The other day we were walking along a beach road when a friend spotted a type of spinach growing on the dune. We stopped to eat it, but while it didn’t taste great, it did spark an interesting discussion on mfino, something I had not heard of or tasted before. But after a quick Google … Read more
An interesting study is underway that looks at creating isiZulu names for invasive alien plants (IAPs). Because these plants don’t originate in South Africa very few of them have Zulu names, or are incorrectly named, which sometimes results in indigenous plants being removed along with alien invasive plants. For example, ubobo is the isiZulu name … Read more
The team at the Woza eNanda Walking Trail are busy doing a clean-up of the area, with a focus on clearing alien plants. To this end, their resident horticulturalist, Lindelani Zuke, has written a blog post on some of the indigenous plants found in Inanda, asking for feedback from the community regarding what the different … Read more
As usual Nqobile chose some interesting topics to research in the month of November. The first of her stories deals with complexities involved in a polygamous Zulu relationship, in particular how livestock is distributed between children of different wives, and the social rules associated with how to deal with this issue (e.g. the process that’s … Read more
I was at a wedding over the weekend, and on the table was a little card about the marula tree and how the Zulu people believe it’s linked to fertility – the wedding venue was called ‘Under the Marula Tree’, hence the little info card. It’s a bit embarrassing to admit, but prior to reading … Read more
There was a story on the radio recently that related to the calabash fruit, and how it can be used as a musical instrument for calling the ancestors. Unfortunately there’s very little information online regarding this ancestral link, but nonetheless it’s still a very interesting fruit and one that has special significance in KZN. The … Read more