the idea of the idea

“If we are to understand the future of a people, we must appreciate its past. For the way of life of a people in any time and place is built out of past customs adapted to present circumstances and needs. This way of life is what anthropologists call ‘culture’. As anthropologists use the term, all peoples have culture, for culture is their customary way of doing things. It includes all aspects of life; the way they make things, the way in which they organise their society, the way they look at the world about them, even attitudes and sentiments and feelings they share.” – Dr Walter Goldschmidt

While thinking about the way ideas proliferate and become ways of life, I found myself perambulating towards philosophical theories. How do specific thinkers and societies become synonymous with phrases such as ‘I think therefore I am’, or Biblical phrases, ‘As a man thinketh so he is’, or the Nguni become known for Ubuntu, or ‘Umuntu ungumuntu ngabanye abantu’/ A person is a person through other people?

Essentially we are concerned about the issue of thinking, thinking freely may sound simple enough but we live in a world where many are persecuted for even attempted to assertively think and act freely. Since a person is only fully self realized through interactions with others, Afrikans are among those people whose becoming has been curtailed by various levels of unfreedom …

 

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We Can Remember It For You Wholesale

Philip K. Dick Review

Story Background
“We Can Remember It For You Wholesale” was originally published in Fantasy and Science Fiction in April 1966. It can now be found in The Collected Stories of Philip K. Dick. Volume 2. We Can Remember It For You Wholesale on pp. 35–52. This story was originally submitted to Dick’s agent in 1965. During the original publication of the short stories, a real effort was made at chronology using the dates stories were delivered to the agent as a rough estimate of composition. This story should have been in volume 5. This is not the only change made, both in naming of the volumes (which is not a big deal) and in the organization of stories. “Second Variety” was moved from volume 2 to volume 3, putting it out of order. This was done to sell volumes, by connecting volumes to popular stories or stories that have been…

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Amagama NgolwesiZulu

It is often sad to hear Black South Afrikan’s speaking with their in the languages of our colonizers. many parents nowadays do not seem to care whether their children can speak or write in the Mother-tongue. Some are even proud that their offspring cannot hold a decent conversation with their Grandmothers or Grandfathers, they see it is some sign of progress. Some parents are simply too busy struggling to survive in the rat race and they consider language as the least of their concerns.

I have recently come across a sister who posts about Zulu renderings of contemporary English words. These are words we use everyday and we usually have to code-switch each time we get to them or we have invented ways to incorporate them into our language, but the Nguni-Zulu language is a rich and dynamic science by nature, and it is ever evolving. We won’t even attempt to get into the proverbs, poetry and the various other daily uses of the language. It was great to find out that the sister in question has simply found the words on a Facebook page that has existed for the past 2 or more years. I have reached out to them via Messenger so we can embark on an ambitious task, that of translating two ancient works of African literature into IsiZulu and later various other Afrikan languages ( The Ethiopian Book of Henok/Enoch as well as The Book of Coming Forth By Day, also known as The Egyptian Book of the Dead).

I am sharing some of these posts here:

ZULU VOCABULARY
HUMAN ANATOMY (Updated)

Body Parts (Izitho zomzimba)
External: (Izinqotho)

Body – umzimba
Torso – ngenhla
Limbs – izitho

Hair – izinwele
Hair follicles – uhleva
Gray hair – uluvu
Eyebrows – amashiya
Eye lashes – izinkophe
Mustache – amadevu
Beard – intshebe
Armpit hair – iziboya
Chest hair – isikhaba
Genintal hair – amashishi

Skin – isigubo
Slough – insila
Melanin – insonsundu/insilela/ugubondoni
Birthmark – umkhungo
Stretch marks – iminyama
Wrinkles – imibimbi
Molds – izinsumpa
Pimples – izinduna
Goosebumps – uhlevane
Dandruff – inkwethu

Head – ikhanda
Crown – ukhakhayi
Occipital – isiphundu
Forehead – isiphongo
Temple – Inhlafuno
Face – ubuso
Eyes – amehlo
Eye lids – uphephelezi
Iris – isonhlava/ihlo
Nose – impumulo
Nostrils – amakhala
Nasal ridge -umbombo
Ears – izindlebe
Cheeks – imihlathi
Mouth – umlomo
Lips – izindebe
Chin – isilevu
Neck – intamo

Shoulders – amahlombe
Right & left sides – uhlangothi
Chest – isifuba
Breasts – amabele
Nipples – izingono
Back – umhlane
Belly – isisu
Navel – inkaba
Big Navel – isibhono/isibhumu

Arm – ingalo
Armpit – ikhwapha
Elbow – indololwane
Forearm – umkhono
Wrist – ihlakala
Hand – isandla
Right hand – sobunene
Left hand – esinxele
Palm – intende
Back of the hand – inhlanekela
Knuckles – amaqupha
Fingers – iminwe
Fingerprints – izintupha
Nails – amazipho
leukonychia – izimbuzi
Thumb – isithupha
Index finger – umkhothi
Middle finger – isiphohlongo
Ring finger – isithoba
Pinky – ucikicane
Ulnar hexadactyly – umhlaza

Lowerbody – isingezansi
Waist – ukhalo
Buttocks – izibunu
Butt crack – umnsinsila
Legs – imilenze
Thigh – ithanga
Dark tint at da upper thigh and butt – amansweba
Knee – idolo
Lower leg – isitho
Calves – isihluzu
Shin – Mbalule
Ankle – iqakala
Foot – inyawo
Top of foot – iphaba
Toes – imizwane
Soles – izintende
Heels – izithende

Genintals – zangasese
Anus – indunu/umdidi
Penis – umthondo
Foreskin – ujwabu
Testicles – amasende
Urethra – igolo
Vulva – isibumbo
Labia – amalebe
Clitoris – umsunu
Vagina – isihlunu/inhlunu

INTERNAL ORGANS (Ezibilini)
Brain – ingqondo/ ubuchopho
Nasal cavity – amankanka
Tongue – ulimi
Teeth – amazinyo
Molars – izibamba
Incisors – izingxavula
Gums – izinsini
Palate – ulwanga
Uvula – ugovana
Tonsils – amalaka
Pharynx – umphimbo
Throut – umqala
Adams apple – igilo
Vocal chords – amayiko
Oesophogus – uminzo
Windpipe – uqhoqhoqho
Lungs – amaphaphu/amabhakubha
Heart – inhliziyo/umongo
Stomach – isisu
Gall bladder – inyongo
Intestines – amathumbu
Rectum – umtshazo
Omentum – umhlehlo
Liver – isibindi
Pancrease – ubende
Kidneys – izinso
Bladder – isinye
Womb – isibeletho
Foetus – umbungu
Overies – amaqanda
Testicles – amasende

SKELETON (Isiqu samathambo)
Bone – ithambo
Bonemarrow -umnkantsha
Cartilage – unqwanga
Tendon – umsipha
Joint – ilunga
Skull – uGebhezi
Jaws – umhlathi
Verterbra – ingqwababa
Eye socket – ukhopho
Nasal – umbombo
Clavicle – inqwababa
Shoulder blades – iziphanga
Spinal chord – umhlandla
Ribs – izimbambo
Humerus, radius & ulna – ugalo
Hips – izinqulu
Pelvic bone – ithebe
Femur & Tibia – ugalo
Patella – ivi
Groin – imbilapho
Intercarpal joint – iquphu

BODLY FLUIDS & SECRETIONS
Blood – igazi
Saliva – amathe
Mucous – amafinyela/ukhovula
Watery Mucous – umthimula
Nose bleed – umongozima
Earwax – isigonogono
Bile – inyongo
Urine – umchamo
Semen – isidoda/amalotha
Periods – isikhathi
Tears – inyembezi
Sweat – umjuluko/izithukuthuku

MUSCLES (imisipha)
Neck- umlala
Traps – umsundulo
Biceps – amakhwepha
Triceps – amakhwe
Shoulder – igxalaba
Chest – ugaga
Forearm – umkhono
Abs – amazazawana
Glutes – izinqe
Hamstrings – amajaqa
Quadriceps – amajaqamba
Calves – isihluzu

OTHERS
Nerves – imizwa
Vein – umthambo/umushwe
Artery – umnqonqo

 

For more you can simply follow the community on Facebook :

https://m.me/zuluvocab

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a poetic licence to dream

Ingoma

There is music

time flees but now and then we are in it

caught in a loop

forgotten dreams remembered

as vivid as the days light

this incense opening up the waves of once hidden sounds

senses made common through harmonic vibration

fear neglected and consequence shunned

for the love

of music

although I often feel

saddened by the thought that my deaf brother cannot hear what I hear

wondering how my poetic odes to sound may go over his head

since I have not managed to elevate Word to Sound degree

knowing that we can if we tried hard enough of if he took the steps towards me that I take towards this longing for him to hear

But were we all born to get it

what of fate, science and karma

questions of science, signs and progress?

what about forgetting

is it akin to deafness?

I dream of sounds that can be held as we hold words and texts inside objects

phonology, phrenology, phenomenology of dreams that hum

harbingers of the to come

let me Tune Up with Andy Bey and let Tshepo also follow us to a Roland Kirk riff and get high on an Elling spliff

As we prepare our Souls for more miracles

Technicolour harmonic vibrations

Optimal herbal calligraphy

sonic numerology

open source social music freed from the exploitative industry

let all music be written on walls and let all children of God be literate in Metu Neter

Let us write our names  hieroglyphically in starlight and on the sand as the Dogon do

let my wife, lovers and children blow meaningfully into a serpent covered didgeridoo

while I drum plaintively the songs of old Zulu warriors on the Ngoni drum

let us sing together with my enemy

a new song of an ecstatic peace

a deeply resonant piece that startles the devil sending him back home on a wing heavenward

to tell his father God

that some chords are discordant and its okay

that enough blood has been spilled on the altars of both their egos

that new songs are possible

only if we try to improvise

excavating truth from mountains of white hot lies

 

 

 

death blows …live and let die

“I plan to retire around five years after I die.” – Warren Buffet

 

Death has visited the family next door. A beloved daughter, sister, mother, friend has left the land of the living and we all have come to pay respect, and comfort the grieving family. Her body is here, her Soul has departed.

Kunomlindelo, and typically of many Afrikan communities, we are subjected to a few nights of religious singing, call it drumming and chanting but the Drum takes centre stage. Whether she was religious or not matters not anymore, The living Spirit of the dead is literary celebrated and ushered into interstellar space by the singing of hymns, the reading of scripture and the preparation of the living for our own impeding deaths. We are extolled to live righteously and never to forget that we are essentially impermanent, mere visitors to the earth and that our home is beyond all this. We would be wise to learn from the aged prophets, the saints and the dead who lived with their hearts stayed on God.

But the drumming tells me a very different story. There is sublime supplication and something mystically ancestral about the bellowing throb of Afrikan drums. Being in Harare, the land of the Karanga, the Tonga, the Rovzi, the BaThwa, the Ndau, the Zezuru ( All of whom are now either called Shona or Ndebele) – one discerns that the drumming is similar to that of the Nguni/Ngoni sangoma’s of further South rather than the typical ‘apostolic’ or methodist sound. But the polyphony is basically the same. The rhythmic changes are generally similar throughout Bantu Afrika. The drum tells the story of Souls both departed as well as those grappling with the vicissitudes of the living. How much of the drummers own spiritual strivings does the drum really tell, we may not know, perhaps the Christianised drummer is thinking of Jesus Christ on the deathly cross full of life, or he may be thinking about his ancestors or his own mortality. Does it translate into the sound or does he merely keep the usually pattern, the traditional rhythm of his specific congregational tradition?

My wife and I have already attended the earlier service between 7pm and 8.30pm, we hummed along as we do not yet speak the language …but the music is still reverberating after supper and it is now 10.24pm. The drumming is becoming louder and more fervent almost staccato yet still incessant. So I have chosen to re-visit old texts and sounds that deal with the subject of death. Next to my bed I have The Egyptian Book of The Dead or the Pert Em Rhu ( Book of Coming Forth By Day From Night), as well as Will Self’s – how the dead live, a brilliant novel published in the year 2000. The books are thousands of years apart, yet they both deal with the endlessly thrilling and imaginative Lives of the the departed from vastly different perspectives. I have my earphones on, decided to escape the trance inducing sounds of the Ngoni to the more mathematical transience of the Electronic Horas Largas by the soulful beat mechanic AFTA-1.

Unlearning and Relearning

The Underground Disciple

“Let us, from now on turn our backs on 19th century antiquarianism and look forward to 20th century science to assist in learning what we can about Zimbabwe, whose ‘mystery’ now becomes knowledge to be revealed to those who will take the trouble to try to understand. ” – ( Summers, 1963a: 40) – from the book The Silence of Great Zimbabwe- Contested Landscapes and The Power of Heritage

I am now living in Zimbabwe, a new chapter has opened in my life of knowledge, there is so much to take in and so much to learn and unlearn. I began this year with a clear target of completing a book I had started last year, titled The House of Plenty, but now that I have experienced the House of Stones in reality, the plan has shifted – all I can do for now, is talk to the people, take…

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Solutions Have Always Been With Us

Green Ankh Works

It has long become tedious and utterly painful to watch, read or listen to the news. There is hardly ever any good news coming out of Afrika. Yes, there are publications, journalists and even social media groups that are dedicated to sharing the good news about Afrika, and they are appreciated, but the overwhelming daily news is about the status quo of crime, death, corruption and a crippling moral decay, where women are the daily victims of horrendous crimes. The more Afrikan literature I read, the more I find that much of the solutions we seek to our common challenges have long been given.

A great number of our best intellectuals, in every discipline from anthropology, political sciences, poetry, mysticism, natural sciences, arts such as music and visual imagery to engineering have offered us clear and feasible solutions to almost every conceivable problem we face today.

I am not talking…

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Solutions Have Always Been With Us

It has long become tedious and utterly painful to watch, read or listen to the news. There is hardly ever any good news coming out of Afrika. Yes, there are publications, journalists and even social media groups that are dedicated to sharing the good news about Afrika, and they are appreciated, but the overwhelming daily news is about the status quo of crime, death, corruption and a crippling moral decay, where women are the daily victims of horrendous crimes. The more Afrikan literature I read, the more I find that much of the solutions we seek to our common challenges have long been given.

A great number of our best intellectuals, in every discipline from anthropology, political sciences, poetry, mysticism, natural sciences, arts such as music and visual imagery to engineering have offered us clear and feasible solutions to almost every conceivable problem we face today.

I am not talking about prophecy or some unmeasurable and philosophical conundrum here, but the everyday economic and cultural jams we seem to be caught up with, the things that keep the continent stagnant in spite of all the talked about Economic Growth and Africa Rising …

We have many heroes and heroines, a long list of healers, liberators and artists, entrepreneurs and technocrats. So what are we missing? Is it coordination, or is it some sense of unified purpose as a continent?

Could it be education, is it adequate or inadequate propagation of the answers?  Is it inequality and inequity, or the corruptibility of our so called leaders?

Perhaps it is an amalgamation of all of the above. We shall explore this further before the end of this week.

Grand Nubian