A Girl Named Disaster

GLOSSARY

(Unless otherwise stated, words are in Shona.)

Ach (Afrikaans): Oh.

Ambuya: Grandmother.

Baba: Father; also a term of respect for any older man.

Binza: Otter.

Blerry (Afrikaans): A form of the mild English swear word bloody.

Bliksem (Afrikaans): Lightning. A mild swear word.

Bonsella (Tchalapa-lapa, pidgin Zulu): A gift.

Burwa: A giant lizard something like an iguana; also called a leguuan.

Chidao: Clan name or praise name.

Chikandiwa: A stroke (medical term).

Chisveru: Shona version of the game of tag.

Dare: Men’s meeting place.

Dassie (Afrikaans): A hyrax. Also called an mbira (Shona) or rock rabbit (English). It looks like a giant guinea pig.

Donkeyberry: A small tree with rather dry, sweet berries containing large seeds, which are also edible. Also called a raisin bush or a munjiri (Shona).

Frelimo: Ruling party of Mozambique.

Gogodzero: Opening fee; it is paid to begin a divination.

Gumbo: Leg of a cow.

Gurundoro: People who wear the ndoro, a spiral disk worn by kings and spirit mediums. This is Nhamo’s chidao, or clan name.

Hakata: Divining (fortune-telling) sticks, plain on one side with a pattern on the other.

Hezvo!: Good heavens!

Hozi: Communal storehouse raised on poles.

Iwe! Hamba!: Hey, you! Go away!

Jabvane: A many-branched small tree with juicy, purple berries.

Jongwe: Rooster.

Karoyi: Little witch.

Knobkerrie (Zulu): Club with a knob at one end.

Kugadzira: Ceremony to bring a spirit home to its grave.

Maheu: Drink made from leftover maize porridge and water; slightly alcoholic.

Mai: Mother.

Maiwee!: Oh, Mother! Mama mia!

Mamba (Zulu): The largest and most feared of African snakes. It is quick to bite if disturbed. Its poison can cause death within minutes.

Marula: A tree with yellowish green, plum-shaped fruit containing a nut with two or three oil-rich seeds inside. Very common and popular.

Masikati: Good day.

Mbira: A musical instrument with flat metal keys attached to a slab of wood or a hollowed-out gourd. It is played with the thumb or, if the musician is especially creative, the big toe.

Mealie (English): Corn.

Meisie-kind (Afrikaans): Girl child, kid.

Mhandara: Young woman.

Mhondoro: The lion spirit, spirit of the land.

Mhuvuyu: A weed with spearhead-shaped leaflets. The long, black seeds hook onto cloth and take time to remove. The cooked leaves taste like spinach. Also called blackjack.

Minha vida (Portuguese): My life, my love.

Mobola: A wild African plum tree.

Mopane flies: Stingless bees that like to drink moisture from one’s eyes, nose, and mouth. Very irritating.

Mopane tree: A common tree with rough, gray bark and kidney-shaped pods. The wood burns very easily.

Mowa: Wild spinach.

Moyo: Heart.

Mukonde: A leafless tree with many soft, easily broken branches. Its sap is sticky and poisonous. Also called a candelabra tree or a euphorbia (scientific name).

Mukuyu: Wild fig tree.

Mukwa: Tree with attractive golden sprays of flowers. The wood is prized for making furniture and canoes. It is termite-resistant.

Mupfuti: A beautiful tree with rough, gray bark and reddish leaves at the beginning of the rainy season.

Muroyi: Witch. A very bad insult.

Musasa: A common and handsome tree with reddish leaves at the beginning of the rainy season.

Mutarara: Wild gardenia.

Muti: Medicine.

Mutimwi: Cord worn around the hips to protect one’s fertility.

Mutiti: Lucky-bean tree. A heavily built tree with spectacular scarlet flowers and small red-and-black seeds that contain a poison like curare.

Mutowa: A small tree with corklike bark and very sticky sap. Also called a rubber tree.

Mutsangidza: A short, bushy plant with small purple flowers. It is inedible, but can be boiled to make a flavoring resembling salt.

Mutupo: Totem.

Muvuki: A medical specialist who deals with causes of death.

Muzeze: A handsome tree with spectacular masses of yellow flowers. The bark, roots, and leaves are used to cure stomach pain, sore throat, and pinkeye.

Muzhanje: Wild loquat trees. They have round, rusty-yellow fruits about the size of plums, with hard skins. The leaves drop off to form a crackling carpet that gives away the presence of any animal beneath.

Mwari: God.

Ndoro: Round disks worn by kings.

Nganga: Traditional healer.

Ngozi: An avenging spirit.

Ngwena: The crocodile; name of an unlucky pattern in the divining sticks.

Nyama: Meat.

Oupa (Afrikaans): Grandpa. To call someone grandfather is always meant kindly in both Afrikaans and Shona.

Pakila: Panpipes.

Panga (Zulu): A large knife or machete.

Picanin (Tchalapa-lapa, pidgin Zulu): Child.

Quelea: Small birds that travel in huge flocks; they are a major pest of grain crops.

Roora: Bride price.

Ruredzo: A common trailing plant with pink flowers somewhat like snapdragons. The boiled roots produce a soap substitute.

Sadza: Stiff cornmeal porridge.

Shiri: Bird.

Shoko: A vervet monkey.

Shumba: Lion.

Takutuka chiremba: Traditional greeting on entering a muvuki’s territory. Literally: “We have scolded you, doctor.”

Tateguru: Great-grandfather.

Tsenza: A small shrub with yellow flowers growing from tubers under the soil. The tubers taste somewhat like turnips. Also called wild potato.

Tsotsi: Common hoodlum.

Tsunga: The steadfast ones; a praise name.

Va-: Honored; added to the beginning of a name.

Va-Ambuya: Honored Grandmother.

Vahukwu: Welcome.

Vapostori: A sect of Christianity founded by Johane Maranke in 1932.

Vatete: Respectful title for paternal aunt.

Voetsek (Afrikaans): Go away! The word can be extremely insulting.

Vukiro: Sacred grove.

Womba!: Amazing!

Zango: A charm against witches.

Zaru: Disagreement; name of a particular fall of the divining sticks.