Backpacking Through Africa 20 – Mzungu! Mzungu!

 The word mzungu (muzungu), meaning 'white person'—and beloved by screeching urchins all over East Africa— was coined in the days of the early European explorers.

It comes from the Kiswahili verb kuzunguka: 'to wander around aimlessly, like a mad person.' The Swahili word for a hangover, kuzungu-zungu ('my head's going round and round'), comes from the same root.

Travelers wandering around aimlessly and nursing hangovers? Not much has changed...

Janin Klemenčič (to be continued)

Backpacking Through Africa 20 – Swahili

 Swahili is a mixture of East African languages, Arabic, and English.

In Tanzania, Kenya, and parts of neighboring countries, it is introduced as a second official language because communication among the multitude of tribal languages would otherwise be difficult. 
"Habari?" for example, is a distorted version of "How are you?"  

Janin Klemenčič (to be continued)

Backpacking Through Africa 19 – Habari bwana

 Greetings in Africa are a true ritual, and it’s good to learn them if you want to have good relations with the locals. A typical Swahili greeting goes something like this:

"Jambo bwana!" (Hello, sir/ man!) or 

"Jambo muzungu!" (White person)

"Jambo mama! Habari?" (Hello, ma’am/ woman, how are you?)

"Mzuri! Habari bwana?" (Fine! How are you, sir?) 

"Mzuri!" (Good!) 

"Karibu!" (Welcome!)

"Asante sana." (Thank you very much.) 

Janin Klemenčič (to be continued)

Backpacking Through Africa 14 – Jambo Bwana

 
"Jambo bwana!" greeted a young man who had hurried after me on the street and looked at me brightly.

"Jambo!" I replied, slightly surprised.
He probably wanted something from me— in Africa, people rarely greet without a specific reason.
He was a head shorter than me and likely not yet of legal age.

Janin Klemenčič (to be continued)