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Pathisa Nyathi
Before proceeding any further with our story of names, their origin, meaning and significance, let us take a few steps backwards to the African calendar.
Here we shall take a look at the seasons so as to see the link between the seasons and the changing cosmic phenomena. What takes place on earth is in response to changes on the cosmic arena.
The seasons and the lunar months are reflections of changes taking place on the cosmic front.
Let us start with the season that we are into right now. Its name in IsiNdebele is Intwasa or intwasahlobo. The two components that make up the word are organically related, intwasa and ihlobo.
Intwasa is less of a period or given state of reality but more of a process that ushers a period or state, ihlobo. What is happening is that ihlobo is becoming reality. It is becoming and emerging into being.
The process is ukuthwasa is a concept that we dealt with earlier on when we were dealing with the moon. We saw the relationship between the emergence of a new moon following its “death” for a day, nxa inyanga ifile.
Intwasa thus emphasises and describes the beginning of a new life or new state out of a previous one of death.
With reference to the new moon, it signifies rebirth and regeneration, a new beginning.
It thus comes as no wonder that the emergence of a new moon, ukuthwasa kwenyanga, was accompanied by jubilation and sometimes pomp and pageantry that were expressed through, inter alia, chants as was shown among the BaKalanga with their long chant of celebration: Hoya mwedzi wagala . . .
The Ndebele equally welcomed the new moon with a chant to the same effect as that of the BaKalanga. The Ndebele chanted every lunar month, “Kholiwe! hamba lomkhuhlane.”
We did then point out the reason why the chants were made each time a new moon emerged.
The question now is why is the new season we are entering referred to as intwasa, clearly referring to the process and concept ukuthwasa.
It is not difficult to see the relationship. As pointed out above, ukuthwasa is a concept and process that facilitates and marks the emergence of life after death. The seasons are cyclical, with one that is symbolic and representative of death. The simple pattern that we ought to be aware of is, Life . . . Death . . . Life . . . Death . . . ad infinitum. It is rhythm or seasonality, a pattern or periodicity.
Essentially, there are just two seasons that are fringed and brought about by transitional processes, leading to the next season or emerging out of a previous season. The season that is symbolic and representative of, and approximates death, is the winter season, ubusika. Ukusika means to cut a word that describes the biting cold associated with the season. Life is at its lowest ebb.
Those seeking more information on this may refer to the book Kudzai Chikomo and I we wrote recently on the Karanga traditional dance known as Mbakumba. Some deciduous trees shed their leaves. Their leaves die and fall off. Grass shrivels and in some instances dries and dies. Some animals, the cold blooded ones, go into hibernation. Temperatures are at their lowest, so is the process of metabolism.
The environment may be said to be dead or nearly dead. The stage of death is important as a period of rest.
It is a period or season when the environment gathers energy for heightened metabolic processes in summer. Death or near death is a period of rest.
We have in the past made reference to men who take a concoction known as nligazwikono which sends them into deep slumber or a state of semi-death or minimum life. However, after the period of semi-death, the men perform miracles in the area of conjugal encounters. The plant is used as an aphrodisiac.
Similarly, when seasonal death comes to an end, it is followed by a transitional process referred to as intwasa.
It is a period process that forms the bridge or connection between death and impending life, a season opposite to the one that was characterised by death or approximated lifelessness.
It is semi-death as total death may not result in resuscitation of life.
The summer season may not emerge out of total death. Near death makes it possible for the next season of life to emerge —b following a period of rest.
The emphasis here is on the word or name ukuthwasa which means and refers to the transition from a state of death or semi-death to one of life.
Spiritual initiates, amathwasa, are “trained” so as to emerge from their state of spiritual darkness and transit into a stage where they gain a new life, one where they are able to diagnose diseases and enhanced communication with their ancestral spirits who possess diagnostic and healing powers in addition to powers of prophecy and vision of the past, present and future. The word used for all this is ukuthwasa.
Like the moon and the seasons, they have undergone some transition from a poor state of spiritual being to a higher one, from darkness to light and from death to life.
The concept being underpinned in all the instances is the same.
Intwasa is thus a transitioning process, a catalyst for the emergence of the next season, that of ihlobo. It is a season that starts in the month of September, uMpandula in IsiNdebele.
The key word is phenduka, or phendula, meaning to change or to transform. Initial and essential change has taken place at the cosmic level. The sun has changed its course.
In astronomy the phenomenon may be referred to as the spring equinox in the southern hemisphere. In practical terms, the sun is overhead in areas close to the Tropic of Capricorn.
The sun no longer moves indirectly or at an angle as was the case in winter when its position meant less heat from it — lisahamba lugege.
This position of movement of the sun is the change at the cosmic level that has resulted in observable changes at the level of planet earth.
Temperatures are beginning to pick up. Trees are budding and ready to develop new green leaves.
The green chlorophyll traps solar light and during photosynthesis the leaves make food.
Life takes centre stage. Animals that were hibernating emerge from their lairs where they had been motionless in order to preserve the food within their bodies.
With the leaves, grass and water being plentiful, they have reason to emerge, eat while at the same time building up food reserves for the period when they will not be eating.
The rains start falling and the animals begin to breed. Animals would have been in heat during the season of life, the summer months when food was readily available.
A new year has started. A new season has emerged. Life is picking up. Flowers are in bloom.
There is marked and palpable transition from death or near death to emerging life. In due course, the new season will arrive.
It is the summer months which have been ushered by changes at the cosmic level. Life is celebrated and continuity of life guaranteed. It is an unending sequence, rhythm and seasonality that drives the cycle of life. Life emerges out of death and the latter, that is death, is the ultimate end of life.
The transition from life to death is ikwindla. It links life to its counterpart, death. The environment and its inhabitants are preparing for the certain advent of the next season — death or winter.
Africans did observe that when the season was closest to death, the prospects for good life were high. The colder the winter season, the higher the chances of good rains and therefore a good season.
This may be related, in other cultures, to changes taking place regarding the surface temperatures of the water in the oceans. The results may be either El Nina or El Nino.
Africa always knew about this link and that knowledge helped them to plan their agricultural seasons accordingly.
The language to express the phenomena may be different.
Language comprises community wide communication symbols that are products of long standing interactions between communities and their environments, both human and non-human.
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