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Showing posts from August, 2010

Thandi Ape

Yes, good to finally know my last name doesn't mean market as in DRC soko. It's now settled that the name means ape! How do you do? My name is Thandi Ape, it's still AyObA! Last night my father told me that he met a whole group of Soko's near Masvingo.  This puts an end to googling my last name and coming up with Japanese furniture stores. Refreshing to hear that we do exist, in larger groups outside of our tiny clan in Malawi.  Apparently, the Soko near Masvingo have the Shona totem of 'Manyuka' or is it 'Munyaka' (????) while-as we have the Ngoni 'Mafeni' totem in M-dubs.  Now I finally have something to say to all those non-edjamacated round here who insist on asking my opinion about Uncle Rob!  Zim is not so distant to moi anymore with them fellow Soko's living out there.  Here's to the Soko clan! Here's to Masvingo! pic: college ape, from Cliff Barakman's northamericanbigfoot.blogspot.com

Screamers Only

Sometimes we just need to scream. Explaining just doesn't cut it, thinking about it just doesn't cut it, talking about it just doesn't cut it. image: myspace/photobucket

A new flag: the dissolution of a plethora of memories

I pity myself for the fact that when significant things happen in Malawi, I just happen not to be there.  Perhaps I shouldn't pity myself because location does offer me some measure of objectivity.  So now, the flag has been changed. To others it's just a matter of the order of colours, the size/form of a galactical object and a few other nuance, not a big deal. For me, however, there are two things of lesser importance that I do in reaction: laugh it off by asking, now that there is a new flag, shall we finally say goodbye to the usage of mapolo a malayina to hang them on? I remember as a child observing with curiosity as the men of the black stripe on khaki dug holes whenever the red convertible came to town, they would dig a round hole yay wide and plonk in the painted white mapolo with fluttering flags at the top end. Ay, not sustainable to forest populations if you ask me.  The other reaction of lesser importance that comes and goes is, 'If I do claim I'm a Malaw