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Informal names as a good source of humour and fun
2008-04-27 10:51:49
By Staff Writer Wilson Kaigarula
One of the rare cars I have seen cruising along roads in Dar es Salaam city is tiny and shaped more-or-less like a loaf of bread, but surprisingly, it is jokingly called Khadija Kopa, the famous Tanzanian Taarab music vocalist, who is otherwise fairly fat.
If there is a connection to the two that is unrelated to size, I am still in the dark about it. For yet another mysterious reason, a car that was on the road much earlier was labelled ``Mama Koku``.
There are hundreds of ``Mama Kokus``, and so singling out from which one of them the informal car name sprang isn`t very easy.
Those two cases are part of the humourous culture of naming things or situations after particular individuals.
Some of the names stick for ever; some are short-time creatures, while others vanish as quickly as sugar dissolves in hot water.
The bottom-line, however, is fun rather than something very serious.
I wouldn`t be surprised if ex-Minister Andrew Chenge would be ``baptized`` Mzee Vijisenti, in reference to his recent remark (which he confessed was a slip-of-the-tongue) that one billion shillings constituted a few coins.
Politician John Cheyo is informally called ``Bwana Mapesa``, a by-product of the declaration he made quite early in his presidential bid, that should his party win elections, it would “stuff the pockets of wananchi with lots of money``.
A certain strong brand of beer is alternately known by the surname of a highly vocal politician whose sentiments have a bee-like sting.
The founding President, the late Mwalimu Julius Nyerere, was jokingly referred to as Mzee Kifimbo, linked to his trademark small, short baton.
He took the joke in stride and even made reference to it at public rallies in Dar es Salaam before the 1995 elections.
His successor, Al Haj Ali Hassan Mwinyi bears the nick-name ``Mzee Ruksa``, as a credit for his policy of permitting the Tanzanian compatriots over whom he superintended, to do whatever they wished (within the confines of the law) to better their lives.
During his era as an active politician, Mzee Rashidi Kawawa had no qualms about sharing the surname with the strongest gear in a vehicle`s engine system, which a driver engaged to pull a vehicle out of mud, sand and any other problematic situation.
Incidentally, the old man enjoys, to-date, the heroic title ``Simba wa vita`` (loosely translated as the war hero).
A younger politician, Mzee Kingunge Ngombale-Mwiru, looked on bemusedly, as his first name was hijacked and pinned on any high-profile politician, and being corrupted into the plural ``vingunge``, to refer to several distinguished personalities.
Mike Tyson was an international boxing star, but ``Tyson`` , as a nick-name, didn`t go down well with a certain cabinet minister, who ``earned`` it several years ago, after punching a journalist after losing temper.
In the late 70s, when food scarcity bit hard, yellow maize flour was commonplace, bringing forth the name ``Juma Mkambi``, a strategic player of Young Africans (Yanga), a club for which yellow is one of the main official colours.
Ndala Kasheba lent his name to the machineguns of VIP bodyguards, who lightly likened them to the ten-stringed solo guitar of the late Congolese musician.
More broadly, gun-fire exchanges between the police and bandits are informally called music; hence the question, when civilians see police cars rushing to a trouble spot, ``muziki wapi leo?``
Still on the police, police officers are fondly referred to as ``Vijana wa Mwema``; that is, Mwema`s youngsters. The nick-name is sourced from Inspector-General Saidi Mwema.
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