Friends & Friction: South Africa has been obsessed with the middle name of Minister Pravin Jamnadas Gordhan, as if people had not referred to Mandela as Rolihlahla, Zuma as Gedleyehlekisa or Ramaphosa as Matamela, writes Muzi Kuzwayo.
When I was still a child, and considered names for my future children, I asked my grandmother what my grandfather’s African name was.
Even a name as common as “nkomo”, with a prefix “i” means a cow, a lousy soccer player or a vagina. But, with the prefix “u”, it is a human being, such as Joshua Nkomo. She married Lekote, son of Makhetha. Africans had no surnames before then. The missionaries gave her the name Anna Makhetha. When she gave birth to her first son, Ntsopa, out of respect she was given the name Mantsopa which means “Mother of Ntsopa”, and that became her middle name. She was later known as Anna Mantsopa Makhetha.
It is no coincidence that South Africa has produced world-class comedians, such as Trevor Noah. We start young. In the past few months, South Africa has been obsessed with the middle name of Minister Pravin Jamnadas Gordhan, as if people had not referred to Mandela as Rolihlahla, Zuma as Gedleyehlekisa or Ramaphosa as Matamela.
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