izimvubu nezingwenya

In all the change and chaos this week brought to things in general, what with last-minute about-turns and an 11th-hour resignation, there was one little gem that I choose to pick out.

It involves hippopotami, crocodiles, and isaga sesiZulu (a Zulu proverb).

You see, just before 18:30 on Wednesday (usuku lwezithandani, futhi) I was on my way to a lesson – and, of course, I was listening to uKhozi FM. Specifically, I was listening to Abasikibebunda, the evening current affairs programme – and when I tuned in it sounded like Msholozi had actually passed away. An anonymous reporter was recounting everything that had happened in the years that he had been president, obituary-style. And then the presenter welcomed Nhlanhla Mntaka to the show – a political analyst and editor of Bayede newspaper. I’ve mentioned his other engagement with uKhozi FM before – Hlaziya ipolitiki ngolimi lwakho (Analyse politics in your language) – and I am a great fan of his work. Perhaps I am an even greater fan after the story I’m about to relate.

With the commercials needing to be aired, and with the headlines at 18:30 drawing near, the presenter interrupts the analyst’s flow of speech, and says:

MfokaMntaka, sesiphethe-nje – ngifuna siphinde sibuyele lapho enkulumeni uMengameli  abe nayo, ekhethekile, noSABC. Nokuyilapho phinde futhi khona ngaphambi kokuba aphethe inkulumo, akuchasise khona ukuthi-ke kungase kube ne-crisis eNingizimu Afrika, uma ubheka indlela lolu daba olusingathwe ngayo ngubuholi be-ANC.

{Man of the Mntaka clan, we’re wrapping up now – I want that we return to the speech that the president gave, the special one, with the SABC. And specifically the point just before he concluded his speech, where he explained that there may actually be a ‘crisis’ in South Africa, if one looks at the way that this issue was dealt with by the leadership of the ANC.}

And he replies:

IsiZulu sinaso isisho. Sithi isiZulu: Ak’kho zinyane lemvubu ladliwa zingwenya kwacweba isiziba. Angikwazi ukuchaza ngokudlula lapho.

{the Zulu language has a saying. What the language says is: it doesn’t happen that the hippo calf is eaten by crocodiles and the pool (in which they both dwell) remains clear. I am not able to explain this more accurately than that.}

And it ends there. The presenter thanks him for his input, and the show cuts to commercial. A proverb is considered a perfect answer to the topic under discussion.

But how does this proverb relate to the issue at hand? Who is the hippo-calf, and who the crocodiles?

Firstly, the way the proverb was used in the broadcast is a variation of the more standard one: “Izinyane lemvubu kalidliwanga yingwenya kwacweba iziziba” {with the hippo’s calf not eaten by a crocodile, the pools remained clear}.

Here’s how uSolwazi Nyembezi explains it:

1. Inqolobane, ekhasini 158: uma uzwise omunye ubuhlungu obukhulu, lindela ukuthi naye hleze aziphindisele. {if you cause another great pain, expect that they will of course exact revenge}
2. Zulu proverbs, page 79: Crocodiles and hippopotami live in the water. The crocodile, if it should ever eat the hippo calf, must expect trouble from the parent. The water cannot be clear because of the blood of the calf, and also because of the fight of the parent. Therefore, when one does something which hurts extremely, one should expect results.

So, there are a few more questions. Is Zuma the hippo calf? In which case, who’s the hippo cow or bull that will defend him? Is Ramaphosa the crocodile?

While I leave you to ponder the effect of the battle between a hippo and a crocodile on our economy and our daily lives, I want to say one more thing.

I think it is absolutely awesome that an answer that makes sense, gets listeners thinking and that is culturally resonant can be expressed as a single proverb.

Ngubunyoninco bangempela.