Edited by Azizi Powell
This pancocojams post presents a brief excerpt of a 2005 journal chapter about Zulu Nicknames that was written by Nobuhle Purity Ndimande-Hlongwa.
Pancocojams visitors are encouraged to read this entire online chapter.
The content of this post is presented for onomastic and cultural purposes.
All copyrights remain with their owners.
Thanks to Nobuhle Purity Ndimande-Hlongwa for her research on and writing about Zulu nicknames.
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Click https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2021/06/excerpt-of-1999-thesis-about-zulu.html for the closely related pancocojams post entitled "Excerpt Of A 1999 Thesis About Zulu Nicknames (Lawrence Molefe, University Of South Africa)".
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ARTICLE EXCERPT
Zulu Nicknames Within a Wider World Context
May 2005 Nomina Africana Vol. 19((2)):57-79
Authors: Nobuhle Purity Ndimande-Hlongwa
University of KwaZulu-Natal
Abstract
In this article I
examine Zulu nicknames (or izidlaliso
-dlalisa ‘amuse’) as they are known
in the isiZulu language) devised by the Zulu people for their family members
and friends with whom they live. The nicknames were collected during a series
of interviews with local Highflats inhabitants especially members of the
Ndimande Clan. Some were collected using questionnaires followed by interviews
with some Zulu students at the then University of Durban-Westville. Some of the
nicknames collected refer to males and some to females. The nickname itself, the
nickname giver, and the bearer of the nickname are all equally important facets
of the study. The article will look at general overview of nicknaming among the
Zulu people in
[…]
Introduction
The
study of nicknames has been undertaken by several onomasticians. Among them are
Ewen (1931), Morgan et al (1979), Turner (1992, 2004), Leslie & Skipper
(1990), De Klerk (1997 and 1998), Neethling (1994), Prabhakaran (1999), Molefe
(1999) and Koopman (2002).
A nickname is a name a person has thrust upon him/her by colleagues, playmates, friends and family. It represents that person as others see him/her. Nicknames can serve not only as thumbnail character sketches, or illustrations of quirks of personality and physical appearance, but as capsule histories too. A nickname can be derived from some internal manipulation of the language (Morgan et al, 1976:56).
Leslie and Skipper (1990), in defining nicknames, say that they express our sense of the significance of names and have a powerful influence on behavior. According to De Klerk (1997:1) nicknames are acquired informally and offer a rare example of people using language creatively, free from the normal phonological and semantic constraints pertaining to other aspects of language use.
Ashley
(1989) in Molefe (1999:4) defines nicknames by saying:
Today our
nicknames are eke (extra) names given in derision …. or out of affection …. sometimes
they are informal versions of forenames …. or of surnames …. and they can
replace either forenames or surnames….. (1989:47)
Koopman (2002:12) also says that the term “nickname” is derived from an older English form “an eke name”, where “eke” means “additional”, “added”. He continues to say that nicknames tend to be “unofficial” and are seldom recorded on an individual’s official documents, such as birth certificates, school certificates, driver’s licences, and so on. Morgan et al (1979:37) argue that nicknaming is one of the most important features of children’s autonomous social worlds and is perhaps the more striking for its independence of influences stemming in any direct way from adults. They say that nicknames are invented by children for children and show an elaborate subtle systematicity. This does not mean that nicknames are only invented by children because De Klerk conducted a study where she examined the phonological characteristics of nicknames which were devised by Xhosa–speaking people for the English-speaking white people. These nicknames were for adult persons in authority of some kind in their domains.
Morgan et al (1979) go on to say that a fundamental distinction in all naming systems is between internal methods of formation whereby a name is generated by some feature of language, such as alliteration or rhyming, and external methods of formation where matters of history, appearance, family relationships, local culture and so on are involved in the genesis of the name.
The researcher has found that many
people have more than one nickname. In
the Middle East, especially in
Nicknames are derived from many
sources. These include: physical characteristics, disabilities, appearance,
personal and social characteristics or bad character, good personality
characteristics and miscellaneous. The researcher will now briefly look at the
origin of nicknames in
Data Collection
A total of 75 questionnaires written
in IsiZulu were distributed for data collection in 2002 to both males and
female people in Highflats. At the university of Durban-Westville these were
distributed to mother-tongue Zulu students who were studying isiZulu. Students
were coming from diverse areas including townships and rural areas. Follow up
interviews were conducted to verify the data and elaborate on the information
already provided through
questionnaires. The data analysis
assisted in the discussion of the derivation of Zulu nicknames.
[…]
Zulu Nicknames
The Zulu
speaking people are part of a wider linguistic group known as Nguni, which includes Xhosa, Ndebele and
Swati. Their anthroponymic systems are also similar to that of the Zulu people and
a few examples from the Xhosa language group will be given.
The researcher has found that Zulu names are overshadowed by Zulu nicknames. There are people who are known for their entire life by their nicknames instead of the official names which appear on their identity books. Molefe (1999:16) in his research found that among the Zulu people male nicknames outnumber those given to females. The majority of Zulu people have accepted their nicknames; essentially they are acknowledged by their nicknames instead of their official personal names.
It is a very common phenomenon for soccer players to have nicknames. Among soccer players there is Siyabonga Nomvethe, his nickname is Bhele, a short form of his clan name Mbhele. Nicknaming has also extended to soccer coaches, e.g. Mushni Ertugal, former Kaizer Chiefs coach. His nickname is Mshini, a Zulu name for a machine.
Nickname givers normally group together as friends and that is where nicknames originate. Among the Zulu people, nicknames are acquired during
the
early stages of childhood, at school and also when people come of age as well.
Nicknaming allows speakers to express themselves about the way in which they
feel about the name bearer. Zulu speakers enjoy playing with sounds and meanings
of words, and situations arise where speakers of isiZulu language employ words
which they have borrowed from other languages to coin nicknames.
Functions of Zulu Nicknames
According
to McDowell (1981:5) in De Klerk (1998:2), nicknames act as “tokens of positive
identification” and serve to establish an informal relaxed atmosphere. Many
nicknames are regarded as powerful symbols of disapprobation and subtle
criticism. Nicknames are universal practice. They are accorded to someone by
his or her friends, relatives, enemies and neighbours (Prabhakaran, 1999:88).
In
The Nickname Givers and the Bearers
Anybody,
prominent or not, can get a nickname. The givers and the bearers act as active
agents in the process of nicknaming. There are many categories of givers and
bearers. Nickname giving occurs in informal settings like at home by family
members, in the sport fields by fans and colleagues, at the church by fellow
christians, at school by teachers and friends, in the music industry by fellow
musicians, by ordinary people in the street. In many cases nicknaming by adults
is common. Mostly adults use a modified version of their clan names or clan
praises as their nicknames, e.g.:
Dlamini > Dlams
Mbhele > Bhele
Mkhize > Khizo
Mthembu > Thembo
This is common among the Zulu people. In the process of nicknaming there must be an individual to be nicknamed. Molefe (1999:62) points out that the victim will have something striking that will arouse an impulse to nickname in the giver. The nickname-giver or the user just applies the nickname without any permission from the bearer. In the process of nicknaming we have a giver, a bearer and a user. In case of radio announcers, the giver is usually the bearer who then uses the nickname to refer to himself or herself.
Derivation of Zulu Nicknames
Among the Zulu people nicknames are
derived in more or less the same way as in the Middle East,
Nicknames are derived from more than one source. The researcher will now give examples of Zulu nicknames according to the morphological and denotative categories in which they are derived. According to Turner (2004:4) the denotative category deals with the reasons behind why a particular name is given to a person.
Nicknames Derived from Body Appearance
Physical features or body appearance
may play crucial role in nickname- giving. Usually the size of the nickname
bearer’s body appearance will influence nickname givers to coin a nickname that
will describe the bearer. The researcher has observed that a person’s body is
an easy target in the habit of nickname making.
1. Befu
( the healthy one) > Nickname
Nomusa (mother of grace) > Name
Sex > Female
This nickname is derived from Nomusa’s body appearance. Ever since she was born she was a healthy child. Her grandmother use to say “akusibona ubukhulu bengane lobu isibefubefu” (meaning that the baby is big and healthy) Thus the nickname Befu (the healthy one) came to being. It is actually a short form of the noun isibefubefu. Even today she is known as Befu instead of Nomusa.
2. Siswana
(tiny stomach) > Nickname
Nozipho
(mother of gifts) > Name
Sex > Female
This nickname is derived from Nozipho’s stomach, which was very big when she was a child. Curiously, although the nickname refers to a large stomach, the name itself uses the diminutive suffix –ana.
3. Madombo
(one with big cheeks) > Nickname
Bhekani
(take notice) > Name
Sex > Male
4. Sgwili (a rich person) > Nickname
Zazi (an intellectual, a thinker) > Name
Sex > Male
Nicknames Derived from Animal Names
In this category nicknames derived
from animal names will be presented.
1. Mbiba (type of a mouse) > Nickname
Sam > Name
Sex > Male
This nickname is derived from the
Zulu word imbiba. When Sam was
born his mother was worried that she gave birth to a small child. She said “hawu
ingane yami yaze yancane imbibana
nje, meaning that the baby was as small as a mouse.
2. Gundane
(rat) > Nickname
Ntombizodwa
(Girls only) > Name
Sex > Female
This nickname Gundane is a Zulu word for a rat. Ntombizodwa was very
small when she was young just like the rat. Her father nicknamed her Gundane.
Whenever he calls her he will say “Gundane, come here”. In addition to that, she is the youngest in
her family.
3. Qhelu (bird name) > Nickname
Ntokozo
(happiness) > Name
Sex > Female
Qhelu is a Zulu word for a very small
cunning bird. Ntokozo acquired this nickname when she was just growing up. She
had small legs which resembled that of Qhelu, a very tiny bird.
Nicknames Derived from People’s Behavior
1. Mshini (Machine) > Nickname
Nombuyiselo
(mother of repayment) > Name
Sex > Female
Umshini is a Zulu word for a machine. This nickname is derived from Nombuyiselo’s actions. Whatever she was doing she used to do it quickly as if a machine was performing that duty. Then the nickname “Mshini” came into being.
2. Mlomo
(mouth) > Nickname
Mxolisi
(to be apologetic) > Name
Sex > Male
This nickname is derived from the
person’s behavior. Mxolisi used to
open his mouth regularly. Naturally he has a big mouth. Then his grandfather
nicknamed him Mlomo.
Nicknames Derived from People’s Complexion
1. Bhunu (An Afrikaner) > Nickname
Zamani
(the one who tries) > Name
Sex > Male
This nickname is derived from Zamani’s complexion which resembles that
of an Afrikaner.
2. Mnyamana (the black one) > Nickname
Zonke (all the girls) > Name
Sex > Female
This nickname is derived from a skin colour that is very dark. Zonke is very dark in her complexion. This particular nickname bearer had such a negative reaction to her nickname the nickname is used in her absence. Molefe (1999: 40) calls such nicknames “secret nicknames”. These nicknames do not reach the ears of bearers either because they are derogatory or because they refer to unpalatable incidents in the life of an individual.
Zamasomi
(of the Msomi clan) > Name
Sex > Female
English
Nicknames
An example of a nickname from
English, is one of my brother. His name
is Sbonelo meaning a person who is exemplary
in his behaviour, and his nickname is Star.
He was given this nickname by a family member. When my father was busy fixing
his car he was working with Sbonelo. As
they were working they were using screw drivers to loosen the bolt. Sbonelo took
the star screwdriver and put it in his back pocket. When my father was calling
for the screwdriver, it was nowhere to be found. In the long run Sbonelo remembered
that the star screwdriver was in his back pocket, since then he was nicknamed Star, deriving from star screwdriver.
Even today we call him by his nickname and he is known by this nickname within
the family, and by neighbours and also friends in the workplace.
Another English nickname is cage. This nickname was given to the researcher by her relatives. According to Alswang & Van Rensburg (2000:107) a cage is a structure with wire or bars in which birds and animals are kept; or a lift in a mine. When the researcher was growing up, she was fast in doing things just like a lift in the mine when it brings miners to the surface. When elderly people sent her to go to the shop she used to come back quickly like a cage. Even today she is still quick in her movements and actions. One diviner once said that she might be possessed by ancestral spirits.
Conclusion
This
paper set out to address the important issue of naming and nicknaming as there
exists a shift in practice where personal names are now substituted by
nicknames. It reveals that nicknaming among the Zulu people in
List of Nicknames
Nickname Meaning
USgede -This nickname is derived from body appearance. Her grandmother used to call her “Sgede sikagogo” (meaning “grandmother’s fat girl”).
USikhukhukazi - This nickname is derived from the word isikhukukazi (‘hen, chicken’)
UDuzeneZulu -This nickname was given because the person was tall and also
playing good netball because of her height: duze means ‘near’ and izulu
means ‘the sky’. This nickname is a compound noun.
USgansonso - When he was young he looked like a powerful man, as he grew
up he became fat and had a big body.
Zulu noun isigansonso meaning ‘powerful big-bodied person’. [A new Zulu word not yet in dictionaries]
UThunuka - She was burnt in the hand. Every
time she was given a bath she would cry and say “musa ukungithunuka”
meaning ‘do not hurt me’, then the nickname Thunuka came in to being.
UBhaliwe - This name was given to a little girl who did not want to eat a sweet unless it had a name written in it. Bhaliwe means ‘having been written’.
USinqeqelele - He was given this nickname because he had
a big head. (cf Z
means person with a big head’)
UKlabishi - He loved cabbage. (< Z Iklabishi ‘cabbage’)
UMthobas - Because he was humble. (<Z verb thoba meaning ‘be humble')
UMngqayi - He used to dream and say ‘mngqayi’. Mngqayi is a hlonipha term for a policemen.
UMandoza - This
boy was given this nickname because he resembled the artist Mandoza.
UNgoqo - This nickname was given to him because he used to ask for other people`s things but he did not want his belongings to be used by others (Z adj. –ngoqo meaning ‘stingy’)
UMconjwana - She had small legs. (< Z umcondo meaning ‘thin leg’ + dim. –ana)
UMafutha -mafutha meaning ‘fat’)
UMpisi-ause he was a
thief/blunderer. (< Z impisi meaning ‘hyena’)
UBhodwe -Because of the complexion which
resembled that of a black three legged pot.
(< Z ibhodwe meaning ‘pot’)
USigebengu -He
was a thief. (< Z isigebengu
meaning ‘rogue’)
UNtoyakhe - He did not like the idea that other people wear his
clothes. (< Z into meaning ‘thing’ + yakhe ‘of him’)
UMziyonke - He hangs around with friends and does
not stay at home. (< Zulu imizi meaning ‘homesteads’ + yonke ‘all’ ; ‘every’)
UNkawana - He was ugly like a monkey. (< Z inkawu
meaning ‘monkey + dim. –ana)
UNowe - As a child could not pronounce the name and use to say ‘nowe’ instead of Sneziwe. (A personal name)
UMagwegwe - The nickname is derived from appearance.
This boy had bandy legs. (< Z amagwegwe
meaning ‘crooked, bandy legs’)
UMbovana - He had a light complexion. (< Z adj. mbovana ‘pink’)
UNdimbane - He was born at the time when there was
a very good harvest. (< Z indimbane
meaning ‘mass’; ‘abundance’)
UMaphihli - He was fat and he used to cry at all
times. (cf Z imphihlana: meaning ‘ugly person with sore, running eyes’)
UMkhokheli - A nickname given to a granny who was made umkhokheli
at her Church. (umkhokheli meaning ‘female
version of a deacon, a church leader’)
UGoje -This nickname given to a child who use to finish his bottle without taking a break. (< Z verb goja meaning ‘swallow at a gulp’)
UNtshisho - This nickname is derived from
appearance of the head which resembled the horns of the buck. (Word untraceable)
UMbhavuma - The nickname is derived from body
appearance, which was fat. (< Z umbhavuma
meaning ‘fat, flabby person’)
UNkinobho - This nickname was given to a tiny kid
who was born at 7 months instead of 9 months as he was so tiny. When he came
home his father said “inkinobho lena” trying to explain how small the
child was (< Z inkinobho meaning ‘button’)
UMbhadabhada - She had big legs. (< Z ibhadabhada meaning ‘clumsy person with awkward gait’)
UNomzaciyane - She had small/tiny body. (< Z verb zaca meaning ‘be thin’ +
ideophone
deriving suffix iyane)
UMangqezu - This boy was short. He was aggressive, worrisome and liked
to quarrel.
UMambenya - Derived
from the name Mbenya, a clan praise for the Jali clan.
are worrisome and more problematic than female
children. (< Z ganga meaning ‘be
naughty’)
UKhansela -He had a big body – then they said he will grew up be a councilor. ( < Z ukhansela meaning ‘councilor’)
USdudla - Body appearance, which was fat and it is still like she has maintaineded to sleep for a short period of time and then wake up. Then they said “This child does not want to sleep - she is Nogwaja (‘rabbit’)”, then it was shortened to gwajo.
UZa - Tiny body, her mother called her ‘zazambane zambesi’, meaning a small stick. Then the nickname ‘Za’ came to being
UNduna - This nickname was given to Jabulani at school by a teacher because he was a school representative. (< Z induna meaning ‘headman’)
UMgcwalabhodwe - This nickname was derived from
body appearance, which was fat.
The father of this child used to play with
her and say ‘gcwala bhodwe’ (‘get full,
pot’) then it become a nickname.
USgqemeza - It means the one with a big head.
ULuluza - The nickname was derived from the name Nolulama. (The syllable /lu/ is repeated and a meaningless suffix –za added)
USana - She was the only child at home. Usana means ‘a little child’
UKwatela - It
is derived from the behaviour of always shouting and scolding. (< Afrikaans kwaad meaning ‘angry’)
UNjinifaya - It is derived from the behaviour of crying at all times. (< English engine fire reversal of ‘fire engine’)
Uxamu - She
was given the nickname because he did not want to bath. < uxamu meaning ‘monitor lizard; with
mottled scaly skin’)
UNogwaja -A girl who had ears which resemble that of a rabbit. (< Z unogwaja meaning ‘rabbit’)
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