Unwele olude, more usually heard as nwel’olude, is an expression of a wish for prosperity, and I’ve always understood it as directly relating to a wish for the person to experience a sustained period of happiness. It’s most often said on the occasion of someone’s birthday, along with other lovely phrases such as ‘khul’ukhokhobe’. But why […]
Tag: birthday
Categories
32
For the first part of this week, I momentarily forgot how old I was. I thought I was going to be turning 33 today. I have no idea why I made this error, but it stuck with me unquestioned through Monday and into Tuesday. When I realised, on Wednesday morning, it was as though I […]
Categories
My Father
Today my father, uMashinashina wakwaMbilaziyawucosha, uMasikisiki’sind’isilo-sakhe, iNkunzi-kayihlehli, will celebrate his 77th circuit around the sun. Last night, sitting in my car in a rainy Joburg in between isiZulu lessons, listening to Abasikibebunda on the radio, he didn’t feel quite as far away as usual – so I wrote him a letter: “I remember many things […]
uMabhengwane 