Language Learning
I remain indebted to Batswana friends and colleagues in Tlokweng who helped me build on the foundation of the fantastic Botswana Orientation Centre programmes. At the sorghum mill we charged a small amount for grinding the sorghum grain that people brought along. I will never forget the day shortly after I arrived when one man brought his sorghum. After weighing the amount, we gave him the invoice. Ow, oskawampolaya…… I had no idea what he had said as everyone roared with laughter. With wonderful patience, the man gave me a lesson in Setswana grammar as he broke down the phrase. I then recognized o seka wa (don’t) and I learned about the placement of objects and the changing of ‘mb’ to ‘mp’. So then I understood: o seka wa mpoloya …. Ow, don’t kill me (with those prices). I joined the roaring laughter – and it is a phrase that I continue to use to this day. I also learned of the risk of assuming that Setswana and Sesotho (my husband’s family language) were that similar, despite so many saying it was mainly a matter of exchanging ‘g’ for ‘h’. I was expecting our first daughter shortly after I met my in-laws. When they asked how I was, I responded ke tsogile, mme ke lapile….. More roars of laughter as I learned that while lapile in Setswana means tired, it means hungry in Sesotho! A great way to meet the in-laws! But as ever, we all laughed uproariously and I learned a valuable lesson. The Power of Music Gaborone in the early 1980s was a dynamic and thriving cultural centre. MEDU brought together Batswana and South African visual, musical and writing artists. The 1982 Culture and Resistance symposium brought legends to the city to consider the role of culture in ending apartheid. Venues such as the Woodpecker Club on the banks of the Limpopo and the Oasis Hotel in Tlokweng hosted the greats such as Hugh Masekela and Jonas Gwangwa, who made their home in the city. Saturday book tables in the mall blasted out Masekela’s Bring him (Nelson Mandela) back home. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NG3oKb2JQow Then the devastating bombs and the SA Defence Force raid of 1985 that took so many friends and dispersed a community (see Memory Wall). The lashing out of a regime as it entered its last frenzied years ... And the power of music carried on. I was very fortunate to participate in South Africa’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission cleansing ceremony in Gaborone in 2003 to commemorate those who lost their lives in Botswana. It was a weekend of great emotion as people met each other, many for the first time since 1985. There were tears, there was laughter, there was a renewed bond that crossed borders and friendships. And there was music. That final night at the University, Jonas Gwanga led everyone singing and dancing around the hall as we reclaimed the part of our soul that had been ripped out. Kgomo – the wedding song - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BKiuQGTmh_4
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April 2021
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