What Are Weeds? Depends On Trump.

-

Donald Trump promised America he will weed undesirable elements when he returns. The Constitution, is the first thing on the chopping block. He will be aided and abetted by the U.S. Supreme Court. Photo: pocket book constitution from another country.

ZULU LESSON: Weeds

What is your favorite summer color? Green. Weeds also love green. That is why they are most buoyant during the summer.

They are uninvited guests. They are called ukhula in Zulu. It comes from the verb -khula which means to grow. Weeds take the whole field but they don’t have a plural in Zulu. They are called one thing u-khu-la, singular. You say the first part like uber, the second like cool and the third part like last.

What was interesting about British education in Africa, was being taught about your country through English eyes. The school system taught us that weeds are foreign invasive plants. As Africans, we did not understand the foreign part. Who brought them and how did they travel? We knew about weeds u-khula. Weeds do as they please, that’s why neighbors came together to weed my field today, yours tomorrow and someone else’ next week. It was called ilima, a community agricultural initiative.

What we also didn’t understand is that these foreign invasive plants have Latin names. We couldn’t say them obviously, because the African mind is not ‘highly developed,’ said priests and white civil servants. Our great grandparents were brilliant. That why they called weeds weeds, because they were exactly that u-khula, not Latin foreigners.  It was removed when it was time to plant or build a house. 

Weed in north America is a plant people smoke. It is called cannabis in Canada and it is legal. Is cannabis a Latin word? Never mind. Anyway, there are walk-in stores that could be next to a bakery or butchery, in strip malls.

Nonqaba waka Msimang

Blogger Without Borders

 

 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Elections And Political Bullies

-
Image
Forget democracy.   It should be called political bullying. We are watching it in the prelude to the Canadian election on the 19 th of October, 2015.   Americans have also started their political bullying for the looming presidential election next year. So many trees wasted on books about democracy.   Some countries have big budgets for invading other countries ‘ to defend democracy’ but it is seldom practised in campaigning for elections.   Calling opponents names and printing flyers attacking each other is behaviour that will not be tolerated in kindergarten, but it is all legal, in campaigning.   It is irritating and such a let-down to the whole notion of democracy.   Grown-up men and women behaving like Grade One kids. It is also misleading because many voters believe it is real hatred.   Don’t let that fool you.   These politicians play golf together, attend the same dinner parties, eat and drink at the same social events, share jokes and cut deals in parliament.   They
Read more

Comfort Food As Regret Food

-
Image
Chicken curry. Comfort food is good for the soul, which usually bleeds in winter from icy roads, bad drivers that want to annihilate pedestrians, frozen fingers and toes that take a sabbatical.   What happened to my toes?   I thought I was wearing special socks for boots? We therefore have a right to comfort food which throws doctors’ orders out of the window and has no loyalty to calories.   No calculator on the table, thanks very much.   Piece of bread 5 calories, half a banana 10 calories, sugar-free cheesecake 2,000 calories.   Ah! Ah!  We only live once. Naw!   Comfort food is old school food with its compulsory second helping.   It involves licking fingers and giving a big sigh, about the good life, which is shelter, food, love and debt.   The problem is the zip.   The jeans remind you that comfort food can also be called you will regret food .   Home sweet home is even sweeter in winter after surviving blowing snow and bumper to bumper traffic. What is more welcoming th
Read more

No Air Miles

-
Image
I don’t have Air Miles.   I’m considering putting that on a T-Shirt because I cannot go to the drugstore (chemist) or coffee shop without the cashier asking me if I have air miles. We waited for about two minutes the other day, while this guy looked for his Air Miles card in his overweight wallet.   For what?   For a few points. I don’t have air miles because Mathematics is a foreign language.   I was never good in numbers. That is why I squashed the idea of being an investment banker very early in life.   I understand you can invest in cornfields before the soil is turned up or pork bellies even before a baby pig is born. That is how I view air miles, investing in tomorrow or the unknown.   I’m the dumb one.   Some people understand this air miles’ thing so well, I overheard one customer saying: I can even convert my points into cash. Points and air miles are the same thing in Canada and the U.S.   Drugstores or clothing stores even give you a card to collect point
Read more