"Kemo sabe" What's it mean ?

Question

The Lone Ranger was called this by Tonto

I always wondered if t hat was a real phrase, or justa make-up term for TV.According to 1 trivia site,"Kemo sabe" in navajo means soggy shrub.

Answer 1

Tonto was the sidekick of The Lone Ranger, the popular Western character created by George W. Trendle (in collaboration with others). Tonto himself was created by writer Fran Striker for the original radio series which began in 1933; Tonto made his first appearance on the twelfth show (which aired on station WXYZ in February 25, 1933). Though he became as iconic as his friend, Tonto was originally created just so the Lone Ranger would have someone to talk to. Throughout the radio run (which spanned twenty-one years), with only a few exceptions, Tonto was played by American actor John Todd.

The back story of how Tonto met the Lone Ranger was included, with very few differences, in both later episodes of the radio drama and at the beginning of the Lone Ranger television series (arguably the most well-remembered version today). Tonto (played by Jay Silverheels on television) rescues a man named Reid, the sole surviving Texas Ranger of a party who was tricked into an ambush by the outlaw Butch Cavendish (although later reference works referred to the future Lone Ranger as "John" Reid, no first name was ever given to the Lone Ranger in either the radio or TV series). Tonto recognizes the ranger as someone who had saved him when they were both boys. He refers to him by the title "Kemo Sabe"[1], saying that it means "Faithful Friend" in the language of his tribe. Tonto helps Reid give a decent burial to the other rangers.

(This is actually a retroactive change to Tonto's origin. As originally presented, in the Dec. 7, 1938 radio broadcast, Reid had already been well-established as the Lone Ranger when he met Tonto. In that episode, "Cactus Pete", a friend of the Lone Ranger tells the story of how the masked man and Tonto first met. According to that tale, Tonto had been caught in the explosion when two men dynamited a gold mine they were working. One of the men wanted to kill the wounded Tonto, but the Lone Ranger arrived on the scene, and made him administer first aid. The man subsequently decided to keep Tonto around, intending to make him the fall guy when he would later murder his partner. The Lone Ranger foiled both the attempted murder and the attempted framing of Tonto. No reason was given in the episode as to why Tonto chose to travel with the Lone Ranger, rather than continue about his business. A reasonable assumption would be that he felt a sense of gratitude to the man).

The Ranger dons a mask and vows revenge – not so much against Cavendish personally as against all who would break the law in such a manner, and begins his travels of the Old West, accompanied by Tonto. Though this Native American was portrayed as an intelligent character who was almost an 'equal' partner to the Ranger in his work, nevertheless the name assigned him by writer Fran Striker is a masculine term for "idiot" or "stupid" in Spanish (note however that in Spanish dubs, the character is renamed Toro meaning "bull") Together, they seem to be capable of righting almost any wrong within the half-hour time frame. This was by far the highest-rated television program on the ABC network in the early 1950s and its first true "hit".

The radio series identified Tonto as a chief's son in the Potawatomi nation. His name translates as wild one in his own language. For the most part, the Potawatomi did not live in the Southwestern states, and their cultural costume is different from that worn by Tonto. (This could be expained by some bands of Potawatami being forcibly removed from their lands and being forced to settle in what's now present day Kansas and Oklahoma.) The choice to make Tonto a Potawatomi seems to come from Trendle's youth in Michigan. This is the traditional territory of the Potawatomi, and many local institutions use Potawatomi names. The phrase kemo sabe, however, was coined not by Trendle but by James Jewell, co-creator and director of the radio series; according to Jewell, his father-in-law ran a camp named ke-Moh-Sah-Bee in Michigan.

Later, the portrayal of Tonto, in radio, television, and film, was seen by some Native Americans as degrading; Tonto spoke in a pidgin, saying things like, "That right, Kemo Sabe," or "Him say man ride over ridge on horse." Television actor Silverheels was not above making a little fun of the character himself, as in a classic Tonight Show sketch with Johnny Carson. (In reality, Silverheels was a Canadian from a First Nations reservation in Ontario.) Probably, his ongoing portrayal of a Native American as a "good guy", rather than an enemy to be fought and destroyed, benefited Native Americans as a whole.

Tonto also surfaced in the various films, comic strips, and comic books based on The Lone Ranger. Later depictions beginning in the 1980s have taken efforts to show Tonto as an articulate and proud warrior whom the Ranger treats as an equal partner.

Answer 2

Base Moke-friend

Answer 3

Do you want the real version, or the Gary Larson version.

Answer 4

I heard once that it really meant "friend" in one of the Indian dialects.

Answer 5

It's like - Nii-jii (friend) So when I say Boozhoo Nii-jii, I am saying "Hello, friend"

Answer 6

it means "faithful" friend

Answer 7

I think ...friend