Bunga bunga is a phrase of uncertain meaning that dates from 1910, and a name for an area of

Australia dating from 1852. By 2010 the phrase had gained popularity in Italy and the
international press to refer to former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi's sex parties, which
caused a major political scandal in Italy.
Contents
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1 Early use

2 Resurgence in Italy

3 Popular culture

4 References

Early use[edit]
An 1852 issue of Hogg's Instructor states that "bunga bunga" is the name given by locals to a
location near Moreton Bay on the eastern coast of Australia.[1]
In 1910 Horace de Vere Cole, Virginia Woolf, her brother Adrian Stephen and a small group of
friends, pretended to be the Prince of Abyssinia and his entourage. They obtained permission to
visit one of the world's most powerful warships HMS Dreadnought in Weymouth, Dorset, in what
became known as the Dreadnought hoax. Each time the Commander showed them a marvel of
the ship, they murmured the phrase bunga, bunga![2][3] which then became a
popular catchphrase of the time.[4]
A 1950 Bugs Bunny short "Bushy Hare" used the phrase "Unga Bunga Bunga" in a nonsensical
exchange between Bugs Bunny and a character who represented an Australian Aborigine and
who was referred to as "Nature Boy".[5]

Resurgence in Italy[edit]

The term "Bunga Bunga" has been closely associated with former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi in
recent history.

A century later, the term bunga bunga became popular again as a joke on the internet.[6] This joke
was then narrated by Italian Prime MinisterSilvio Berlusconi at his dinner parties (in a version
which featured, as prisoners, former ministers from the center-left opposition party led
byRomano Prodi).[7]
This expression was then frequently quoted by the Italian and international press during the 2011
investigation surrounding Silvio Berlusconi's underage prostitution charges, acquiring a quite
different meaning as "an orgy involving a powerful leader"; as such, it was allegedly taught to
Silvio Berlusconi by Muammar al-Gaddafi,[8] who was also the unwitting originator of the
phrase Zenga Zenga.
In Italy, the term "has become an instant, supposedly hilarious, household expression". [9]
Recent explanations disagree on its meaning, or perhaps illustrate the range of its reference. It
"is said to be a sort of underwater orgy where nude young women allegedly encircled the nude
host and/or his friends in his swimming pool",[10] "an African-style ritual" performed for male
spectators by "20 naked young women",[11] or erotic entertainment hosted by a rich host
involving pole dancing and competitive striptease by skimpy-costumed "women in nurses' outfits
and police uniforms"[12] but topless women, the prize being prostitution for the host. [13]
An alternative explanation for its origins was proposed by actress Sabina Began, who claimed
that it was a nickname based on her surname and that she had organized the parties. [14]
The lexicographer Jonathon Green does not expect the term to make much headway, or to last,
in English.[15]

Popular culture[edit]
In 2011, the faux-French, American band Nous Non Plus released a song entitled "Bunga
Bunga". The cover of the single featured a picture of Silvio Berlusconi. [16] The song lyrics list
famous cities around the world (in French) while the video is a black and white showreel of seminude dancing women.[17]
In 2012, the term was used in the British motoring show Top Gear in Season 18, Episode 1. It
was used to describe The Stig's Italian cousin, who emerged from a motor-home dressed in a
suit, followed by three glamorous girls, to set a lap time in a Ferrari 458 Italia at the Autodromo
Enzo e Dino Ferrari (Imola Circuit).
In 2013, the American band Cherry Poppin' Daddies used the term several times in the lyrics for
their song "The Babooch", a satire of "one-percenter" lifestyles. The song's music video features
clips of Berlusconi alongside other billionaire figures. [18]
In 2014, comedians Maynard and Tim Ferguson started a podcast named Bunga Bunga.[19]

References[edit]
1.

Jump up^ "Popular botany: The pine and the palm", Hogg's Instructor vol. 9 (Edinburgh,
1852),p. 411.

2.

Jump up^ "The Dreadnought Hoax", Museum of Hoaxes. Retrieved 24 January 2011.
This anonymous article cites Adrian Stephen, The Dreadnought Hoax (Hogarth Press, 1983).

3.

Jump up^ Stansky, Peter (1997). On or about December 1910: early Bloomsbury and its
intimate world. Studies in cultural history 8. Harvard University Press. p. 33. ISBN 0-674-63606-6.

4.

Jump up^ Rosenbaum, Stanford Patrick (1995). The Bloomsbury group: a collection of
memoirs and commentary. University of Toronto Press. p. 13. ISBN 0-8020-7640-8.

5.

Jump up^ IMDB. "Bushy Hare" http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0042291/[unreliable source?]

6.

Jump up^ Palmer, Brian (10 November 2010). "What the Heck Is Bunga Bunga?".
Slate.com. Retrieved 16 February 2011.

7.

Jump up^ Angelo Agrippa, "Ecco la bella Noemi, diciottenne che chiama Berlusconi
papi",Corriere del Mezzogiorno, 28 April 2009 (modified 7 May 2009). (Italian)

8.

Jump up^ Chase Madar, "Catholic, communist, gay", Times, 9 January 2011. Retrieved
18 January 2011.

9.

Jump up^ Maria Laura Rodot, "Silvio Berlusconi's sex antics disgust me and other
Italian women", The Observer, 7 November 2010. Retrieved 18 January 2011.

10.

Jump up^ Barbie Latza Nadeau, "Will Berlusconi get the boot?", Daily Beast, 7
November 2010. Retrieved 18 January 2011.

11.

Jump up^ Emma Alberici, "Exile an option for besieged Berlusconi", ABC News, 9
November 2010. Retri