Zulu Lesson Pride

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Angel Reese, former LSU basketball player, now with Chicago Sky.

Society doesn’t like a proud person. U-ya-zazi, meaning he is full of himself, he thinks highly of himself or ‘he thinks he’s all that’ as kids put it. It comes from the Zulu verb, -zi, just two letters, that mean to know something, to know someone, to know how to drive, cook, skate, paint etcetera. How do I pronounce -zi? Like zinc, Zimbabwe or zillion years.

Uyazi?  Do you know?

Ngiyazi.  I know.

Bayazi. Do they know?

Abazi.  They don’t know.

Niyazi? Do you (many people) know?

Asazi. We don’t know.

Fire fascinates kids. That’s why they want to touch a candle or crawl towards an open fire. Contact is bad news because they holler the place down. Now they know that it is hot. Mummy then kisses the pain away and rubs some ointment or crushed herbs on the injured finger. With adults, ignorance of the law is no defence, something that lands tourists into trouble abroad.

Now let’s look at you, yourself. You know yourself, you ought to know yourself, you should and must. That’s a good thing, but not to me. I pass judgement on how you carry yourself. Examples.

1. Meghan Markle uyaza-zi. She is not proud. It’s your opinion about what she does or doesn’t do.

2. Deion Sanders 'Coach Prime' uyaza-zi. He is not proud. It’s your opinion about him and how he coaches his passion: American football.

3. Leylah Fernandez uyaza-zi. She is not proud. It’s your opinion about this Canadian tennis player. One commentator said she doesn’t smile. So?

4. Sophie Gregoire Trudeau uyaza-zi. She is not proud. It’s your opinion about Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s estranged wife.

5. Angel Reese uyaza-zi. She is not proud. It’s your opinion about the American basketball player.

U-Donald Trump uyaza-zi. It is not enough to say he is proud. He is pride-ful. Does such a word exist?

Nonqaba waka Msimang

Blogger Without Borders

 

 

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