FINAL CALSSA REPORT BY ZANELE MBUDE ON:
The Collection & Recording of Xhosa Oral Material in the Form of Rhymes
and Wordplay; to enhance Literacy learning and Development in Early
Child Education.
Research Topic
The initial topic to this research was: “What is it that is taught to young children in Xhosa
homes that enables them to grasp quickly and later, master their mother tongue”. As the
research progressed; I realised that accepting the multi-faceted nature of this kind of
research was wisdom. The research had a tendency of landing itself on different but
coersing issues. What became more crucial was the idea that both I and Carole Bloch
shared of: “How do we contribute towards reviving and sustaining the earliest steps into
mother tongue literacies (Xhosa in this particular case). It was extremely difficult for me
to write up a report on such Oraly based and highly complex practises; the reason for that
being the fact that the oral word unlike the written word; does not exist in a simply verbal
context; it engages the body.
Research motivation
This research was conceived from Carole Bloch’s idea of early literacy practises in
Xhosa communities. Her focus was more on finding out what mothers and educators of
young children say or teach young children, that introduces them to literacy. Carole
Bloch has years of experience in the field of early literacy acquisition; and still continues
to contribute greatly to this field at PRAESA (Project for the Study of Alternative
Education in South Africa) UCT.
My involvement in the project was more from an Applied Language stance. My
experience as a second language teacher for both Xhosa (EL1 School) and English
(XHL1) provided me with an opportunity to see the repecussions of the neglect of what
the child brings with to school. The school discourse has been and is still structured in
such a way that children from cultural backgrounds different from that of the school
suffer. Lack of materials, unilingual teachers, antipathy towards African languages by
their speakers and non-speakers; and general lack of will make things worse.
Highly literate countries like the United States of America and in Britain, educators
and parents take seriously research findings that rhymes, games and wordplay enhance
children’s language. This sturdy or foundation with language empowers them to become
members of a literate society(Carole Bloch 1999); the thresholding is done in the mother
tongue. What is taught at school as written discourse has been taught and mastered orally
at home.
I undertook to do this project from realising that where other cultures are benefiting,
the African child (Xhosa in this instance) is loosing. This Oral genre is alive in African
communities but is just not welcome at school as part of the curriculum. Very few
teachers or parents see the value in passing these on to young children. Africans have
been apprenticed to the hegemonic value of English by colonial and post-colonial
governments for as long as colonial history itself. African Orality is passed on to the
young, but it is just not seen as important to the development into literate members of a
literate society. The rhymes, stories and wordplay remain in the playground or at home
(for lucky children). I use the word lucky because most parents have bought into the idea
of ‘the more English, the better” from as early age as possible; so those wthose children
who are exposed to the richness of African oral language at home are fortunate . The
market out there too has English material in abundance; the little of African language
material that is there, is produced for second language learners.
Hoped for outcomes
Most of the homes, Preschools and Primary schools that I had visited during my research
expressed a genuine concern; that of the lack of instructional materials. They failed to see
themselves being resources. It was until I pointed to them that the copies of the “Old
English Rhymes” that most educare centers and schools possess, was written by
‘somebody’. Children in these centers loved the reciting the rhymes, but hardly any of
them understood the funniness from the nonsense that makes rhymes exciting. These
rhymes remained a recitation to them that they memorised; ‘tuffet’ ‘curds and whey’
‘incy wincy’ among other things bore little or no meaning to them. Some of the teachers
(especially the educare) didn’t have explainations either. This initiative will hopefully
provide teachers with alternatives, not restrictions. I support our Language in education
Policy which states that by the end of schooling learners should at least speak an
additional language (1997); an additive approach to language learning therefore is crucial.
The written form of Xhosa material provides a choice to the Foundation phase teacher
too. Curriculum 2005 calls for ‘active learning’ not rote learning; it also requires of the
educator to begin with what the learner brings from home and building on that. Sylvia
Ashton-Warner’s (1980:33) ‘key vocabulary’ is in agreement with my point and that of
our new curriculum. She believes that we should introduce children to the written word
using the children’s own words, she calls this ‘the captions of dynamic life, words that
are already part of the child’s being. What she is saying is that reading and writing will
become easier to the child if the word she has to write is part of what she already knows.
This project will also help teachers where English is the language of learning to teach
their learners these rhymes with understanding. I have taken enormous time to translate
them; not for them to be said in another language, but for understanding. This loss for the
literacy education of young children is not restricted to the Xhosa child; it extends to the
whole of the African continent, the unilingual child looses not only a chance to learn
another language; but gains the hindrance of limited social relation in an everchanging
society. This project attempts to nurture Oral literature with its wordplay and rhymes.
PART 1: RESEARCH FINDINGS:
The following quotation from Cook-Gumperz and Cook-Gumperz (1981) seems proper
to begin my report. The attitude towards oral language that I found during my visits to the
centres, homes and schools is echoed in the following lines:
Entry into school in our society provides … a ritual entry into a formal
apprenticeship towards adult communicative skills. But since we do not look upon
the early years of language use as different but merely as a lesser form of what is
to come, this ritual entry does not have the nature of its transitional experience
truly evaluated. The oral language experience of children is looked upon as a
preparation rather than a separate stage of experience, and we do not always give
sufficient thought, nor recognition, to social as well as the cognitive
reorganisation of experience and its processing that is necessary for the child to
enter into literacy. (Cook-Gumperz and Cook-Gumperz 1981)
Cultural Apprenticeship
I observed that in homes where there were very young children (1-5) parents and siblings
easily pass on rhymes and word play to them. However, I noticed a slowing pattern of
that when the child was about to enter school, it seemed like entry to school imposed a
discontinuity of orality for something deemed more important i.e. ‘the curriculum’. The
fascinating fact is that the children themselves, keep this genre alive by apprenticing
those younger to them, the versions from the original are so interesting that nobody
knows what the original was; and where did it originate from. Take the following
example:
Please note: I have realised that original Xhosa Oral material contains more wordplay
than a rhyming pattern that the English language tends to follow, especially the informal
material. The documented material that has been aimed for use at school has a rhyme
scheme pattern; most of the children I interviewed volunteered to do the passed on ones
that their parents, siblings, friends, teachers, and relatives across provinces. I found them
common from Langa to Khayelitsha, and in the Eastern Cape.
Old version: “Phaya entilini”
Phaya entilini
kukho amasele
yiva ayangxola
thath’ezakh’intonga
uyokuzivela,
athi tsi gxada (x2) tsi-tsi-tsi.
There in the swamp
There in the swamp
there are frogs
listen they are noisy
take your stick (boys used to carry sticks)
to hear for yourself
(children act out the frog leap)
The action at the end of this rhyme, has made it one of the popular ones from one
generation to the other. Vivian Paley has this to say about the importance of play while
learning:
Play and …storytelling are the primary realities in the preschool…, they
may well be the prototypes for imaginative endeavors throughout our lives.
For young students however, it is not too much to claim that play contains
the only set of circumstances understandable from beginning to end.
(1990).
The following version of ‘Phaya entilini’ has been a result of what paley is talking about.
Children in this generation have changed the rhyme to suit their present experience – that
of school. Boys no longer spend the day carrying sticks for stick fighting (especially in
urban areas) and herding livestock; they attend school:
Phaya es’kolweni
Phaya es’kolweni
kukho abantwana
kunye neetitshala
yiva bayafunda
thath’ezakhw’iincwadi
siyobancedisa,
sithi A- E I O U.
(There at school)
There at school
there are children
and teachers
listen they are learning
take your books
let’s join them
and we’ll say: A E I O U
The above example shows the incredible power of imagination that our children have in
adapting the material and for continuity. The oral transmission happening outside the
classroom is out of the hands of adults; it is child initiated and mediated (Elizabeth
Grudgeon 1988). I was dissappointed at the easy dismissal of this oral genre as childish,
petty, and nonsense when doing this research. It is our task to find out what is it that
children use as ‘key vocabulary’ (Ashton-Warner 1980) in their dealings with life so that
we can use it to their advantage. Used in class in a book, the child not only knows the
tune, rhythm, and movement to these rhymes, but the introduction to reading and writing
can be an easier process, it’s what the child knows and owns.
Rhymes and wordplay that have stood the test of time: Old favourites
The following rhymes are a collection that most Xhosa people boast of; it was interesting
to find that they came to mind almost immediately to most adults and children alike both
here in Cape Town and in the Eastern Cape. This supports my point then that if this
material was recorded down as instructional material for Xhosa language one children,
wouldn’t literacy be speeded up? I certainly think so; and so do well respected specialists
in the field of Early literacy acqusition; from ELRU Mimi Bethela and Welekazi Dlova.
Both Carole and I went to interview them; they are trainers of ECD and work closely
with women and children in urban and rural contexts. Welekazi comes from Port
Elizabeth and Mimi from this region; but they both knew the similar rhymes and
wordplay and have seconded the following list of favourites:
Orality cannot be a permanent state in any culture, but there is a complex
interpenetration of orality and literacy (Elizabeth Grudgeon 1988). Exposing young
chidren to oracy through play can only benefit them, not the opposite. The following
rhymes and wordplay are not just a remnant of the past for amaXhosa, but a strong
reminder of the resilience of orality in the face of all other distractions of the morden
world. Their continued existence despite being undocumented is a wonder; we can vouch
on that for long; an increasingly high technology situation like ours presents a challenge
to the richness of this material.
(Most of the list contains rhymes or wordplay about animals)
Umvundlana othile
A Little hare
Umvundlana othile
A little hare
wangena entsimini went into a garden
waqakatha waqakatha
sniffed around searching
wadibana nembotyi
and met a bean
wayitya kwasemini
he ate it up till daylight
wanyantsula wanyantsula
(dragging action of somebody full)
wagoduka ehluthi
And went home
Iintakana
Khanikhangele ezontakana
ziphaphazela ngamaphikwana
zithi “tsiyoyo tsiyoyo”
zithi tsiyoyo ngemilonyana yazo.
Small birds
Look at the small birds
they are flapping their small wings
they say “tsiyoyo, tsiyoyo”
with their small beaks.
Inja uToki
A dog called Toki
Inkokheli: Ndabona umhambi
Leader: I saw a traveller
Bonke: (phinda emva kwenkokheli)
All: (Repeat after leader)
Inkokheli: Edlula ngendlela,
L: Passing by the road (repeat)
Inkokheli: Wagragram’uToki
L: Toki barked (repeat after leader)
Leader/Inkokheli: Ebona umhambi
seeing the traveller
Leader/Inkokheli: Edlula ngendlela
passing by
All/Bonke: (repeat).
Second version: Inja uToki
Wakhonkoth’uToki (x2)
Ebona injana,
Idlula ngendlela,
Wagragram’uToki (x2)
Edliwa ngumona.
Toki barked
on seeing a little dog
passing by
Toki growled
Full of envy.
Iphi inja yam?
Iphi inja yam encinane? (x2)
Enendleb’ezinde
Nomsil’omfutshane (x2)
Iphi inja yam, iphi?
What happened to my dog?
Where is my little dog
with long ears
and a short tail
Where is it?
Comments: The dog seems to be a favourite animal among children. The funny part
though is that when I was young; I used to feel quite sad when saying this song/rhyme,
because instead of saying ‘iphi’ (where) we were taught to sing ‘ifile’ (dead). I even
tuaght this to my own children, to my surprise in Queenstown the children assured me
that ‘I was singing it wrongly!’ They didn’t know that my excitement was not about
getting the song right, it was seeing them owning the song. They had very few comments
about the English rhymes they said to me; but their faces lit up, when they were saying
the Xhosa ones, in both regions. There was always an argument amongst themselves
about the hows and what (especially when in unsupervised play). It was this constant
chopping and changing which mattered to me the most. These rhymes also offered a kind
of socialisation for them; for those at home or preschool, rhymes and wordplay were their
daily bread; for those at school the playground was the meeting place for sharing them
and acting out.
Undlebende
Ndlebende ufelwe ngunyoko okanye uyihlo
The donkey
Donkey, have your mother
le nto unesililo esibuhlungu kangaka?
Oko ndikuva ukhala usithi:
“oko-ndafelwa-ngumama-notata-nde-
nko,nko, nko
ingxowa-zasemaXhoseni-zithwalisa-mna-ndedwa
jwi, jwi,jwiii!”
Impukwana
A little mouse
Leader: Wenzani na mpukwana?
What are you doing little mouse?
All: Ndithung’iimpahla zethu
I’m sewing our clothes
Zokutshotsha/danisa/zesikolo/zecawa
for the traditional dance/??
Ikati
The cat
Leader: Katana katana
Oh small Cat (x2)
uvelaphi katana?;
where have you been?
All: Ndivel’e dolophini;
I’ve been to town
L: Ubuyothenga ntoni?
Doing what
A: Bendiyotheng’umnqwazi. To buy a hat
Umnqwazi! umnqwazi!
A hat!!!
Yho! Ndaza ndayibon’ikat’ I’ve never seen a cat
ethwel’umnqwazi (x2)
with a hat
Isele
A frog
Nalo isele
emva kwendlu kabawo;
litya lichola chola;
lithi ndakul’gxotha,
lithi tsi-gxada, tsi-gxada, tsi.
There’s a frog
behind my father’s house
eating
on sending it away
It jumps away
Cengceletshane
Chameleon
Leader: Cengceletshane,(x4) The Chameleon is challenged to
yazi into yiyo(x2)
decide on which colour it wants to be.
All: yohoho, yohoho
Comments: People I have spoken to during my research including Xhosa teachers and a
Xhosa academic;Abna Nyamende at the university are not sure whether the refernce to
“Cengceletshane” in this instance is to the animal; or to a person for a particular reason.
In Xhosa it is possible to be given a contextual name depending on that particular
event\context. There is though a general consesus that the word might have been used to
warn a person who was not loyal to their decision. The rhythmic pattern to this song
typifies traditional Xhosa singing and dancing; mothers use it to teach their young
children to sing and dance. Language in the process is learnt in a playful way(informally).
Iintaka ezintlanu
Five little birds
Iintaka ezintlanu zihleli emthini,
Yathi enye: “Masizimeleni”
Yathi enye: “Masibalekeni”
Yathi enye: “Masigodukeni”
Yathi enye: “Masibhabheni”
Yathi enye: “Masi---”
Gqum!Satsh’isibham (x2).
Five little birds sitting on a tree
One said: “Let’s hide”
The second said: “Let’s run”
The third said: “Let’s go home”
The fourth said: “Let’s fly away”
The fifth said: “Let’s --Boom a gun went off!
Comment: Sinokhanyo Educare in Khayelitsha used this rhyme for Numeracy, I hope
that other educators will use it too. I was informed by the teachers there the children
already knew this rhyme from home; they then thought that it was proper for them to use
it to develop their number concept. It was working as those children (3-4/5) pointed to the
number 5 in the number chart and counted in their hands how many birds were there. One
four year old told me that those birds were stupid because they shouldn’t have argued.
They should have listen to the first bird; now because of their stupidity they were shot
dead. I thought that anecdote was worth mentioning as I was quite astonished by the
reasoning of that young girl. It made me realise that mother tongue instruction in early
literacy is crucial; it allows the child an opportunity to develop abstract concepts. Rhymes
provide a frame to think by, bringing meaning to the words. This period in our children’s
lives is very important, Elizabeth Grugeon says that all children have to negotiate this
period of transition as they move from the purely oral experience of very early childhood
into the literate society outside the home (1988: 172)
Iminwe yesandla (Xhosa names for the fingers )
Leader: Bonts’omkhulu, bonts’omkhulu uphina? (Adapted from English version)
All: Ndim lo, Ndim lo, ndiphilile enkosi.
L: Wokolatha, wokolatha uphina?
A: ndim lo, ndim lo ndiphilile enkosi.
L: Mnwe omde (x2) uphina
L: Womsesane (x2), uphina?
A: ndim lo (x2) ndiphilile enkosi.
A: ndim lo (x2), ndiphilile enkosi.
L: Cikicane (x2), uphina?
A: ndim lo, (x2) ndiphilile enkosi
L: Minwe yonke, (x2) niphina?
A: Sith’aba, (x2) siphile sonke.
UNogayoyo
Wena Nogayoyo,
Uyawaphethe ni?
Ndiyawapheth’inja
Uyawa yisaphi?
Ndiyawa yisendle,
Kunan’uyekhaya ndoyik’Gayoyo
Ekhal’engxoweni
Esithi tsiyo-tsiyo
Wafika umoni
Bantwana bam yizani
My children come to me
For this rhyme a leader who will lead the rhyme as “Mama” (Mother) is needed, and the
rest become the scared children, scared of the wolf)
Leader: Bantwana bam!
L: My dear kids!
Children: Mama!
C: Mummy!
L: Yizani kum
L: Come to me
C: Soyika,
C: We are afraid!
L: Noyika ntoni?
L: Of what?
C: Ingcuka!
C: Of the wolf!
L: Ihleli phi?
L: Where is it?
C: Emnyango
C:At the door!
L: Yenza ntoni?
L: What is it doing?
C: Iyatya
C: It’s eating
L: Itya ntoni?
L: What?
C: Isonka
C: Bread
L: Ilumela ngantoni?
L: With what?
C: Ngegazi
C: With blood
L: Lalani
L: You must then go to sleep
C: Ayoyo!
C: No ways!
L:Vukani
L: Wake up then,
C: Ayoyo!
C: No ways!
L: Kudala yafayo!
L: It’s been dead for a long time!
All: Yeye! yeye!
All: Horray!
uNomathemba
Nomathemba
Lead: Wena Nomathemba, ubethwe ngubani?
L: Who hit you?
Response: Yila ndoda!
R: It’s that men!
L: Iphi ngoku?
L: Where is he now?
R: Nantse sapha!
R: There he is
L: Khawuyibiz’ izapha
L: Please call him.
R: Owu, Hayi ndiyonqena
R: Oh! no I’m lazy
L: Khwel’ihashe
R: Owu, hayi ndiyonqena
L: Khwel’idonki
R: Owu hayi ndiyonqena
L: Take a horse
R: Oh, no I’m lazy
L: Take a donkey
R: Oh, no I’m lazy
Children in the various centers varied the mode of transport that Nomathemba could use,
showing therefore the concept of adaptability that I discussed earlier. Donkey’s and
horses in both urban and rural communities are no longer common means of transport.
Children understand the current social lifestyle and order, and they show their
understanding in how they rearrange the rhyme. The basic structure remains the same
though. The teacher can use this rhyme in a Geography lesson for ‘Modes of transport”,
in a language lesson for ‘Creative writing’ by asking the children to suggest to
Nomathemba in a short letter what other forms of transport can she use (can be a line or
two). They could also pretend to be Nomathemba and start writing short lines on how it
felt being Nomathemba; writing therefore for a purpose.
FAIRLY RECENT ONES:
Imoto endleleni
A car on the road
Phaya endleleni yafik’imoto,
On the road a car came
Yathi pip–pip–pip!
And said pi-pip-pip
Gololo pop-pop-pop!
Yathini?
What did it say?
Yathi pip-pip-pip!
Gololo pop-pop-pop!
.(Sotho original translated to Xhosa by a teacher from Matatiel- Transkei
Le ndlovu inempumlo ende
This elephant with a long nose
yathathi impuku
Took a mouse
yathath’icikilitshane
Took an elephant
yazibophelel’emthini
And wrapped itself around a tree.
‘Antilanguage’
The following rhyme coined by the children themselves using a tune from an old game, is
termed by Halliday (1978:177) as ‘antilanguage’. This is when children use language to
protest or resist social order. Children realise their weakness against the school system,
and they accept with resignation that there isn’t much they can do about that. They can
only create rhymes like this one to channel their frustration in a particular way. I love it, I
hope that more teachers will have access to it, so that we can stop hitting children:
Siyay’es’kolweni
Kumnand’es’kolwen’
Kodwa kuyabethw’ es’kolwen’(x2)
Siyay’es’kolwen’, uuh!
Siyay’es’kolwen’.
English Translation: “We are going to school”
It’s nice to be at school
But we get hidings at school (x2)
We are going to school, Uh
We are going to school!
Instruction songs\rhymes:
The following songs are made up by the caregivers at creches to give instructions to the
children. They are a means to instill discipline in the over-crowded environs. They are
mostly accompanied by the action that is expected of the kids and the young ones who
have just come into the centres find it easy to copy from those who already know.
Although these songs\rhymes are meant for instruction purposes, I found them well
received by the children, even the very young ones respond to each instruction well.
Masenzen’isangqa sonke(x3), singabantwanana
Sibambane ngezandla(x3)
sishukumis’umzimba
Siqhwab’izandla sonke(x3)
Sixhumaxhume sonke(x3)
Sihlamb’izandla sonke(x3)
Let’s all make a circle
Let’s hold hands
Let’s shake our bodies
Let’s clap our hands
Let’s all jump
Let’a all wash hands
Siqokelele sonke(x3)
etc)
Let’s
all
collect(toys,cups
Nomalizo (A name of a girl)
. Nomalizo(x3)
oh hayi Nomalizo 1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10
(Oh no Nomalizo)
Four preschools used this made up song to teach numbers. I felt said about the fact that
the numbers were introduced were only in English; it would be advantageous to the
children if the teachers introduce the numbers in mother tongue too. Most Xhosa children
cannot count in Xhosa. Junior primary teachers used to teach numbers in Xhosa, but the
rush for English is taking over in pre-schools and in schools.
Siziintyatyambo
We’re flowers
.Sizintyatyambo zesisikolo(x2)
We’re flowers of this school
jonga, jonga, jonga
look, look, look
siyazidla.
we are proud of that.
13. USisi Madlamini
Molo, Molo Sma Dlamini (x3)
Hello, Hello Sisi Madlamini
Uvelaphi SmaDlamini (x3)
Where have you been?
Ndivela edolophini (x3)
I’m from town.
ubuyothenga ntoni (x3)
What did you want to buy?
bendiyotheng’isigqoko
I went to buy a hat.
besiyimalini
How much was it?
besiyiponti’eneshumi(2 pounds)
It was two pounds.
Uyimoshelen’imali
Why did you waste money?
Ndiyazisebenzela
I’m work for my money
andasakufun’Smadlamin (x3)
I don’t want you anymore
Sonke: Masenz’ idens Sma’dlamini
Let’s dance Sisi Madlamini.
Umbulelo
Thanksgiving
Siyabulela (x2)
We give thanks
Ngazo izikhanyiso;
For things that give us light
Ngalo ilanga, ngalo ilanga;
For the sun,
Nangazo iinkwenkwezi.
And For the stars
entlantlath’inkobe.
Wathi ndikhongoze
Ndathi zingeziko (aziphakele ngokwakhe)
Ndaya ndalinga
Wandibetha ngayo
Xhoba labayeni
Bebefik’izolo
Bakhalel’ encinci
Encinci bayala
Bakhalel’enkulu
Yona nyam’inkulu.
WORD PLAY
uMadala
Leader: Wahamba ke uMadala
All: Repeat after leader.
L: Wachol’itik’uMadala
Wayebharin’uMadala
Watheng’iskal’uMadala
Waphuz’iskal’uMadala,
Was’nkqonkqentlok’uMadala,
Udakiwe ke, uMadala.
Incede
Tyelele tyelele
Ngqwang’inanqilo,
Mntaka Plangana,
Goduka ncede
Ncede ncikane
Wafa yindlala
Yokophisela (repeat)
UTikoloshe
Sambab’uTikoloshe (repeat after leader)
Samhlohl’amazambane
Samthumel’eThekwini.
Itipoti
Mna ndiyitipoti
Esi sisiciko
Lo ngumqheba
Lo ngumlomo
Ndiyithulule
Ndiyithulule
uNomaza
Yintomb’enjani?
Yintomb’emhlophe;
Wendele phi na?
Wendel’egqwetheni
Zingaph’iinkomo?
Sibhozo kuphela;
Bathin’abazali?
Akho kuthetha;
Wendile! Wendile!
Izinyo
Mama ndinezinyo,
Lithini mntwanam?
lithi ndo-ndo, lithi ndo-ndo-ndo
Iimpuku nekati
Impuku nekati ziyawaleqana (x2)
Zisithi nyawu-nyawu,
Zisithi nyawu-nyawu-nyawu.
iHlungulu
Ziinton’eziya?
Ngamahlungulu;
Enza ntoni?
Alel’onke;
Lath’elinye:
Vuka sihambe;
Sihambe njani
Sixiniwe nje,
Ngamakhwenkwe
AkwaMzuzu?
Mzuzu bani?
Mzuz’uNdlangisa;
Xhego linomona,
Ngeentombi zalo;
Ziqinile;
Njengesonka
Esidala, sayizolo.
uNomaza
uNomaza
Wandophula, shunqu;
Esinqeni, shunqu;
Esikabani? Shunqu;
EsikaJoni, shunqu;
Joni bani? shunqu;
Joni Maqanda, shunqu;
Ndize ndize
Ndize bantwana
Ngapha kolwandle.
Iintaka ezimbini
Iintaka ezimbini;
Zihlel’emthini;
Amagama azo,
NguThabo noThabiso;
Khawubhabhe Thabo;
Khawubhabhe Thabiso;
Khawubuye Thabo;
Khawubuye Thabiso.
Iintsuku zeveki
NgoMvulo soty’umvubo,
NgoLwes’bini soty’isbindi,
NgoLwesithathu soty’ithanga,
NgoLwesine soty’izinwe,
NgoLwesihlanu soty’umhlehlo
Imvula
Amachaphaza emvula;
Nivela phi na
Nisihla ninyuka
Ngecala lefestile?
Kodwa wona awahlali;
Koko amana esithi:
Sinokudlala ngecala,
Sinokudlala ngecala.
uNoposi
Wayehambis’ileta;
Nam ndayifumana
Ivela phi na wethu
Ivela kumama
Ithi phila mntan’am
Kuba nam ndiyaphila (x2)
PART 3:
Teketisa = Wordplay??
The following are well known lullabies and word play collected from homes, where
mothers look after their babies.
Khayelitsha:Ms Nontuthuzelo Mvana.
Ukuthulisa umntwana
Lullaby
Walila umntwana
The child cried
elilela umama wakhe,
crying for its mother
wamthatha wambeka esifubeni sakhe
she took it on her chest
wathi thula sana lwam, wathi thula sana lwam.
and said hush my baby hush.
Thula Bhabhana
Keep quiet baby
Thula bhabhana,
Keep quiet baby,
Mus’ukulila,
don’t cry,
umam’uyeza nedinala
mummy is
coming
with
yomntwana.
baby’s dinner.
Rhymes
Ngubani na lo?
Who is this?
Ngubani na lo?
Who is this?
Ngubhabha wam,
It’s my baby,
Wenzani na?
What is she doing?
Uyadlala, dlala, dlala
She’s playing, (x2)
Uyadlala.
-Wenzani na?
*Uyahleka,(x3)
*She’s laughing(x3)
*Uyalila,(x3)
*She’s crying(x3)
*Uyaqingqa(x3)
*She’s trying to walk(x3)
Gugulethu: Bongiwe Nodlayiya.
Word Play:
Wema yedwa,
The baby’s standing alone
Wema yedw’ umntwana(x2)
the child is standing alone.
This is usually used when babies are learning to walk. They are encouraged and the
mother clapps every time the baby takes steps.
Amantombi, amantombi
these are little girls
Amakhwenkwe, amakhwenkwe
these are little boys
Unontombi, Unosisi