Muzungu
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Muzungu is a word meaning "white person" in many Bantu languages of east, central and southern Africa. There are a number of variations depending on the location.
| Language | singular | plural | possessive |
|---|---|---|---|
| Swahili in East Africa | Mzungu | wazungu | kizungu |
| Chichewa in Malawi | Muzungu | bazungu | chizungu |
| Kinyarwanda in Rwanda / Kirundi in Burundi | Muzungu | bazungu | kizungu |
| Bemba in Zambia and Democratic Republic of Congo | Musungu | basungu | chisungu |
| Sena in Mozambique | Muzungu | azungu |
The possessive Kizungu or chizungu translated literally means "of the white people". It has now come to mean "language of the white people" and more commonly English, as it is the language most often used by Wazungu in East Africa. However it can be used generally for any European Language. To distinguish between English and other European languages kiingereza in Swahili or chingeleshi in Bemba are used and are simply Africanized version of the word english by Epenthesis. Wachizungu, Bachizungu etc "literally things of white people" have come to mean the Western culture, foods and lifestyle.
The etymology of the word stems from a contraction of words meaning "one who moves around,"(possibly zunguluka, zungusha-meaning to go round and round) and was coined to describe European traders who traveled through East African countries in the 18th century. The word became synonymous with "white person" because of the traders' complexion. Many rural villages in Tanzania and Kenya are rarely visited by "bazungus" , making Caucasian passers-through an odd sight for young people. Also the mzungu was probably preferred to words linked to color because in central and east Africa people do not link Europeans to white color as most Europeans were trying to translate the name of their race in African languages. They instead see them as reddish or pinkish. For instance in Kinyarwanda and Kirundi white people are also known as rutuku which means red. However it is not used formally because its prefix ru- makes it sounds a little bit derogative.
Other common terms for white person in Southern Africa include
- M'lungu - In South Africa
- Mukiwa - In Zimbabwe
- Mukuwa- Among the Tonga people in Zambia
[edit] See also
- Mzungu is a song by the band 7 Seconds of Love.
- Toubab, a word for white people in West and Central Africa.
- Muzungu is also a reggae band in Russia, the first Russian dancehall reggae band
