South African Voices: Created in Olden Times (2006)
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THE CONSTRUCTION OF AN INTSOMI
Listen to this sectionMasithathu Zenani discusses the art of composing oral narratives, emphasizing the age of the stories and contrasting the ancestral stories with tales told by the storyteller who "is just chattering about his own things."
Indlela yokwenza iintsomi yinto eyenziwa ngabantu bakuqala phambili kokhokho...loo nto ke ingookhokho ngabantu abangaphambili kude le nefani[581] zethu...ngoku ke saqabukela ke kuloo nto kusenziwa ezo ntsomi ngabantu abakhulu...sabe ke sivela ke zisenzelwa thina ke ngabo bantu badala nabo besithi zazisenziwa kudala...ukudala ke kungokuya ke loo nto ikude nakwa beth' ootata ikude nakoomakhulu bethu...kuba ngoomakhulu bethu ababesithi bona zasenziwa[582] ngooninakhulu babo...yiyo ke le nt' iyintsomi...sizifunde ngolo hlobo ke iintsomi...saba ngasuka sivela nathi safika zisenziwa...saba ngasuka sikhula zaba zisenziwa ezi ntsomi...iintsomi zakudala zahlukile kuntsomi ezintsha...iintsomi ezintsha esiva ngoku singaka nana...ziba zinto ezibhaliweyo...us'k'[583] uyibone ibhaliwe ezi zazingazange[584] zifundw' ekubhalweni[585] ...zazisenziwa ngabant' abadala besithi nxa bona bethetha nxa sibuza nath' uba le nto inje ngaba yint' eyayikho kanjani na bathi bona yinto eyayikho ngemveli yakudala...bamise ngobukhokho ize obo lukhokho sithi nxa sibufuna ukuba bubukhokho bantuni na...bathethe int' ethi ubukhokho yayingabantu bokuqala...kuba iinto zakuqala zazingafani...kuba kuqala kwakungekho nto ithengwayo...kwakungekho nto i--- ityiwa i--- inje ngale yanamhlanje...kuqala ithanga lalingatyiwa[586] ...yiyo le nto iintsomi zakudala zingafaniyo nezi...sithi ke sakubuza okokuba kwenzeka kanjani na ke oze[587] ngoku kubekho izinto ezingamathang' atyiwayo baqalise ngokuthi kwathanga elo yayingeyonto yayisisilimo...yayiyinto nje ephaya emagageni iziphumela njengemithi yonke kodwa ke yaguqulwa phaya ngokukhanya kwabantu bamva baqale banokhanyo bona bayibona le nt' uba iyiyo int' etyiwayo babeyijonge ngokokuba ngumthi nje ngoko...ngokuya kokuqala ithanga yayiyinto eyayisehlathini iyinto nj' oyi--- oyigila nangenyawo ungayaz' int' ongayenzayo ngayo loo nto kwakunye nombona yayingeyonto yayiyinto yokuqala kuzinto zokutyiwa into abayibalela mandulo...iba ngamazimba...isityo abathi sisityo sokuqala ezi 'nto ke zonke zihambe ngohlobo olunjalo...iintsomi ke ezi imvelaphi yazo ikokhokho noomakhulu sivelele kuzo 'se izizinto eziqhutywayo 'be kuye kuthi nxa sizenzayo ezi ntsomi...bamamele abantu asebengabant'[588] abakhulu...bathi lo umntana uyazazi iintsomi lo akazazi utheth' int' angayaziyo.. .akukho ntsomi inje uncokol' iinto zakhe ivakale eyenza okokuba yena wenza leya indala loo nto ke sasingabantwana ke amane[589] besahlulwahlulwa ngabant' abadala ngolo hlobo...asinasigqibo sokokuba intsomi iphuma kubani sithi iphuma kubantu abadala ookhokho bakudalo esingabaziyo nathi...iyaphela ngoku.
Notes
[581] nefani: from Afrikaans van.
[582] zasenziwa: zazisenziwa.
[583] us'k': usuke.
[584] zazingazange: zayezingazange.
[585] Masithathu Zenani seems rather contemptuous of those iintsomi read in books.
[586] ithangalalingatyiwa: perhaps because the next narrative that she will perform (2S-23) deals with pumpkins, Masithathu Zenani here selects pumpkins as her example.
[587] oze: ukuze.
[588] asebengabant': abasebengabantu.
[589] amane: bamane.
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Photographs copyright © 2006 by Harold Scheub. Used with permission.
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