What does jumanji mean?

Answer 1

Jumanji means "African Sierra"

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Actually 'Jumanji' doesn't mean anything per se, though it's made to sound like some Swahili word or something. According to Wikipedia: '"Jumanji" is a combination of "jungle" and "magic".'

-- This is true, however in the special features of the DVD about the making of the film, one of the crew members/producers states that Jumanji means "to change", in the sense that Alan changes over the course the 26 years he's been locked in the jungle.