To market, to market, to learn Oshiwambo

David pitches up at the open market sometime between 9 and 10 am. There are very few customers. “Stalls” are just being prepared. Monica and Kerthu, two sellers of “oshikundu” are sweeping and wiping tables. Oshikundu is a fermented drink made of out of millet (mahangu) – it is very gritty, which takes some getting used to. Oshikundu is non-alcoholic and very nourishing – it can get you through a day without needing to eat anything else. It really grows on you – I don’t visit the market without having some. It is served in a jug, which people generally share – they drink from different sides of the same mug. Genteel David mostly brings his own plastic cups. A jug will cost you N$1.50 (AU$0.30). Monica and Kerthu are good people to know. They have been patient with my very poor Oshiwambo. And sitting at a table next to their “point of sale” means that you can get to talk to just about anybody coming for a drink of oshikundu. Most people will at the very least raise an eyebrow at the “Shilumbu” (white person) who is sitting drinking oshikundu and greets them in Oshiwambo. I seldom see another white face at the market.

Josef is the janitor and “manager” of the market (the market is “owned” by the local town council), and pays Josef N$500 per month (AUS100). He is disgruntled – but hey, it’s a job…….
Josef is very friendly and has also helped me a lot with my language. He is a native Oshindonga speaker (one of the many brands of Oshiwambo) – we are trying to learn Oshikwanyama. Josef switches easily between Oshiwambo, Afrikaans, and English. This makes him a bit of a pain, because one ends up speaking a lot of English with him. He was born in exile (Zimbabwe) during the war of liberation. One of the reasons for extensive conversations in English is that Josef is an adherent to a deviant form of Christianity. It holds that Jesus’ return is imminent, and that now, God is calling genuine Christians out of the church in preparation for Jesus’ return. Discussions about this have caused not a little frustration, with not a lot of progress to show for it.
Satana is a seller of veggies. Yes, I do business with him! His tomatoes are quite tasty, actually. He has no English, so I have to learn some more vocab before I request an examination of his body for tattoos of the number 666.

If you proceed around to the back of the market, you find Salmo Newete, a barber. He is an Anglican and is very friendly to me. He is just about the only person who has bought ME oshikundu. Near to Salmo’s salon is a table where Tate Paulus works, fixing shoes. He also is good value and we have good conversations. He is one of the few people at the market who are actually married (not de facto). One day I heard from him something very common expressed by members of the “mainline” churches – that if you are baptised you are saved. He was quite taken aback to hear me say “NOT TRUE” – and try to explain using the “wedding ring” illustration. Salmo’s brother, Mattheus, sells in the same neck of the woods – his commodity is sweets. He does not attend church. Apparently he reads his Bible – our plan is to do a Bible study sometime soon. All of these men communicate nicely with me, and try to teach me things in Oshiwambo.

On the other side of the market again, is a new, small, printing-cum-laminating-cum-photocopying shop. It is manned by Immanuel and Koneka, who are both rewriting some year 12 subjects to improve results. They often play a card game called “Omilongo Omhaadi” or “Oily Ten”. It is quite unlike anything I have played in my life, but is something between rummy and bridge, and takes some catching on. Koneka, a young lady very fluent in English, helped me translate a Bible study – and I realised she was a very good teacher. Her home language is Balantu, another dialect of Oshiwambo. We have taken her on as a language helper – cum baby sitter – she relates very easily to Etienne and Caris.

There are many others at the market with whom I have had dealings: There is Kamati (meaning “boy”), who is a plastic welder; Ndishimana (“I am finished” – obviously quoted by her mother when she was born), who sells drinks (alcoholic); Ndahafa (“I am happy”), who cooks meat and oshifima (porridge), and Ndapewa (“I am given”) to “name” a few. Actually, my first Oshiwambo joke was to Ndahafa. When I heard and UNDERSTOOD her name, and she asked me mine, I instantly responded “Ndahanduka” (“I am angry”). I have moments of sheer genius.

Jeremiah is a sweet seller. I have practised a faltering Oshiwambo version of “2 ways to live” with most of these people and many others. They are very patient with me, and enjoy laughing with (and usually at!) me. It is of course very serious in content, so I am totally at sea if it results in a question, or comment, which forces me to leave my “script”.
There are good days and bad days at the market. It is all too easy to get caught up with people who are English speakers (and therefore with whom one can communicate and “click”). When I get into an Oshiwambo “conversation” with someone, it usually leaves me absolutely exhausted. I reach saturation point: no matter how hard I try, I can no longer “hear” what they are trying to say. What is needed is a nice big jug of oshikundu, drunk whilst playing another hand of Omilongo Omhaadi.

I have been doing regular workshops with a few guys from CEN (Church of England in Namibia). They are very fluent in English, so we have been able to get straight into the content of the NETS booklet. However, one workshop I did with some guys who have next-to-no English, and though I came out intact at the other end, I know that the amount of content covered was limited.

The feedback one gets is mixed. As I have not been going to market so regularly of late, one day when I returned, Matteus said something which I didn’t understand, and then commented in Oshiwambo “Have you forgotten how to speak now?” Other people respond by saying things like “You are talking so nicely now.” The grace of God through them, no doubt ……
I have had many opportunities to share the news about Jesus and what he has done for us, but in a very faltering way.

Pray with me: “O Lord, open my lips, and my mouth will declare your praise.” (Psalm 51:15)

Onda loloka paife. (I am tired now)
Ka nangala po nawa. (sleep well)