Showing posts with label praises. Show all posts
Showing posts with label praises. Show all posts
Thursday, September 30, 2010
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Thursday, September 30, 2010
Samuel Albert
There are certain features in these praise songs to which it is worth calling attention in order to make comparisons with the similar group of songs in the south. In the first place, the phrasing and the words of the praise songs of the line of Paramount Chiefs vary in different districts. In Mwambera's country for example, one "pattern" of praise song is heard in Ekwendeni, another in Elangeni, in each the pattern being standardised unless a very brilliant umbongi or praiser added a phrase from his own isifua. In the second place sarcastic or even insulting remarks are sometimes found in praise songs. I am told they were permitted because no one could possibly believe them, "that is, it was, a form of high praise to say ludicrous things about a chief which could not be true. In the third place, some of the praise songs were " telescoped," praises of an earlier chief being included in those of a later one. As however this is the first time any of these praises have been recorded in writing, this " telescoping " may be a fault of the recorder.
Footnotes
1.uNgwana was leader of the Maseko group of Ngoni when they left the South. He is the great-great grandfather of the present Paramount Gomani.
2. The meaning of this phrase is very obscure and is just a guess.
3. Na is the honorific prefix for important women in Gomani's country, taken from Chewa.
4. This is obscure too but the meaning is said to be " grazing,"
5. Probably imiyonzo yempi = advance guard of the army.
6. Armlets of cattle would involve taking cattle, someone's property, and would cause dispute. Wild animals no one can lay claim to.
7. Ubende is really cooked blood, but I am told that it is used here poetically for uncooked blood igazi.
8. I am not sure whether ukudabuka is used here in its meaning of " to originate " or " to break away." Either is common usage.
9. This was the father of the present Paramount Gomani.
10. In dividing a cowskin for making shields a more honoured person receives the- right hand side. Hence disputes arose when chiefs gave skins for shields A goat skin is not divided
11. Leader of the Jere group when leaving the south. Great grandfather of the present Paramount Mwambera.
12. He was said to have blazing eyes like a man who smokes hemp.
13. Refers to his way of getting rid of rivals and those suspected of witchcraft.
14 The vulnerable side.
15. A possible reference to Basa who killed Zwangendaba's wives.
20. Was father of Zwangendaba
21. He was known to have been a dwarf.
22. A reference to his alleged impotence.
Read more...
PRAISE POEMS OF THE MASEKO AND JELE NGONI
By Margaret Read.
Excerpt from 'Songs of The Ngoni People'.
Excerpt from 'Songs of The Ngoni People'.
Praise songs of chiefs and great men are so well known in South Africa that it is unnecessary to explain them at length here. In Nyasaland the Ngoni are unique in possessing praise songs, some of which go back seven or eight generations. These praise songs are today " chanted " on state occasions before the chiefs, and the tradition persists of handing them on. The izibongo, or praise songs proper, belong to a group of songs which have no music but which are " chanted " in a kind of recitative, which only a few people know how to do. Other songs in this group are the izithokozo or thanking names, and the izigiyo which the warrior shouts when coming forward in his own solo dance during the umgubo dance. All people who have any claim to distinction possess izithokozo and izigiyo, but the izibongo appear to be only for chiefs of the royal house and a few other distinguished nobles whose houses in the past were near to, if not actually, royalty.
There are certain features in these praise songs to which it is worth calling attention in order to make comparisons with the similar group of songs in the south. In the first place, the phrasing and the words of the praise songs of the line of Paramount Chiefs vary in different districts. In Mwambera's country for example, one "pattern" of praise song is heard in Ekwendeni, another in Elangeni, in each the pattern being standardised unless a very brilliant umbongi or praiser added a phrase from his own isifua. In the second place sarcastic or even insulting remarks are sometimes found in praise songs. I am told they were permitted because no one could possibly believe them, "that is, it was, a form of high praise to say ludicrous things about a chief which could not be true. In the third place, some of the praise songs were " telescoped," praises of an earlier chief being included in those of a later one. As however this is the first time any of these praises have been recorded in writing, this " telescoping " may be a fault of the recorder.
I am including here four sets of praise songs, in three of which there are alternative forms. It is interesting to see what a degree of variation was reached, and it may be possible in comparison with praise songs in the south to find out some principles of composition of these praise songs with their variations. It may be on the other hand that, "the spirit bloweth where it listeth," and isifua must have its way, and eloquence its own poetic licence.
The arrangement of the sentences will be familiar to anyone who has listened to praise songs. The beginning of each sentence (marked with a capital letter) is on a high note, generally rallentando, and the notes descend to the end of the sentence, and are held again on the last note.
(I) Ngoni : " Izibongo zikaNgwana1 kaGoqweni "
Bayethe baba !
Bayethe Nkosi !
Bayethe Gumethe !
Inkosi yelizwe lonke
Wena umzukhulu kaNgwana, kaGoqweni
Wena kaSongobe zamakhanda, kuyâmbatha amashoba ezinyamazana.
Wena wadabuka kwaShaka ebenkundla zitha, amachamani ngesidaba soluthuli.2
Wena wakwaMdladla uBanjwa, oBanjwa ngaMasokani.
Umzukhulu kaNaNqongwane3kaGoqweni
Wena okwenda okumnyama.
Wena osilo sabantu.
Wena ingudlangudla4inkunzi yamalanga.
Owaphuza ubende lwezinkomo.
Owabekwa ndawonye nezintaba.
Liyasha, liyasha ungenampendulo.
English : " Praise of Ngwana son of Goqweni."
Hail father !
Hail Chief !
Hail Gumethe !
Chief of the whole country.
You the grandchild of Ngwana son of Goqweni
You the son of Songobe of the military villages, clothed with armlets of wild animals.
You who came from among Shaka's people. Shaka who was the milking place of his enemies, the calf skin for the kilt of Lutuli.
You of the Mdladla who was captured, who was captured of Masokana.
The grandchild of Na-Nqongwane daughter of Goqweni. You whose marriage had sad omens.
You the wild beast of the people.
You the biggest of all other bulls.
You who drink the blood of cattle.
You who wast placed together with the mountains.
The sun is blazing, is blazing, and you do not answer.
(2) Ngoni : " Izibongo kaNgwana, kaGoqweni noGoqweni."
Wena owajub' imithi wajub' imiyomo5
Wena ontethe vuyana wahlom' izinsiba zezintethe.Owaya phansi wakhwela phezulu, wayokuthabath' inkwenkwezi yokusa.
Hamba wena lokhu bakwalakho, uyokuthabatha amashoba ezinyamazana: ezinkomo anombeyebeye.6
Wena ukumbuyana umyandana wakadeni.Kuyehla wayehla ndawonye nezintaba.
Wena wasel' ubende7bezinkomo.
Wena waqhamukana naboShaka, uShaka kaMbelebele.
Wena waghamukana naboNyathi ekaMashaane : eladuma lasibekela.
Izinkomo ezapheya ngamaganyazana.
Wena wadabukana8 naboMzilikazi
Wena wadafiukana naboMpakana kaLidonga
Wena wadaBukana naBoNdwandwa.
English: "Praises of Ngwana son of Goqweni and of Goqweni."
You who cut the trees and who cut the mouths,
You who cut the trees and who cut the mouths,
You the locust, who fixed in your hair the feathers of the locust.
Who went below, and climbed up, and went to bring the morning star of the dawn.
You go, since you are rejected ; you go and bring the armlets of wild animals ; those of cattle will be much disputed.
You who remember the fault of long ago.
In descending, you descend together with the mountains. You who drank the blood of cattle.
You who separated from the people of Shaka, Shaka of Mbelebele kraal.
You who separated from the people of Nyathi the son of Mashobane ; it thundered, it was cloudy.
Thou resemblest cattle which were finished by wolves.
You who originated with the people of Mzilikazi.
You who originated with the people of Mzilikazi.
You who originated with the people of Mpakana son of Lidonga.
You who originated with the people of Ndwandwa.
You who originated with the people of Ndwandwa.
(3) Ngoni : " Izibongo zikaGomani kaTshikusi."
Bayeth' nkosi
Wena umzukulana kaGwaya
Wena umzukulana kaNgwana
Umabanda tshembuzi tshenkomo tshinombalo
Wena owadla muntu lapha kuboNgala.
Wena owadla muntu lapha kuboNgala.
English : " Praises of Gomani9 son of Tshikusi."
Hail Chief
You the grandchild of Gwaya
You the grandchild of Ngwana
One who carries a goatskin shield, because he knows a shield of cow skin brings envy10
You who ate a man there among the Ngala people.
(3) Ngoni: "Izibongo zikaZwangendaba11 kaHlatshwayo."
UZwangendaba omnyama ngabomu ophik' eziyakhanya
Obej' amehlo wabej' imiyumo
Obej' amehlo wabej' imiyumo
Ophuz' ingazi zamanye madoda
Indima azilingani nabakwazi kulima
Ivila elidl' amabele okulinyelwa
UMcethuli wezigodo nasekhaya uyacethula nakubafo uyacethula
Owel' UZembezi ngezinyawo
Owel' UZembezi ngezinyawo
Bath' UZembezi aluwelwa luwelwa ngezinkonjane zimadada
Ohlangane ngengwe emahlabeyeni
Ohlangane ngengwe emahlabeyeni
Wathi ingwe izongiyamuyeya kanti ingwe izith' ezinye
Nango, nango, umbonaphi?
Nango, nango, umbonaphi?
Umbon' emagumeni abonina.
English : Praises of Zwangendaba son of Hlatshwayo.
Zwangendaba whose intention it is to be black, whose wings are shining
Red as to the eyes12 and red as to the lips.
Who drinks the blood of the other men.
The plots (which he hoes) are not equal to those of the people who know how to hoe.
An idle man who eats grain which is hoed for him.
Clearer of the stumps (which are in his way) ; at home he is clearing them13, and in the enemy country.
Who crossed the Zambezi by foot.
They say the Zambezi is not crossed, it is crossed by swallows like ducks.
Who has encountered a leopard on his left side14.
He said : the leopard will help me whereas the leopard is some enemies15.
There he is, there he is, where do you see him ?
You see him in the fences of his mothers.
(4) Ngoni: "Izibongo zikaZwangendaba kaHlatshwayo."
UZwangendaba omnyama ngabomu ophike kwakhanya.
Muka simuke wena owaliwayo
SingaNtungwa siyishashazi lapha abantu bafa ngokhulaphaya.
Ngqaba dlan' abantu shiy' izinkomo.
Ngqaba kuLushwana kwaba uluthuli.
Nango, nango Bambonaphi ? Bambon' emagumeni abonina.
Mathukuthela zaluke namathole.
Iqili elikhulu elega amaseko ezinyanga.
Ngenyuko ngaza ngazazu ulubombo.
Siyenzwa ngenkani inkulu yaManqumayo.
Uyabona amalembe akuhlalele amalembe angalembel' ukulinywa.
Wakubon' inkotha wadladlama.
Wakubon' udonga wafaka unyawo.
Yena owashaya amanzi ngomshiza kuZembezi.
Owakhumhul' inkomo zabalunjana.
English : "Praises of Zwangendaba son of Hlatshwayo."
Zwangendaba whose intention it is to be black16 who denies it to be light.
Go away, let us go, you the rejected one.
We are like a man of the Ntungwa17, a fat one; there the people die as fat ones.
Ngqaba you must eat people. Leave the cattle.
Ngqaba son of Lushwana there was confusion.
There he is, there he is, where do they see him ? They see him in the fences of his mothers.
One who is angry because the cattle have gone with the calves.
His great cunning overcomes the magic stones of the doctors.
I have gone away until I have seen Lubombo Mountains.18
We are suffering on account of the great dispute with the Nqumayo19 people.
You are seeing the hoes which are waiting for you, the hoes which cannot be used for hoeing.
He saw it, the short grass, he was biting it hastily.
He saw it, the ditch, his foot slipped into it.
He who divided the water with a stick at the Zambezi.
He who remembered the cattle of the Balunjana.
(5) " Ngoni : Izibongo zikaHlatshwayo20 kaMagangatha"
UGubazi ngokwambath' ingubo enzima
Umanunk' onjengokaLongqola
Umkhulana ngokubiz' ezizzweni
'Sandla saphath' inkomo zaphalala
EzikaNdlembe ngezikaNdlembe wakuboMfekane
Bathi ubuhlalu kabulingani entanyeni
Ingani kobodade babo buyalingana
English: " Praises of Hlatshwayo son of Magangata."
Gubazi by putting on a black robe
Who smells like the son of Longqola
Who is great by calling the tribes
The hand that touched cattle and they multiplied
Those (cattle) of Ndlembe, they belong to Ndlembe of Mfekane
They say the beads do not fit on his neck
Whereas on the necks of his sisters they are fitting.
(6) Ngoni: "Izibongo zikaHlatshwayo kaMagangatha."
UHlatshwayo omfishane anganyatheli ingubo
Ingani abade bayazinyathela
Inyama idliwa ngemikwa yamazembe
Ingadliwa ngezinsungulo ibolile
Hlatshwayo isihlahla esibenyana kulllatshwayo waMandulo
Utshani wentongoza awushi nokusha, usha nyasisitheka usha using' intonteya.
English: " Praises of Hlatshwayo son of Magangata."
Hlatshwayo the dwarf one21 who cannot trail his cloth
Whereas the tall people trail their cloths
Meat eaten with knives of axes
If it is not eaten with forks it is rotten
Hlatshwayo whose bodily vigour is finished off compared with Hlatshwayo of former times22
Grass of deep red colour is not burned with burning ; it burns very slowly; it burns drop by drop.
Below is a video of Ngoni languages praises for Inkosi yamakhosi Gomani IV
Footnotes
1.uNgwana was leader of the Maseko group of Ngoni when they left the South. He is the great-great grandfather of the present Paramount Gomani.
2. The meaning of this phrase is very obscure and is just a guess.
3. Na is the honorific prefix for important women in Gomani's country, taken from Chewa.
4. This is obscure too but the meaning is said to be " grazing,"
5. Probably imiyonzo yempi = advance guard of the army.
6. Armlets of cattle would involve taking cattle, someone's property, and would cause dispute. Wild animals no one can lay claim to.
7. Ubende is really cooked blood, but I am told that it is used here poetically for uncooked blood igazi.
8. I am not sure whether ukudabuka is used here in its meaning of " to originate " or " to break away." Either is common usage.
9. This was the father of the present Paramount Gomani.
10. In dividing a cowskin for making shields a more honoured person receives the- right hand side. Hence disputes arose when chiefs gave skins for shields A goat skin is not divided
11. Leader of the Jere group when leaving the south. Great grandfather of the present Paramount Mwambera.
12. He was said to have blazing eyes like a man who smokes hemp.
13. Refers to his way of getting rid of rivals and those suspected of witchcraft.
14 The vulnerable side.
15. A possible reference to Basa who killed Zwangendaba's wives.
16. This may be a reference to the well-known black skin of the Jeris, sometimes jeered at by certain lighter skinned families.
17. Considered to be a superior people.
18. Meaning quite obscure uLubombo (= Lubombo Mts.) is said to be fontanel
19. Zwidi Nqumayo was Paramount Chief of the Ndwandwe; even the Jeres were under him.
20. Was father of Zwangendaba
21. He was known to have been a dwarf.
22. A reference to his alleged impotence.
Posted in achewa, angoni, chkuse gomani alumazana, Gomani, jele, jere, ngoni, ngoni praise poems, praises, uGwana, uZwangendaba, Zwangendaba
Saturday, May 29, 2010
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Saturday, May 29, 2010
Samuel Albert
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THE INSTALLATION OF INKOSI YA MAKOSI GOMANI III IN 1966
Below is an eye witness account of the installation of Inkosi yamakhosi Gomani III in 1966. Another important piece of history that we dare not forget. Enjoy
Author(s): G.T NURSE
Only two persons in Malawi are entitled to be saluted, Bayete! On cold geographical grounds it is surprising that there should be so many. The eldest traditions of the Bantu speak of slow movements of people from north to south, west to east, less commonly east to west; only in comparatively recent and rare instances, from south to north. The sudden northward irruption in the second quarter of the last century, of Kalolo into the headwaters of the Zambesi, and that subsequent and lesser extension of theirs in the company of David Livingstone which ended in the assumption of a handful of minor chieftaincies in the Shire valley, were remarkable enough; but the convulsion which sent whole brave regiments of Zulu and Swazi warriors to extinguish what remained of the empire of Monomotapa, to establish a hegemony over the Tumbuka, to halt the Yao, to cleave the Marabvi in two and to set up outposts as far from their starting point as central Tanganyika, may not unworthily be compared with certain of the volkerwanderungen, so pregnant with consequences, of the dark ages of Europe.
Posted in chikusi, Gomani, imihubo ngoni, isibongo, jele, Lizulu, maseko, ngoni, ngoni praise poems, praises, Songea, Tete, uZwangendaba, Zwangendaba
Monday, October 12, 2009
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Monday, October 12, 2009
Samuel Albert
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Ngoni praises for M'mbelwa (Rangeley papers from Society of Malawi)
Below are Ngoni language praises for Inkosi yaMakhosi M'mbelwa of Mzimba district in Malawi. As any student of isiZulu would quickly notice, there are here and there some words which appear to be of Tumbuka language origin interspersed in a few sentences. However the very existence of Ngoni language praises, almost a hundred years after the Ngoni left Zululand, is very commendable and incredible indeed. Thanks to the Society of Malawi for preserving this piece of history as collected by Late WHJ Rangeley,a former colonial Administrator in Nyasaland (present day Malawi).
Bayede Nkosi -Ngu Mbelwa ka Zwangendaba- Uzwangendaba ka Hlachwayo- uHlachwayo ka Magangata- uMagangata ka Magalela- Hamba sihambe siye eswazini - Lapha kwafa abakhulupheleyo - Wake wabona indaba ibebezelwa nomntwana waswebeleni.- Ingane abadala zibakohliwe - Wafika wanyangaya wafulelwa no uchani wezindhlela Bathi umungoni wakithi woima kuhle ulungisa abangoni bamandulo - Umuchiza owumunyama wadhla inkomo zikangani - Wabeke iso njengo nkomo - Hau Hau Zinduna - Makosanyane at gijimani siyokucala zindaba - kepha yena agijima apange Hawini -Uchani wontenteya ungachi - uyakucha ku Injenjeni - Inkosi iphuma kwao Ekwendeni - Ukwenda kumunyuma - Ulugcagca lungasuti kusuti umoya - Ukwenda kupumi Elangeni - Ilanga lika ngcingca - Inkosi ingumachwila - Yachwila zinkomo zakuwo - Kadi zimuka na mabuto aseMtenguleni - Umuzi wakwao kwa Ntuto - Ongu ka Soseya wakwa Ndwadwa - BAYETE NKOSI (copyright Society of Malawi. All rights reserved)
Compare the above praise recorded probably in the 1940s with the video clip below of a modern day praises to Inkosi yamakosi M'mbelwa in 2008. Apologies for the low volume which makes it difficult to follow the praises. This was due to the microphone not being near enough.
Monday, July 13, 2009
0
Monday, July 13, 2009
Samuel Albert
NGONI LANGUAGE PRAISES FOR INKOSI YA MAKHOSI MPEZENI IV
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