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| 1 |
Na vho-mme vho ri  ? |
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Have our mothers rejected us? |
| 2 |
 vha tshi  vha lala, |
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Others eat and then they go to sleep. |
| 3 |
 ri tshi  ra tshina. |
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But we eat and have to dance. |
| 4 |
Domba   ima lini? |
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When will domba begin? |
| 5 |
 ra tshina tshikanda. |
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We have already danced tshikanda. |
| 6 |
Gazagazane manyunyu. |
| Chorus: |
Hele gaza. |
| One old lady began to explain the lesson of this song, and then she broke off with a laugh and said that it taught nothing. Another said that manyunyu = matshimba = excrement, and that hele gaza means that a girl should show herself to boys. This might refer to the fact that novices were stripped naked and made to go up to youths and ask for snuff (see van Warmelo 1932:42). I never saw this, or heard of it being done, but it does throw some light on the song. Another explanation is that the song refers to the necessity of initiation, although it is hard for a girl and she is completely in the hands of the chief and his wives. |
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