Charles de Lint is the source (though to their credit they e-mailed us asking for a more verifiable definition)
Last year we even tried to pay any of the experts at Google Answers to get us a verifiable source with a post with a $25 bounty. No luck. (slackers 😉 )
Can you help? Drop us a line, we’ll send you a box of random fun goodies if you get us a ‘real definition’ that we can cite.
Last Updated: July 1, 2005 by Matthew Baya