It is always good to read at the beginning of the year the list that Register House publishes of the most common children’s names in use in Scotland for the previous year. I thought, as a follow up to the original article on Lozi nomenclature from last year - (What's in a Name), it might be useful and interesting to list some of the more common Lozi names to be found in the Mwandi area with their meanings. As a class teacher marking the daily register I have come to recognise Mwandi family names.
Lozi names, the Siluyana ones, fall into two main categories, nouns and verbal constructions. Notulu and Amwalana, from the previous article, are two good examples. Most noun-type names consist of a prefix and a stem. If we split up the name “Mu-bita”. Mu (means a person) and ‘bita’ means to pass or wrestle, hence the meaning the passer-by or the wrestler, think of Jacob/Israel..
So all Lozi names have a meaning. Mukelabai (one born at a bad time), Muyunda( the peeper) and Sitali (one who came on a bad day) are good Mwandi examples.
Below is a list of some other more common names in Mwandi with their meanings.
Akabana (one who doesn’t rise ie. bedridden)
Akalemwa (one who can’t be seized)
Akeende (one who won’t go)
Alisinda (the reliable one)
Imataa (bad-tempered)
Inambao (lion)
Indala (famine)
Ingutu (well-wisher)
Kufekisa (to resemble)
Liboma (the smasher)
Likando/Manyando (sufferings)
Lisulo(royal hunting party)
Lubinda (stubborn)
Lutangu (a tale)
Masiye (orphan)
Mubiana (one who misses someone or something)
Mundia (one who deserts me)
Munjita (one who calls me)
Mukatimui (bad woman)
Mutafela (one who is finished)
Musowe (throw away)
Monde (born in the 1st quarter of the moon)
Mwangala (joy)
Naluca (f) (the wee one)
Nalukui (f) Ilukui (m) (fierce one)
Namakau (many hoes)
Namatama (big cheeks)
Namukolo (born in a canoe)
Nawa (good company)
Ngonda(peace)
Nyambe (God)
Mutondo (tree, medicine)
Sanana(pertaining to children)
Sianga (euphemism for crocodile)
Silishebo (one born during famine)
Simasiku (m) ,Namasiku & Nosiku (f) born at night
It is difficult to categorise Lozi names definitively but they can be arranged broadly and somewhat thematically. We can see many are concerned with the transience of life, its sufferings and the surrounding circumstances at the time of birth.
As all writers tend to say, by way of a cop out, this is not a comprehensive list, but is merely indicative and somewhat subjective, I know that I am bound to have caused local offence by some grave omissions but thankfully on this occasion the blog readership in Mwandi is mercifully small in number!
Friday 22 January 2010
Friday 15 January 2010
Week of Prayer for Christian Unity
You are witnesses of these things. (Luke 24:48)
This year’s theme was chosen in Scotland, in honour of the hundredth anniversary of the 1910 Edinburgh World Mission Conference. It is in answer to that conference’s theme "Witnessing to Christ today” that the above verse was chosen. Edinburgh 1910 really marked the start of the modern ecumenical movement.
The United Church of Zambia, like many of the other United and Uniting Churches worldwide, stems directly from this watershed conference. The London Missionary Society, the Church of Scotland Mission, the Union Church of the Copperbelt and the Copperbelt Free Churches came together in 1965 as the UCZ making their unity in Christ more visible.
In the Copperbelt, Christians from many different places went to work in the mining towns, and interdenominational worship began in both the African and European housing areas. The Church of Scotland, the Methodist Missionary Society, and the London Missionary Society were working together already in education and welfare, so they came together in African areas to form the Union Church of the Copperbelt. Shortly after this, the congregations of the European areas came together in the Copperbelt Free Church Council..
The London Missionary Society and the Church of Scotland Mission along with the Union Church of the Copperbelt, joined to form the Church of Central Africa in Rhodesia in 1958.
In 1965, this church united with the Methodist Church and the Church of Barotseland to form the United Church of Zambia. It is the largest Protestant church in Zambia today and continues to grow rapidly.
The UCZ, therefore has special links with the Methodist Church in Great Britain, the Church of Scotland, the United Church of Canada, the Presbyterian Church (USA), the United Church of Christ (USA), and CEVAA which is the successor to the Paris Evangelical Mission Society.
PEMS underwent a tremendous structural change in the 70s which led to the creation of a community of churches in mission, called Cevaa. This new body involved partner churches having shared power in decision-making, regardless of the resources put by each into the kitty.
In Cevaa, and later in other similar mission communities such as the Council for World Mission, similar structural changes emphasised transformative justice, and changed the balance of power and decision-making on the sharing of financial and human resources between churches of North and South.
This is an attempt to realise in some small way the dream from Edinburgh that we may become one body, brothers and sisters in Christ, responding to each other in love and building a community so that God’s will is done here on earth as it is in heaven.
This year’s theme was chosen in Scotland, in honour of the hundredth anniversary of the 1910 Edinburgh World Mission Conference. It is in answer to that conference’s theme "Witnessing to Christ today” that the above verse was chosen. Edinburgh 1910 really marked the start of the modern ecumenical movement.
The United Church of Zambia, like many of the other United and Uniting Churches worldwide, stems directly from this watershed conference. The London Missionary Society, the Church of Scotland Mission, the Union Church of the Copperbelt and the Copperbelt Free Churches came together in 1965 as the UCZ making their unity in Christ more visible.
In the Copperbelt, Christians from many different places went to work in the mining towns, and interdenominational worship began in both the African and European housing areas. The Church of Scotland, the Methodist Missionary Society, and the London Missionary Society were working together already in education and welfare, so they came together in African areas to form the Union Church of the Copperbelt. Shortly after this, the congregations of the European areas came together in the Copperbelt Free Church Council..
The London Missionary Society and the Church of Scotland Mission along with the Union Church of the Copperbelt, joined to form the Church of Central Africa in Rhodesia in 1958.
In 1965, this church united with the Methodist Church and the Church of Barotseland to form the United Church of Zambia. It is the largest Protestant church in Zambia today and continues to grow rapidly.
The UCZ, therefore has special links with the Methodist Church in Great Britain, the Church of Scotland, the United Church of Canada, the Presbyterian Church (USA), the United Church of Christ (USA), and CEVAA which is the successor to the Paris Evangelical Mission Society.
PEMS underwent a tremendous structural change in the 70s which led to the creation of a community of churches in mission, called Cevaa. This new body involved partner churches having shared power in decision-making, regardless of the resources put by each into the kitty.
In Cevaa, and later in other similar mission communities such as the Council for World Mission, similar structural changes emphasised transformative justice, and changed the balance of power and decision-making on the sharing of financial and human resources between churches of North and South.
This is an attempt to realise in some small way the dream from Edinburgh that we may become one body, brothers and sisters in Christ, responding to each other in love and building a community so that God’s will is done here on earth as it is in heaven.
Wednesday 6 January 2010
Happy New Year
We have just been up in Lusaka for a couple of days. After bringing in the New Year at Livingstone we motored up with Catriona, Gregor and Mubita. On the first of January we also saw Ruairidh and Fiona off to Australia for Fiona’s maternity leave. The baby should arrive all being well at the end of February. Catriona had some dressage and jumping to do for her PE Course Work which she did on Saturday. We also did a bit of school shopping for them, mainly clothes and toiletries.
They left on the early Monday morning flight with a number of other ‘children’ they knew, who had been home for the Christmas holidays as well. We said goodbye with the usual tearful eyes and lump in the throat, and from the other family farewells taking place at the same time, you can see and hear it is an emotional time for all concerned. Mubita cried all the way back into town from the airport.
We had educational commitments to pay for other members of our extended Zambian family and did Aids Relief business for Ida and then visited UCZ Synod Headquarters. We have been in Zambia for 15 years so should now qualify to receive an entry permit and will no longer require a work permit. We were lodging the paperwork for that through Synod.
It is fair to say that in Zambia the concept of a civic citizenship is not allowed for in the present constitution. Citizenship is difficult to acquire and comes really only through descent. Dual citizenship is not permitted at present. The new constitution to be enacted this year partially addresses and partially modernises some of these issues. But some old-fashioned restrictions will remain - holders of dual citizenship cannot serve in the army or police for example.
The UCZ Educatiol Secretary had been in touch with the Western Province Education Authorities to try and arrange the round table talks concerning the Mwandi UCZ High School that the Ministry of Education suggested but the Province were being puzzlingly elusive. She was determined to try and nail them down. Yesterday out of the blue she heard in a phone-call from the Provincial Education Officer, that provincial opposition to the High School was being lifted and that a Grade 10 could commence this year after all.
This is wonderful news. Our thanks to you all for your prayers in this matter.
They left on the early Monday morning flight with a number of other ‘children’ they knew, who had been home for the Christmas holidays as well. We said goodbye with the usual tearful eyes and lump in the throat, and from the other family farewells taking place at the same time, you can see and hear it is an emotional time for all concerned. Mubita cried all the way back into town from the airport.
We had educational commitments to pay for other members of our extended Zambian family and did Aids Relief business for Ida and then visited UCZ Synod Headquarters. We have been in Zambia for 15 years so should now qualify to receive an entry permit and will no longer require a work permit. We were lodging the paperwork for that through Synod.
It is fair to say that in Zambia the concept of a civic citizenship is not allowed for in the present constitution. Citizenship is difficult to acquire and comes really only through descent. Dual citizenship is not permitted at present. The new constitution to be enacted this year partially addresses and partially modernises some of these issues. But some old-fashioned restrictions will remain - holders of dual citizenship cannot serve in the army or police for example.
The UCZ Educatiol Secretary had been in touch with the Western Province Education Authorities to try and arrange the round table talks concerning the Mwandi UCZ High School that the Ministry of Education suggested but the Province were being puzzlingly elusive. She was determined to try and nail them down. Yesterday out of the blue she heard in a phone-call from the Provincial Education Officer, that provincial opposition to the High School was being lifted and that a Grade 10 could commence this year after all.
This is wonderful news. Our thanks to you all for your prayers in this matter.
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