Chikungunya was first described by Marion Robinson and W.H.R. Lumsden in 1955, after an outbreak in 1952 along the border between Mozambique and Tanganyika (now part of Tanzania). A group called the Makonde lived in this area. The word "chikungunya" probably comes from the Makonde language. It means "that which bends up" or "to walk bent over." This describes how people with very bad joint pain from the virus would bend into unusual positions. 