INTERESTING SWAHILI WORDS

Its been a while, in the meanwhile left Dar es Salaam, through the Libyan desert, Mediterenean sea into Europe, the UK to be precise, ushered into the 'health lounge' proved I had no TB (!!!*???) and was allowed entry through Heathrow, the London welcome as usual- a well of dark suited people in Terminal 4 on a Friday evening after the baggage claim, clambered into the underground train to Cockfosters and found a travel lodge in Hammersmith after a short ride on the black london cab with a very friendly Brit. Into Leicester for 2 weeks courtesy of Carol and Brian, 2 very kind and generous home folk who gave me a roof and a soft place to lie on, I am forever grateful, there are some kindnesses you can never repay....... but the Swahili language lives on in me and the following were of interest:

Machinga- means vendors in Tanzania but not in a derogatory manner. Would our Machinga district be named after vendors who Arab slave traders from Zanzibar encountered on their way to Mangochi where they briefly settled and introduced Islam?

Nywele- human head hair in Swahili, well back home the likeness is oh God! something else.

Viatu- shoes, we call them nsapato in Chichewa, obviously from the same roots- Arabic!

Ugali- nsima in chichewa but ugali in Mangochi, again straight off the east african arabs.

Kaka- Brother in swahili, same in the Nkhotakotalese! again came with the arab influence of the slave trade era, refer to Jumbe who had his slave fort in Nkhotakota.

Malaika- well I had sung along to the Mirriam Makeba song for so long but have only known recently that Malaika means angel, 'Malaika, nakupenda malaika' means 'my angel, I love you my angel'.

Ngozi- skin, not accident!

Ulimi- tongue, not farming!

Barua- letter or kalata or what some age in Malawi calls 'chibarua'.

Kupinga- to oppose.

and the rest you can guess try macho (maso), ndege (ndege), njia (njira), usivute sigara (usasute fodya), Kingereza (chingelezi), Mkate (Buledi), Mchuzi (nsuzi), vumbi (fumbi), kaputula (kabudula), kidonda (chironda), jua (dzuwa), kisonono (!?..), maji (madzi), mdomo (mlomo), Tumbo (mimba as in stomach), jino (dzino), Ua (lua), Misumari (misomali), mbwa (galu, imbwa), fisi, nyoka, kuku, nyimbo and the similarities go on............we share ancestry......definitely!