Be Comfortable in Your Skin

The skin is iskhumba in Zulu.

Is-khumba. You pronounce it like Kumbaya, the African American song. I think it originated in church, where folks sang, Come By Here Lord ‘kumbaya’.  But, I stand corrected.

The skin is responsible for the cosmetic industry, face creams, cleansers, conditioners, moisturizes and my favourite: anti-aging creams. I find it hilarious that some rich women don’t like getting old. I hope it’s not an attempt to keep husbands because that is one species that cannot and will never be understood. Babies are adorable. Their skin is so soft.

Nature is perfect because trees slowly shed their skin and it falls off. Women take the bark home for firewood. Snakes are scary. While gathering herbs and fruits in the forest, one might stumble upon a snake’s skin and just hope the fella shed its skin and travelled far away somewhere.

The skin also reveals secrets about what we eat or don’t eat. Some women live on chocolate to keep thin. Breakfast, lunch, snack, dinner. The end result is pimples’ break dance.

In Africa and India, they used to sell skin lightening creams. South Africa had a product called Super Rose, which made the face yellow, but the neck remained black like Africa. Very funny. Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, one of Bollywood’s superstars and a loved daughter of India refused to endorse a skin lightening product. 

ZULU	ENGLISH
Inyoka iyebuza.	A snake sheds its skin.
Iskhumba esimnyama.	Black skin.
Ubandlululo ngesikhumba.	Discrimination because of skin colour.
Iskhumba sengane sithambile.	A baby’s skin is soft.
Iskhumba sembuzi sisemanzi.	The goat’s skin is still wet.
Iskhumba soku lala.	A sleeping mat. Animal skins were dried and used for many things.
Amakhosi embatha iskhumba sengwe.	Kings wear leopard skins.
Isidwaba senziwa ngeskhumba.	The married woman’s traditional skirt is made from animal skin.

By:  Nonqaba waka Msimang.