MOLWENI NONKE!

Winter has arrived! Ubusika bufikile!

We thought this would be a good time to teach you how to talk about the cold, the rain and the wind and to give you a little information as to what goes on in Eastern Cape villages during the winter.

Talking about “The Cold”

It is cold.   Kuyabanda.
I am cold.   Ndiyagodola.
It is very cold.  Kubanda gqitha.
It is cool.   Kupholile.
It is very cold.  Ingqele iqhaqhazelisa amazinyo.
(literally: The cold makes the teeth chatter.)

Talking about “The Rain”

It is raining.   Kuyanetha./Imvula iyana./Iyana.
It is heavy rain.  Sisiphango.
It is raining lightly.  Kuyaqabaqabaza.
It is drizzling.   Kuyakhwitsha.
It is pouring.   Kuyagalela.

Talking about “The Sky”

It is overcast.   Kusibekele.
There are clouds.  Kukho amafu.
The weather is bad.  Izulu libi.
It is partly cloudy.  Lithe gqabagqaba ngamafu.
The sky is overcast and threatening to rain. 
Izulu limathumb’ antaka.
(literally: The sky is the entrails of birds.)

Talking about “The Wind”

There is wind.   Kukho umoya.
There is a breeze.  Kukho impepho.
It is blowing.   Kuyabhudla.
The wind is blowing hard. Umoya uyavuthuza.

WINTER PURSUITS IN THE EASTERN CAPE

Harvesting    Ukuvuna

The winter in the Eastern Cape is dry and windy (komile, kuvuthuza umoya). It is the time when maize (umbona), pumpkins (amathanga) and sorghum (amazimba) are harvested.

Everyone in the family helps with the harvesting, but because the men are often away at the mines or in the cities, it is the women who do most of the hard work. The ripe mealies are picked, the outside leaves peeled off (to peel off leaves – ukuhluba) and put in baskets (baskets - iingobozi, izirudu). The mealies are then thrown into woven sledges (izileyi eziphingelweyo) and taken home.

After the reaping of the mealies a pig is sometimes slaughtered (kuxhelwa ihagu) and cooked to get fat (amafutha) to smear on the hands which have become cracked during the reaping.

When people are harvesting they have to carry their food and drink - often samp and beans (umngqusho) and a light Xhosa beer (amarhewu) - into the fields where different working parties will meet to chat and eat and drink together before going back to work.

Circumcision   Ulwaluko

The cold months are usually the ones in which boys are circumcised. This custom marks the transition from boyhood to manhood and was very important in traditional Xhosa society. Although this practice is undergoing some change, we will give you a brief outline of what traditionally happens when young men become initiates (abakhwetha).

At the beginning of winter a father of a young man is chosen (the father is known as usosuthu) to organize the initiation school/lodge (isuthu) and to appoint a mentor (ikhankatha) to train the initiates. Traditionally the young men used to spend about three months in initiation school, but these days, because of work and other constraints, it is usually three weeks.

On initiation day the boys are taken to the river where they splash themselves with water. This is done symbolically to wash away all uncleanness, but on a more practical level it also serves to contract the blood vessels in their foreskins to prevent too much bleeding.

The circumcision operation is performed in the lodge (traditionally with an assegai) and the wound is dressed with a medicinal leaf. The initiates are then smeared with white clay (ifutha) and dressed in white blankets. Some time after the operation the initiates will perform their special dance (umtshilo) in front of a crowd of onlookers who enjoy not only the artistry of the dancers but also the traditional beer that is freely available.

The dancers wear short grass skirts (imihlambi) and a veil (ixhonkxo) with palm fronds projecting upwards like horns. The dance consists of moving the buttocks and pelvis vigorously backwards and forwards so that the skirt rises and falls open like a fan. The head is nodded to make the horns wave up and down. The dance is performed to the beat of ox-hide drums (iingqongqo) and is accompanied by singing.

While at the lodge the initiates avoid the use of certain words, using khwetha hlonipha such as: amacam (water), isirhuza (meat), inqalathi (boy) and ibhengethe (dog). Initiates are also not allowed to look at or be seen by women – whenever they appear on the scene they will cover themselves with their blankets and even run away.

On the coming-out day (uphumo) the initiates run down to the river and wash off the clay and then return to the lodge where they are anointed with unsalted butter. The lodge is burnt as the initiates proceed towards the chief’s place or the home of the usosuthu. Here the newly initiated young men are admonished, instructed and given presents by the older men. The mentor then takes the young men to a special hut where they are smeared with red ochre. The girls and women are then allowed to give them presents. For the next month or so the young man (known as ikrwala) is recognized by his ochred face, blanket and a black headcloth.

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