The Head in Zulu

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The head is i-kha-nda in Zulu.
My apologies. My bad. I’m sorry.  That is the first word I should have taught people learning isiZulu, one of the languages spoken in Southern Africa.  Its umbilical cord is buried in a land mass known as Kwa-Zulu, South Africa.
I-kha-nda should have been the first lesson because it is where life begins, the head comes first when a baby is born.  Midwives are concerned if it doesn’t.


It is where everything happens, in the head right?  You might cause an accident if you think about your problems while driving.  You might give a patient the wrong drug or drop a plate of food.  What people post tells us a lot about their head space.
But right now, I have a headache (Ngi-phe-thwe ikhanda).  Somebody who does what she wants is referred to as: khanda limtshel’okwakhe meaning, she dances to her own drum.
Old Bollywood movies have train station porters carrying luggage on their heads.  Coolie, starring Amitabh Bachchan and Rishi Kapoor is a good example of such stories. 
I-kha-nda.  It is a noun.  You pronounce the first part like e-mail, the second like khakhi, and the last one like panda.
ZULU
ENGLISH
Ma-kha-nda.
A boy’s name.  Families have reasons for this baby’s name, but I can’t think of one for this post.
U-Bafana u-ne-kha-nda e-li-khu-lu.
Bafana has a big head.
U-Nesta u-ne-kha-nda e-li-khu-lu.
Nesta has a big head.
Sisi, ngi-ce-la u-ku-fi-hla i-kha-nda.
Sister/Girlfriend may I hide my head with you?  This happens when you have been kicked out from your last address.
Wa-sha-ya i-bho-la nge-kha-nda ba-wi-na.
He hit the ball with his head and they won the soccer match.
Herman, gu-nda i-kha-nda.
Herman, get a haircut.
U-Lupita Nyong’o u-phu-ca i-kha-nda.
Lupita Nyong’o shaves her head.
A-ka-na-kha-nda.
He has no head.  He has no sense.
A-ku-kho lu-tho e-kha-nda.
There is nothing in the head.  She has no sense.
A-si-hla-nga-ni-se a-ma-kha-nda.
Let’s bring heads together.  Let’s discuss or think about it.
I-nya-nda ye-zi-nku-ni e-kha-nda li-ka-Zonke.
Zonke is carrying firewood on her head.
Ngi-phe-thwe i-kha-nda.
I have a headache.
By:  Nonqaba Msimang.



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