Foul breath, foul words, foul taste in my mouth…

By Khomotso Mphahlele

The thing about profanity is that it seems so easy and cool when you speak with your pals who of course also share the same sentiments. And from my experience, you’d have to have your mind conditioned in such a manner that just about every thing you see, hear or say has a vulgar connotation to it. I remember my first experience with profanity, I was an “appie” in the mines, and while at the training center workshop, the work shop instructor seemed to think that in order for us to remember these equipments, tools, and machines and their functions, he had to relate them to sexual vulgar bits, and so it went. He gave me a task to machine a tool, on a “wanking machine”. Of course I pulled a face, a dumb face to be exact because I was standing there thinking “what in the world is a wanking machine?” he was referring to a milling machine.

And since then my vocabulary changed. I could eloquently cuss and swear in English and Afrikaans whilst making what is supposed to be a polite conversation, hoarsing around without a care in the world. It got worse to a point where I simply could not sound intelligent unless I was cussing.

Then it hit me one day. I went home, Ga-Mphahlele. See, having worked in the industries that I have and still is, it’s safe to say that I spent 90% of my time speaking English, so much that most of my dreams are in English. That’s just sad really. So while at home in the village, I found myself battling to communicate with anyone ka Sepedi because, well, I forgot how. I’m so conditioned to speaking sekgowa so much that I even dream ka sekgowa. That’s when realized as well that in order for me to say a sentence in Sepedi, I need to think it in English, and then translate it to Sepedi. This is where the problem started.

“I f#$@ng love this dish, it’s so f#$@ng awesome”.

First of all, I was raised in house hold where I would never even dare say “voetsek” to anyone. So cussing was a hell no! You’d literally be chased out of the house to sleep with herd in the kraal. And yet here I am, unable to piece a decent sentence together and sound like the good child mama raised. See, I know that if my mama heard me speak like that, using that sort of a language, she not only going to kick me out of the house, she’ll smack the foul taste out of my mouth first. And I know that for most of us black people, this household sounds very familiar. Christianity had nothing to do with it. It was just simple Afrikan traditions, principles and values instilled in us.

So the question I’m asking is, Why do we seem to be so comfortable with the kind of foul language we use? Why is it that we think just because we say it in English then that makes it easier on our conscience to cuss and get away with it?

Sepedi proverb “Rutang bana ditaola, gore le seyeng natjo badimong”. There’s a lot to teach my unborn children, and cussing is certainly not on the list, not in my house! 

Heritage Day What?

 By Malebo Gololo

Has it become so bad that we have to commercialise even the essence of what makes us be? Some South Afrikans only celebrate who they truly are once a year and then the rest of the year they are non-blacks/non-whites. I truly honour #ShakaDay #HeritageDay and feel it goes way beyond us updating our statuses in our mother tongue and dressing in our traditional regalia. During my corporate days, I used to wear traditional outfits to work and I used to get called in a lot, and told I must save it for #HeritageDay. We have adopted so much of the western culture that we have to commemorate our "heritage"

We celebrate youth day, women's day etc... Because of the deep symbolism the events of the yesteryears have become to us. Now do we know what brought on heritage day? Some people out there don't make an effort to preserve their heritage in their daily lives. Almost like the tradition of not attending church the entire year and only attending during the easter period. I challenge us to preserve our truest being throughout the year and not conform to the burying of our true heritage. 

Below I found very insightful, a Facebook status update by Professor Setati on where this day was truly derived from

"On this day in 1828, Shaka kaSenzangakhona, Zulu king and founder of the Zulu empire, was murdered by his two half-brothers Dingane and Mhlangana at kwaDukuza in the region that is today known as KwaZulu Natal.

This is the reason why today is a holiday in South Africa - heritage day. Originally the day was known as Shaka day. Each year on this day Zulu Kings and warriors gather at King Shaka's grave in Stanger and honor him.

There are several renditions of Shaka's last words and some of them have taken on a prophetic mantle - and popular South African / Zulu myth has him telling Dingane and Mhlangana that it is not they who will rule the Zulu nation but "white people who will come up from the sea." Some historians argue that the version which is probably the truest rendition comes from Mkebeni kaDabulamanzi, King Cetshwayo's nephew and grandson of King Mpande (another half-brother to Shaka) - "Are you stabbing me, kings of the earth? You will come to an end through killing one another."

So as you celebrate Heritage day, which some have decided to call National Braai day, just remember what its origins are." 

Mabu

A group of individuals decided to get together and form a book club which will later translate into something bigger.  The common love that brings these individuals together is the love for their beautiful continent,

What does Mabu a utswitswe mean?
"'Mabu a u tswitswe! The soil has been stolen - This is a sepedi idiom which is uttered in a village when the chief/king has been killed.  Someone would go to the top of the hill and say "Mabu a utswitswe" - everyone would grab their spear or weapon of choice because it means action must be taken . 

 Translating this into current Afrika today - it means that something has gone terribly wrong in Afrika and we must stand up and get back our soil.  We can no longer wait to be a part of, we must be.
 Discovering Afrika and restoring its dignity