News / National
The link between Zezuru and Zulus
26 Mar 2016 at 04:46hrs | Views
Adopted from the book titled #v=onepage&q=buhera%2Bbuyela&f=false">The Blind Child: Experiences Public Life (Based on a true story) by Rudo Moyo.
The funny story around the origins of Zezuru was that, the white men who had seen Zulu people in South Africa came to Salisbury and saw people who looked exacly the same as Zulus. In their surprise and confusion they asked the question, "Are these the Zulus?" The Zezurus in their failure to pronounce "the Zulu", they distorted it to Zezuru, therefore it became their name.
At one point people from Bhelingwe (present day Mberengwa) or Emphateni in isiNdebele, were called Shobeles because they mixed Shona and Ndebele.
The story was told of a white man who savagely beat a group of miners at Collen Bawn after finding them eating sadza from millet meal and suspected them of using cement to make their food!
BSAP, the people of Bulawayo said the abbreviation meant "Bhotsha Sibale Akula Pholisa".
It is widely believed that the Manyika people in Buhera originated from Swaziland and on being asked when they would go back to their country, they kept on saying 'Siyabuyela' and Buyela meaning go back was then distorted to Buhera.
Pathisa Nyathi, the renowned Historian said, "Sounds too fishy. Go for the Kalanga version meaning something taboo."
The funny story around the origins of Zezuru was that, the white men who had seen Zulu people in South Africa came to Salisbury and saw people who looked exacly the same as Zulus. In their surprise and confusion they asked the question, "Are these the Zulus?" The Zezurus in their failure to pronounce "the Zulu", they distorted it to Zezuru, therefore it became their name.
At one point people from Bhelingwe (present day Mberengwa) or Emphateni in isiNdebele, were called Shobeles because they mixed Shona and Ndebele.
BSAP, the people of Bulawayo said the abbreviation meant "Bhotsha Sibale Akula Pholisa".
It is widely believed that the Manyika people in Buhera originated from Swaziland and on being asked when they would go back to their country, they kept on saying 'Siyabuyela' and Buyela meaning go back was then distorted to Buhera.
Pathisa Nyathi, the renowned Historian said, "Sounds too fishy. Go for the Kalanga version meaning something taboo."
Source - online
