Hudo (Scouting)

A hudo is a temporary pit toilet in a camp, covered with a tarpaulin, not a permanent outhouse. The name is in common use in Dutch and Belgian Scouting, and has international usage.

A hudo. The slit in the ground is just visible. On the right a pile of sand.
A hudo, seen from the inside. The vertical stem is for arm support; the horizontal one to sit on

Etymology

The word hudo is derived from the Urdu word howdah, which is the covered carriage on elephants.[1] The word is attributed to Robert Baden-Powell, who introduced it into Scouting jargon, together with other words such as jamboree (Swahili) and oubaas (Afrikaans).

Other popular etymological explanations include the acronym of houd uw darmen open (the Dutch parallel to "kybo", "keep your bowels open"), and the contraction of hurkdoos (Dutch for "squat loo"). The validity of these explanations is questioned.[1]

See also

References
  1. "Hudo, okkendollen, tijgerval en Balkan" (PDF). NRC Handelsblad (in Dutch). 15 February 2002.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.