Authors: Frederick Ramsay
Danger Woman (22 page)
First, three comments:
1) Despite what you might have heard to the contrary, there is no standing order, policy, mandate, or understanding in Botswana that poachers are to be shot on sight, either when caught in the act, while trying to flee, or any other circumstances except should they shoot first. The notion that the Botswana Defense Force would shoot at poachers is a rumor. Some might say a convenient one, but a rumor, nonetheless.
2) That said, it should be emphasized that poaching in Botswana is a serious crime and those who engage in it will be and are prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. The President of Botswana at the time of this writing, His Excellency Ian Khama Seretse Khama, is a serious conservationist. He is the driving force behind the program to reestablish rhinos in the country. Protection of the animals in the various game parks is a high priority of his and the government.
3) There are no Russian mobsters lurking about the country or organized crime, generally. Botswana is one of the least corrupt countries in the world. It is a modern democracy with serious politicians dedicated to the advancement of its people and progress with restraint.
Also, Botswana has the largest population of elephants of any country. I guess that makes four comments.
Glossary
Setswana is a dialect of Bantu, as is Zulu, and many other languages spoken in sub-Saharan Africa. The stem is, Tswana
+ Baâ¦people of theâ¦
Ba
tswana
+ Boâ¦the country of theâ¦
Bo
tswana
+ Moâ¦a person ofâ¦
Mo
tswana
+ Seâ¦language ofâ¦
Se
tswana
Some Phrases and Words that Appear in the Text
A re tsamaye!
= Let's go!
Bakkie =
Africaans' word for pickup truck
Boikobo =
obedient
Botsolano
= friendship
Botshabelo
= refuge, sanctuary
Combi
e = small bus or van
Dumelaâ¦
hello
+ Mma, Rra
= ma'am, sir
Gabz = a contraction for Gaborone
Kgopa =
snail
Kgosi =
chief
Kgosi Mosadi
= woman chief
Kgotla =
courtyard, meeting place
Kotsi
= danger
Lekgwamolelo
= volcano
Manong =
vultures
Mmegi
= Local newspaper which has an online edition, if you happen to be interested in the affairs of Botswana
Mma
(pronounced mah) = Mrs., as a title of respect
Modimo =
God
Moeti
= visitor
Moloi
= witch, deviner
Monontsha =
fertilizer
Moshutele =
manure
Mosekisi
= prosecutor, judge
Mosadi =
woman
Motsu =
sharp point, arrow
Mowa
= soul, breath (of life)
Nkuku
= grandmother
No mathata =
no problem, no worries
Ntate
= father
Nyatse
= paramour, mistress
O tsogile jang
= How are you?
Panel beaters = auto body shop
Phane =
fried or cooked caterpillars, considered a delicacy
Pula
(literally rain) = the currency of Botswana and
Thebe
(shield) = coinage
Pheri =
hyena + di/du,
dupheri =
hyenas
Rra
(pronounced rah) = Mr. or sir (with respect)
Rre
(pronounced ray) = Father, and designates a superior type of Mr., usually a clergyman
Rremogolo
= grandfather
Rondeval
= a circular hut fashioned from mud and woven branches, with a thatch roof
Sala sentle =
Stay wellâ¦goodbye
Sekgele =
prize
Tau =
lion, +
di
= lions
Tshedisa molewane
= banished
Tumelo
= faith
See also: http://en.wickipedia.org/wiki/Tswana_language.
HAART = Highly Active Antiretroviral Therapy
Kazangula is a village in Botswana on the Chobe River which boasts, among other things, a snake sanctuary or exhibit.
Setswana
is the traditional language of Botswana. The official language is English.
Having alternative languages for specific purposes is a practice not limited to Botswana. We in the United States would do well to consider it as well, at least conceptually. Think of how much anger goes out of the system when we allow that, for example, the southwest has a “traditional language”âSpanish, and an official languageâEnglish.
Whereas Gaborone is pronounced with the G as a guttural ch (as in
loch)
, the contraction, Gabz, has a hard G. People from South Africa pronounce Gaborone with a hard G, however.
People are often greeted attaching the names of their firstborn with the appropriate title, i.e. my wife would be Mma Julie and I might be Rra Jeff.
The religious configuration is predominantly Christian (62 percent Protestant, 5.0 percent Roman Catholic). Indigenous religions constitute 23 percent; Islam, 0.3 percent; and Hindu, 0.15 percent.
The following has been lifted from Botswana's official website:
The Republic of Botswana is situated in Southern Africa, nestled between South Africa, Namibia, Zimbabwe, and Zambia. The country is democratically ruled, boasts a growing economy and a stable political environment. Botswana has some of Africa's last great wildernesses including the famous Okavango Swamps and the Kalahari Desert.
Botswana is the largest exporter of gemstone diamonds in the world as well as a large beef exporter to the European Union.
For more information about this fascinating country go to
www.gov.bw
.
NB: In some Slavic language groups, the combination Cs is pronounced as Sh. It is often written in reverse: Sc. What you do with a z juxtaposed next to that is up to you. I once had a man working for me whose surname had that combination and when I asked how to pronounce his name, he said, “Just call me Phil.”
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