La Glace Copyright © Translated into Xitsonga by Nkateko Mgimeti
Tsonga love poem
Xifaniso xa wena ka xivoni,
I xiphato xa mina xo sasekooo,
Kambe hi ku hatlisa xa nyamalala,
"ndza ku rhandza" wo hetelela
Xifaniso xa wena ka xivoni,
I xiphato xa mina xo sasekooo,
Kambe hi ku hatlisa xa nyamalala,
"ndza ku rhandza" wo hetelela
Copyright © Bellon Poet http://love.poem.free.fr
For hern a Tsonga girl
Translation of the poem in xitsonga, spoken by the Tsongas (Shangaans), in Zimbabwe and Mozambique. Tsonga is one of the 11 official languages of South Africa (4 million speakers).
The Tsongas
The Tsongas or Thongas who speak this language are Bantu, who are farmers and breeders. They are divided into patrilineal and patrilocal lineages, and live in dispersed hamlets - kraal - which correspond to localized patriclan segments. These kraals are home to large extended families, where authority is vested in a hereditary chief assisted by family heads. My little poem had to be translated into Tsonga, a southern Bantu language, which has many dialects. The word tsonga for me is evocative of African freedom, do not ask me why ... It's like that!
