Sounds of a Cowhide Drum/Imisindo Yesigubhu Sesikhumba Senkomo by Mbuyiseni Oswald Mtshali | NOOK Book (eBook) | Barnes & Noble®
by Mbuyiseni Oswald MtshaliMbuyiseni Oswald Mtshali
Originally published in 1971 by Lionel Abrahams' Renoster Books, this book quickly became a classic of South African literature, but has been unavailable for many years. This new edition carries a simultaneous isiZulu translation of the poems, and a new foreword by Nadine Gordimer.
Dr Mbuyiseni Oswald Mtshali has been the recipient of numerous awards, including the Southern Africa English Academy Poetry Award in 1971, the London Poetry International Award in 1973 and the South African Lifetime Achievement Literary Award (SALA) from the Department of Arts and Culture in 2007. He taught at the New York City College of Technology and is founder and deputy headmaster of Pace Community College in Jabulani, Soweto. Having worked in the United States for many years, Mtshali returned to South Africa and now lives in Soweto.
Imisindo Yesigubhu Sesikhumba Senkomo
Copyright © 2012 Mbuyiseni Oswald Mtshali
of the dawn from the sky.
drives the master's sheep
into the veld.
and spill the dew
on a cutter's table
A lamb strays away
enchanted by the marvels
of summer morning
rebukes the ewe
Watch over the child!"
The sun wings up
on flaming petal
of a sunflower.
Umalusi nomhlambi wakhe
uqhuba izimvu zikabasi wakhe
Izinyawo zakhe ezingacathulelwanga
Izinyane lidukela kude
Ilanga lishaya amaphiko
ezihlandla ezivutha salangabi
He perches on an ant heap
to play the reed flute
and to salute
and dreamily asks,
"O! Wise Sun above,
Will you ever guide
me into school?"
Uqhwakela esidulini sezintuthwane
ukushaya igekle lomhlanga,
abuze sengathi uyaphupha,
"Maye! Wesihlakaniphi seLanga laphezulu,
nami ngiye esikolweni na?"
I will tell it to my doctor
I will tell it to all
as I sit on a mat
of woven grass and beads;
and dry monkey bones
and rattle the eardrums.
like a priest giving a blessing
to a soul seeking solace.
to boil the pot of herbs,
and brew a Love potion
as strong as a mule's milk.
whose eyes are myopic with misery;
and this world wink a smile,
and dandle me like a devoted mother,
and smother me with affection
I have never known before.
Ngiyokutshela inyanga yami
Ngiyokutshela konke lokhu
ngihlezi phezu kwecansi
elelukwe ngencema laphothwa ngobuhlalu;
namathambo omile enkawu
ashwabanisa ikhanda lami
akhehlezele ezigujini zendlebe.
Ngiyolalela izwi layo
lihaya amahubo avusa amadlingozi
njengomfundisi enikela izibusiso
emphefumulweni okhanukela induduzo.
ingibilisele ibhodwe lamakhambi,
enomfutho ofana nobisi lomnyuzi.
onamehlo afifiyela ngomunyu;
bese lomhlaba ungicishela
ungigone njengomama onesisa,
ungenze isimungumungwana ngesihe
engingakaze ngisazi nakadeni.
Kancane Kancane uyanyakaza
phambili emuva, phambili emuva
bese uyasheshisa masinya, masinya
ngokushwiza uya phezulu, naphansi.
Ihembe lakhe eliluhlaza sasibhakabhaka
libhakuza emoyeni weshowe
Umhlaba uyanyonteka sasizunguluzwane
Impumalanga iba yiNtshonalanga
iNyakatho iphenduka iNingizimu;
izikanekiso ezine zomhlaba
zihlangana phakathi ekhanda lakhe.
Ngiyoligqoka nini ibhulukwa elide na?
Waboshelwani ubaba wami na?
Portrait of a loaf of bread
Look back to the rolling fields
waving golf-topped wheat stalks
mowed down by the reaper's scythe,
bundled into sheaves
carted into the mill
Kneaded into mountains of dough
to be churned by rollers
and spat into pans as red hot
as Satan's cauldron.
Brought to the café,
warmly wrapped in cellophane
by "Eat Fresh Bread!" bakery van;
for the waiting cook
to slice and toast
to butter and marmalade
for the food-bedecked breakfast table.
Whilst the labourer
with fingers caked with mud
wet cement of a builder's scaffold
mauls a hunk and cold drink
and licks his lips and laughs
"Man can live bread alone."
Umfanekiso womgxusha wesinkwa
Bheka emuva emasimini eginqika
ebhakuzisa izihloko ezisagalufu zikakolo
zigencwa isikela lomvuni,
zagaywa zacoliswa zaba ngufulawa.
wacabaywa wazintaba zenhlama
yagaywa yimshini egoqayo
yakhafulelwa emapanini ashisa okubomvu
Bese silethwa ekhefi,
sigoqwe ngeplastiki safudumezwa
yiveni yakwa "Yidla iSinkwa esiSha!"
laphoke umpheki elindele
asininde ngebhotela newolintshijamu
sibekwe etafuleni eliphuphuma
Laphoke isifukuzi sesibenzi
esineminwe ebhixwe ngudaka
losimende omanzi wesitebhisi somakhi
sidlavuze umthamo wesinkwa
bese sikhotha izindebe sihleke
"Umuntu angaphila ngesikwa Kuphela!"
The washerwoman's prayer
(To my mother-in-law)
raw, knobby and calloused.
like a bean skin soaked in brine.
For countless years she has toiled
to wash her master's clothes
soiled a lord's luxuries.
In frost-freckled mornings,
in sun scorched afternoons,
she has drudged murmurless.
One day she fell and fainted
Her mouth a foaming spout
gushing a gibberish.
"Good Lord! Dear Lord!" She shouted
"Why am I so tormented?
How long have I lamented?
Tell me lord, tell me O Lord!"
"My child! Dear child!" she heard,
"Suffer for those who live in gilded sin!
Toil for those swim a bowl of pink gin!"
"Thank you Lord! Thank you Lord!
why I must carry this task."
Umthandazo kamama wewashingi
[(Eka mkhwekazi wami)
Bheka izandla zakhe
zihuzukile, zimagqobholo zinezikofu.
Bheka ubuso bakhe
njengobhontshisi ocwiliswe emanzini anetswayi.
Iminyaka engebalwe efukuza
egeza izingubo zikabasi wakhe
Ekuseni okufocozwe isithwathwa,
nezintambana zelanga elivutha bhe
uzikhandla efukuza engati vu!
Langa limbe wawa waquleka
Umlomo ukhihliza njengombhobho
"Nkosi eLungile! Sithandwa seNkhosi!
Kungani ngihlushwa kanjena?
Kunini ngikhala ngimbongoza?
Ngitshele Nkosi, Maye! Ngitshele Nkhosi!"
"Mntanami! Ngane ethandekayo!" wezwa
"Hluphekela labo abahlala
Ebucwazicwazini segolide lesono!
Fukuzelela labo ababhukuda
Emcakulweni wejini ebomvana!"
"Ngiyabonga Nkosi yami! Ngiyabonga Nkosi
kungani kufanele ngithwale lelijoka!"
A snowfall on Mount Frere
Puffed up peaks
were a Kit-Kat loaf
covered with unsweet
ready for aproned sunshine
under the back-breaking
flour bags of snow.
they cursed and waited
to lift their burden.
The weak-eyed sun
peered through the curtained sky
on to the papery whiteness.
to fetch her reading glasses.
Mud huts sprouted
on the vastness;
a rash of blackheads
on the heavily powdered
Umkhithiko phezu kweNtaba yaseFeleya
zingumgxusha kaKiti Kati
olinde ukukhanya kwelanga eligqoke ifaskoti
ngaphansi kwaphula iqolo
amasaka kafulawa ayiqhwa.
ukhuthi iphakamise umthwalo.
Ilanga elimehlo abuthakathaka
lalunguza esibhakabhakeni esivalwe
phezu kobumhlophe obusaphepha.
layolanda izibuko zokufunda.
Amaqhugwane odaka afufusa
afana nomqubuko wezinsunsumba
Red wide-horned cows
plonked belly-deep in quilt
like famished bed bugs:
some snorted steamy defiance
to the scowling sky.
Birds huddled helplessly
against the whiplashing wind;
and raised their frozen feeble voices
in protest to the skulking sun.
in their heartless huts
by the vast white sea.
They cringed like drowning gorillas
chained in cold steel cages.
Izinkomo ezinkone ezimponde zinde
zingamanxe zathi shi ngezisu ekhwilidini
ezinye zathimula umzabalazo wentuthu
ziyiqondise esibhakabhakeni esiswacile.
Izinyoni zaqoqana zidinga usizo
ekuvikeni umoya qwane owawuzikhwisha;
Zaphakamisa amaphimbo abuthaka alele
zikhononda elangeni elalinyukubele.
Ngisho nokuthi khasha emadodeni omuzi
kudedangendlale wolwandle olumhlophe.
Ayeveva njengezimbuzimawa ziminza
Zixhakwe ngamaketango ezitokisini ezibandayo
Through sleep-curtained eyes
I peered through the frosty windows,
"Go away! Cold wind! Go away!
Can't you see we are naked?"
"Oh! Dear Sun!
Won't you warm my heart
Isitimela sama sathi nsi
Ngamehlo avalwe ngamakhethini obuthongo
ngabona amadoda ayisithupa:
amadoda ayegundwe ashewulwa
bonke ubuqotho bobuntu
njengezimvu ziqeda ukugundwa
zimpongoza emoyeni ovuguza uhlaba,
"Hamb'ushone! Moya obandayo! Hamb'ushone
awuboni ukuthi siqunu na?"
Izihlakala zinkonkwe ngozankosi
amaqakala exhakwe ngamaketanga
njengezindingilizi zensimbi zezinkomo
Zethuswa ngumnyango ongunoxhaka.
Enye yamadoda enekhanda
liphucwe labamsulwa njengezambane
yahlebela ilanga liphuma,
liyiso elibomvu lisulwa amanikiniki
"Maye! Sithandwa seLanga!
ngeke yini ufudumeze inhliziyo yami
nendlela yaso engayindawo.
to build a walls
the tree legged pot
on earthen floor
Phakathi kweqhugwana lami lakwaZulu
ukuthi zakhe izindonga
ngezitini zegolide loju.
Ngumgede okusabalele kuwo
izinkamba eziphuphuma utshwala
amacansi okulala encema nekhwani
nezigqiki zokucamela ikhanda
izikhumba zembuzi ezishukiwe
zafuswa zabamnyama bhuqe yintuthu
eqhubuka emalongweni acabayiwe
kwelimlenze ntathu ibhodwe
eligxunyekwe emhlabathini ongasindiwe
ukuze ngipheke idokwe lami.
Reapers in the mieliefield
Face furrowed and wet with sweat
bags tied to their wasp waists,
women reapers bend mielie stalks,
break cobs in rustling sheafs,
then toss them in the bags
and move through row upon row of maize.
Behind them like a tanker,
a dust raising tractor
pulls a trailer,
driven by the pipe puffing man
flashing tobacco-stained teeth
as yellow as the harvested grain.
He stops to pick up bags
loaded by thick-limbed labourers
brown with dust.
The sun lashes
the workers with
the red-hot rod;
they stop for while
to wipe a brine-bathed brow
and drink from battered can
bubbling with malty "maheu."
Abavuni ensimini yombila
Ubuso buswacile bumanzi ngumjuluko
amasaka aboshelwe okhalweni lomnyovu
Abavuni besifazane bagoba izinhlanga zombila,
bahluba amakhasi ahashazayo ezikhwebu
bese beziphonsa emasakeni
behamba phakathi komugqwa nomugqa wombila.
Emuva kwabo, njengesithuthi samasotsha
ugandaganda obhenguza uthuli
ushayelwa yindoda ephafuza inqawe
isineke ngamazinyo anindwe ngugwayi
Asale ephuzi njengezinhlamvu zombila ovunwayo.
Uyama uthatha amasaka
alayishwa izidlakela zezisebenzi
ezigqoke amavesti abhakwe
abansudu yizikhokho zothuli.
ngensimbi eshisa yababomvu tebu;
Bayama bathi khwimilili isikhashana
Ukusula izinhlonze ezigezwe ngamanzi anetswayi
baphuza ngomshumbu ofocokile
eliphuphuma "amahewu anemvubelo."
Ukoma sekuqedwe nya ngemizuzwana nje!
Amadoda ahlwitha amasaka
Thirst slaked in seconds,
men jerk bags like feather cushions
and women become prancing wild mares,
soon the day's work is done
and the reapers will rest in their kraals.
Abafazi baphenduka amahhashikazi
eqhobosha engaka gitshelwa
Ngokushesha umsebenzi wosuku usuphelile
Abavuni sebeyophumula emakokosini abo.
is like an oven baked bread
steaming under a cellophane cover.
The cow cuts
the shiny coat
with the tongue as pink as
the sole of a foot.
The calf sways on legs
filled with jelly and custard
instead of bone and marrow;
to suck the teats
of its mother's udder.
Inkonyane esanda kuzalwa
Inkonyane isanda kuzalwa
ifana nesinkwa esiqeda kubhakwa ewondini
Sishunqa phakathi kwephepha elisigoqile.
Inkonyane intengezela ngemilenze
egcwele ujeli nokhasitadi
esikhudleni sethambo nomkantsha;
yebele like nina.
in the claypot of passion
His cry to his assassin brothers:
But you shall never rule this land!"
zabilisa igazi lakhe
okhambeni lobumba lomhlahlosi
ogijima emithanjeni yakhe.
Inhliziyo yakhe yasikwa yafana
ukuze iphambe ithibe isitha.
ayenza izingqotho eziqine
ezakhanyisa ezigodini ezimnyama zakwaZulu
Wabona izinkonjane ezimhlophe
ziza ziwela ulwandle.
Ukukhala kwakhe kubafowabo
ababili bemsocoza wathi:
Kepha ngeke nilibuse lelizwe!"
A roadgang's cry
roar like guns in a battle field
as they tear the street.
Puffing machines swallow the red soil
and spit it out like a tuberculotic's sputum.
Business-bent brokers hurry past;
women shoppers shamble tiredly, shooing their
stragglers stop to stare
as the ruddy faced foreman watches men
lifting a sewerage pipe into a trench.
as a murmur
in a rhythm of ribaldry
that rises to a crescendo,
"Abelungu ngo'dam – Whites are damned
Basibiza ngoJim – They call us a Jim."
Isiqubulo sabagqomi bomgwaqo
Izibhobhodla zamafosholo ezigubhagubha
zibhodla njengezibhamu enkundleni yempi
zidabula ziqhekeza isitalati.
Imishini ehevuzelayo igwinya isibomvu
sophethwe yisifo sofuba
Osomabhizinisi bezimali bashesha badlule
bayatatabuka bekhathele ukuqhuba
abatotobi bayama babheke
Imfolomani ebuso bobumvu klebhu iqaphe lamadoda
aphakamisa ipayipi lamanzi elifaka emsileni.
kusuke emlonyeni kuye komunye
esinyuka siyoshaya esicongweni;
The rain in the veld
He dripped like an unpreened cat
tossed by a prankster's hand
into a tubful of icy water
chilling the bones and setting
the marrow into an unsalted broth;
licked the laughing lips
jellied by cold mucus
flowing from an unwiped nose.
To be a young capering cowherd
with an empty billycan buckled to the belt
and driving homeward bound herd
of robust cows with hides steaming bathing
blood-gorged ticks and frisking calves with
nostrils spurting steam jets, O! so cavorting carefree.
Wayeconsa njengekati elimadlakadlaka
lintshingwe ngesandla sesigangi
ebhavini ogcwele amanzi ayiqhwa
agodolise amathambo ashubise
umnkatsha osamhluzi ojiyile ongenatswayi;
kukhotheke izindebe ezihlekayo
zashubiswa ngamafinyila abandayo Agxiza ekhaleni
Ukuba mncane kugqanqulise umalusi
obophele ishumbu lakhe elithe
eqhuba umhlambi oqonde ekhaya
izikhumba zishunqa umusi oshisayo
imikhaza iqanse isuthi igazi
Amakhala awo atsaka
intuthu yamanzi eshisayo engagqize qakala.
a great wall builder –
UDonga oluKliwulayo lwaseJelusalema
UDonga oluKhulu lwaseShayina
luzungezwe umsele wamanzi
okake inhlinziyo yakhe.
wokungenisa phakathi uthando luzihambela.
Excerpted from Sounds of a Cowhide Drum by Mbuyiseni Oswald Mtshali. Copyright © 2012 Mbuyiseni Oswald Mtshali. Excerpted by permission of Jacana Media (Pty) Ltd.
The shepherd and his flock,
Umalusi nomhlambi wakhe,
I will tell it to my doctor,
Ngiyokutshela inyanga yami,
Portrait of a loaf of bread,
Umfanekiso womgxusha wesinkwa,
The washerwoman's prayer,
Umthandazo kamama wewashingi,
A snowfall on Mount Frere,
Umkhithiko phezu kweNtaba yaseFeleya,
Inside my Zulu hut,
Phakathi kweqhugwana lami lakwaZulu,
Reapers in the mieliefield,
Abavuni ensimini yombila,
A newly-born calf,
Inkonyane esanda kuzalwa,
The birth of Shaka,
A roadgang's cry,
Isiqubulo sabagqomi bomgwaqo,
The rain in the veld,
Pigeons at the Oppenheimer Park,
Amajuba ePakini kaOppenheimer,
A voice from the dead,
Izwi elivela kwabafileyo,
The birth of our daughter 28.2.69,
Ukuzalwa kwendodakazi yethu 28.2.69,
A brazier in the street,
An old man in church,
Indoda endala esesontweni,
The day we buried our bully,
Ilanga esangcwaba ngalo isichwensi sethu,
A lost coin,
This kid is no goat,
Lelizinyane alisiyo imbuzi,
Riding on the rainbow,
Always a suspect,
The chauffeur shuffle,
A drunk in the street,
The moulting country bird,
Inyoni ebuzayo yasemaphandleni,
The song of sunrise,
Iculo lokuphuma kwelanga,
Portrait of an old pair of shoes,
Umfanekiso wezicathulo ezimbili,
Two chimney sweepers,
Abashaneli ababili bakashimula,
The face of hunger,
If you should know me,
Ukuze wazi mina,
Intake night – Baragwanath Hospital,
Ubusuku bokwemukelwa esiBhedlela sasebhalakwana,
On drowning sorrow,
Nightfall in Soweto,
Ukuhlwa kobusuku eSoweto,
At heaven's door,
The watchman's blues,
Asebelahle phansi ubuhlanga babo,
White City Jabavu,
A ballad of Eloff Street,
Isihayo sase-Sitaladini – iLofu,
Just a passer-by,
Umdluli nje kuphela,
At a snail's pace, please!,
Njengokutotoba komnenke, sicela ngesihle!,
My shadow, Courage,
Isithunzi sami uSibindi,
An abandoned bundle,
Death – The Tart,
Ride upon the death chariot,
Gibela phezu kwekalishikazi lokufa,
Thoughts before sleep,
Imicabango ngaphambi kokulala,
Dirge for my passing years,
Inkondle-sililo yokudlula kweminyaka yami,
Amagoduka at Glencoe Station,
Amagoduka esiteshini saseGilonko,
Sounds of a Cowhide Drum,
Imisindo yesigubhu sesikhumba senkomo,
book by dianne stewart
book by blanche la guma
book by barry sergeant
book by fred khumalo
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