Re: David Baerwald
You you you...what does that mean? Is it Bantu, Xhoso, sesoto (did I get any of those right?
Origins of words Umlungu (abelungu)
I was recently told by an esteemed Xhosa gentlemen (Joe, Nkululeko) that he had heard an interesting story about the origins of the word, "umlungu" - a white person, (plural - abelungu) whilst he was travelling on a taxi through Cape Town, as told by a young woman.I had heard previously that umlungu was a word also used for the white, dirty scum that blows in off the waves during storms on the east coast. I had also hear it meant "father of light", no doubt the former reflecting an element of dislike for the white man, and the latter perhaps advocated even by a white man with missionary vision. Neither of these had I ever heard substantiated or supported with any great enthusiasm.Before i tell the story, I would like to bring our attention to the fact that the word "ilungu" (plural Amalungu), which shares the same stem "lungu", merely belonging to a different noun group, can mean "a joint of the body, or a member of an organisation, or church". (In fact, ubulungu is another noun meaning "membership").The current story goes that when these strange pale-faced people started arriving amongst the Xhosa, they were at a loss as to what to call them. As time passed, and the first feasts were participated in by these new pale guests, the Xhosa folk noticed a preference for the cleaner meat of the animal, rather then fattier, bloodier parts. It seemed they had a preference for the joints, and thus derived the name umlungu - "one who prefers the joints of the beast".Again, this maybe a young lady's clever story, joking about the white folks she knows and there preferences for "cleaner, easier to eat meat", and she certainly would be right, based on my own experience of myself, and observing other visiting folk confronted with a chunk of gooey, fatty, sometimes hairy piece of Lord-knows-what part of the animal. Give me a nice fillet, any day. Actually, I'll take the organic veggie soup, thank you very much.Tra-lala, tweedle sticks.So, feel free to make a comment, or add your own anecdote that you may have heard about the origins of umlungu, or any other Xhosa word for that matter.Anyone know where "Heita" and "Moja" come from?Makhos.
A
Andrea
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You you you...what does that mean? Is it Bantu, Xhoso, sesoto (did I get any of those right?
Origins of words Umlungu (abelungu)
I was recently told by an esteemed Xhosa gentlemen (Joe, Nkululeko) that he had heard an interesting story about the origins of the word, "umlungu" - a white person, (plural - abelungu) whilst he was travelling on a taxi through Cape Town, as told by a young woman.I had heard previously that umlungu was a word also used for the white, dirty scum that blows in off the waves during storms on the east coast. I had also hear it meant "father of light", no doubt the former reflecting an element of dislike for the white man, and the latter perhaps advocated even by a white man with missionary vision. Neither of these had I ever heard substantiated or supported with any great enthusiasm.Before i tell the story, I would like to bring our attention to the fact that the word "ilungu" (plural Amalungu), which shares the same stem "lungu", merely belonging to a different noun group, can mean "a joint of the body, or a member of an organisation, or church". (In fact, ubulungu is another noun meaning "membership").The current story goes that when these strange pale-faced people started arriving amongst the Xhosa, they were at a loss as to what to call them. As time passed, and the first feasts were participated in by these new pale guests, the Xhosa folk noticed a preference for the cleaner meat of the animal, rather then fattier, bloodier parts. It seemed they had a preference for the joints, and thus derived the name umlungu - "one who prefers the joints of the beast".Again, this maybe a young lady's clever story, joking about the white folks she knows and there preferences for "cleaner, easier to eat meat", and she certainly would be right, based on my own experience of myself, and observing other visiting folk confronted with a chunk of gooey, fatty, sometimes hairy piece of Lord-knows-what part of the animal. Give me a nice fillet, any day. Actually, I'll take the organic veggie soup, thank you very much.Tra-lala, tweedle sticks.So, feel free to make a comment, or add your own anecdote that you may have heard about the origins of umlungu, or any other Xhosa word for that matter.Anyone know where "Heita" and "Moja" come from?Makhos.
