Fez Dog Names

You might think it’s silly to want to give your dog an unusual name, then relate it to pop culture, but it’s more common than you think. While you can tell people your dog’s name comes from your home place of Fez, Morocco, you can go the extra mile by saying the name marks a momentous moment in time as well. Such a dog that fits that bill is Abuwtiyuw or Abu for short.

The name Abu relates to Abu Inan Faris, who built Bou Inania Madrasa in Fez. The Madrasa Bou Inania came to be in existence in AD 1351 and is the epitome of exceptional Marinid architecture. The man, Abu, was born in 1329 and died in 1358.

He was a Marinid Morocco ruler and succeeded his father of the same name. His rule went from Fez through to Tlemcen and Ifriqiya (now Algeria and Tunisia), but he retreated due to Arab tribe revolts. In 1358, he died when his vizier (political advisor) strangled him.

Abu, the dog, only shares a name in common, but it cements the connection nonetheless. Abu, or Abuwtiyuw, was one of the earliest documented animals classed as a pet with a name. He died in 2280 BC. Abu, which also translated to Abutiu, was a royal guard dog during the Sixth Dynasty. When he died, he received a ceremonial burial in Giza Necropolis.

From what historians have come to discover, there was a piece of limestone at the grave which listed many of the donations by the pharaoh for the dog’s funeral. It appears that Abu was quite a well-respected sighthound which looked similar to a Greyhound with a curly tail and erect ears. He was a lightly-built hunting dog and had a tomb on the western side of the Great Pyramid of Giza.

It wasn’t uncommon in Egypt during that time to bury dogs, but the service and resting place for Abu is quite unusual. Only upper-class humans get that level of respect. Given the gifts and limestone tablet, the dog’s corpse was most likely mummified, so that the dog could enter the afterlife.

There are no pictures of Abu, but the text on the piece of limestone says ‘tzm’ which describes him as the hunting dog. It is also one of the oldest dog breeds, with pictures depicting it throughout history. Abuwtiyuw’s name is not easy to translate. Historians believe ‘abuw’ comes from a dog’s bark, but some think the name means With Pointed Ears.