Zulu Lesson Names for Girls

Canada is gearing up for Thanksgiving on Monday 10 October. It's a national holiday.

Millions of girls are named Sibongile (we are thankful) not only in South Africa alone but throughout Africa, in languages of the soil like Luo, Makonde, Ndebele, Sesotho, Igbo, Yoruba, Hausa etc.

The birth certificate will have Sibongile, but it is actually a whole sentence of why parents are thankful for her birth.

Si-bo-ngi-le come from bonga, which is thankful in Zulu.  It is bringing up kids to say thank you when someone gives them food or a gift.  Parents routinely send kids with messages of thanks to neighbours.

Si-bo-ngi-le.  The first part is pronounced like seize, the second part like Molotov but replace -M- with -b-, the third part like sing with -a- and the last part as in leg.

ZULU	ENGLISH
Bo-ngi-we.	A girl’s name meaning the one who is thanked. Bongi for short.
Bo-nge-ka.	A girl’s name meaning thankful. Bongi for short.
Ba-bo-ngi-le.	They were thankful.
Si-ya-ku bo-nge-la.	We are thankful for you.  Congratulations.
U-Za-ndi-le wa- bo-nga nge-mi-fi-no.	Zandile showed her thanks with spinach/greens.
U-ma-ma-za-la wa-bo-nga nge-moto.	The mother-in-law showed her thanks with a car.
A-ma-we-le a-ya-bo-nge-ka.	People are thankful for twins.
O-bani a-ma-ga-ma a-ma-we-le?	What are the twins’ names?
U-Bongani no Bongiwe.	It’s Bongani (the boy) and Bongiwe (the girl).
Si-bo-ngi-le nge-mali.	We say thanks for the money.
Si-bo-ngi-le nge-zi-nko-mo.	We say thanks for the cattle.

By:  Nonqaba waka Msimang.