Cocktail Hour Under the Tree of Forgetfulness - Alexandra Fuller [89]
hensopper (Afrikaans)—someone who surrenders to, or joins, the enemy
high veldt—high plateau in southern Africa (cooler, wetter and generally more fertile and pleasant for human habitation than the low veldt)
hujambo askari (Swahili)—how are you, watchman?
huku (Shona)—chicken
il me nome e Nicola (Italian)—my name is Nicola
impala—a kind of antelope
kikoi (Swahili)—a brightly colored piece of cloth particular to East Africa, rather like a sarong
kirima kia ngoma (Swahili)—the place of devils
kloof (Afrikaans)—ravine, canyon
kom (Afrikaans)—come, let’s go
kraal (Afrikaans)—livestock enclosure
lekker (Afrikaans)—nice
low veldt—lower elevations in southern Africa (hotter and drier and generally less fertile than high veldt)
maiwe (Shona)—my goodness!
miombo (Swahili)—see also msasa. Miombo refers to the woodland of brachystegia, a genus of tree comprising a large number of species. Typically, the bark of these trees is dark, their foliage is a feathery plume, shed during the dry season. New gold and red leaves are produced just before the onset of the rains. The tree is under threat as it is used extensively in the making of charcoal.
mopane (Colophospermum mopane)—grows in hot, low-lying areas, usually in so-called mopane woodlands
msasa (Brachystegia spiciformis)—see miombo
muli bwanje. Dzina landa ndine Nicola Fuller of Central Africa (Chinyanja)—Hello. My name is Nicola Fuller of Central Africa
munts—derogatory slang for black Zimbabweans (from muntu the Shona word meaning person)
mzuri sana (Swahili)—very good
nee dankie (Afrikaans)—no thank you ni
le monitor (Varanus niloticus)—a large, highly-aquatic carnivorous lizard
nshima (Chinyanja)—see sadza. The staple of Zambia; a thick porridge made from corn.
nursing home—in the United States, a nursing home is predominantly for elderly residents but in England a nursing home is a maternity clinic or hospital
nyoka (Shona)—snake
op jou merke (Afrikaans)—on your marks
op Violet (Afrikaans)—here’s to Violet
pamodzi (Chinyanja)—together
pole sana (Swahili)—very sorry
(the) Proms—formally known as the BBC Proms, or the Henry Wood Promenade Concerts presented by the BBC, the Proms is an eight-week summer season of daily classical music concerts held annually, predominantly in the Royal Albert Hall in London
povo—poor or impoverished people p
seudo ops—pseudo operations; black Rhodesian soldiers fighting for the Rhodesian government who infiltrated the ranks of guerilla (or freedom) fighters
pukka (Hindi)—superior, first-class; proper authentic
reedbuck—a species of antelope
sadza (Shona)—see also nshima. The food staple of Zimbabwe; a thick porridge made out of corn.
sahib/memsahib (Hindi)—master/mistress (used formerly as a respectful form of address for a European man/woman in India)
salwar kameez—a unisex dress of pants and a tunic worn in South and Central Asia
shamba (Swahili)—small plot or market garden. After independence in Kenya, shambas were cut from larger, commercial farms and distributed among landless indigenous Kenyans.
shateen—bush, backcountry
sorry cloth—strips of very cheap, black cotton in which poor southern and central Africans bury their dead
syce (Hindi)—groom
terrs—slang for terrorists
trekboer (Afrikaans)—South African semi-nomadic pastoralists, primarily of Dutch descent
trekker (Afrikaans)—South African, primarily Afrikaner. The name refers to those who moved, usually from real or perceived persecution, from one European-settled area into areas not yet settled by Europeans.
Ugandan kob—type of antelope
veldskoen (Afrikaans)—literally “bush skin.” The hide of animals made into leather hats and shoes.
veldt (Afrikaans)—grassland
voetsek (Afrikaans)—go away!
voortrekker (Afrikaans)—literally, “those who trek ahead.” Afrikaners emigrants who moved into the South African interior in the 1830s and 1840s.
wattle—a genus of shrubs and trees belonging to the subfamily Mimosideae of the family Fabaceae. The bark of several species is rich in tannin used