The Great Shona - Ndebele debate

Image - gamespot.com

I recently posted the following as my status on Facebook to provoke debate and I provoked debate!

Andinzwi Ndevere. In Bulawayo! What nerve! Why not just say the country belongs to the Shona!

Chiedza 'Doffy' - Ah cme on dnt go tribal!

Nobuhle Sibanda - Mxm bayanyanyisa

Rutendo Chigora - Tribalistic much?

Nsukuzimbi Nyoni - That's grandplan my brother, kuyadelela okungo pasi.

Nsukuzimbi Nyoni - ‎@ those who are saying it's tribalism, fuck you all.

Tino Hondo - I wish our Ndebele friends wouldn’t take it to heart so. It’s not a personal slight at all, some have never had the opportunity to learn.

Jacob Dube - Abetshabi!

Mandy Gumbo - ‎@Tino ngamanga lawo vele amashona alobumbulu,most of us safunda singafuni coz we wanted jobs.

Chiedza 'Doffy' - Nsukuzimbi don’t go all vulgar! How come u don’t say e same about whites? Some never got opportunity 2 learn lived in Harare all their life n now being exposed 2 it 4 e first time. Lami ngafunda ukukuluma isindebele bt cldnt speak it

Rutendo Chigora - It's incredibly shallow to spew out profanities simply because someone is different from you. The world is essentially an infinitely varied place, if you can't embrace diversity then you don't belong in this era.

Tino Hondo - @mandy and all y'll. I have plenty Ndebele friends who have never spoken a single Ndebele word at me. I hear Ndebele, can read some and speak some but can’t hold a decent conversation. Tribalism never crossed my mind until some1 mentions it li...ke has happened here. I don’t speak Hebrew or Russian or Tswana and lots of other languages. Doesn’t mean I hate on them. Mashonaland is full of people like me. No bad intentions just no Ndebele skills.

Faith Nomvuyo Mlambo - it’s so easy for people to expect to speak shona but they never bother to learn ndebele.

Batsirai E Chigama - so my brother how different are you from that person if you talk like that? tolerance is what we need to acquire. But then maybe there is a back-story to your story Mgcini, but still is that the kind of world you want to build?

Rutendo Chigora Faith - some people have never had that kind of exposure to the language and many Ndebele people learnt Shona more out of necessity than desire. People should quit being so judgemental, it just shows an absolute lack of depth.

Chiedza 'Doffy' - So if u go 2 China n they don’t talk 2 u coz u aint speaking mandarin wait will u say? U don’t have exposure 2 e language hence don’t know it! So don’t rush 2 say we disgust u n all

Exaverio Dafa - Guys lets all keep our cool. I know as zimbas we all got a lot of underlying depression and taking it out amongst ourselves is not going to make it go away. This energy needs to be vented toward é rite direction and these divisions will cease to exist. Its true u can be in a new place by circumstance and not speak the language. Gregory Isaacs once said 'I may not be familiar with your language but I know hw to say I luv u'

Nobuhle Sibanda - Mxm!!!!!!

Martha Ndlovu-Nyoni- There are a lot of Shonas who have been in Bulawayo for more than five years and still won’t speak Ndebele. What hurts is the attitude of the Shona people: its okay not to know a language, but be humble and show you are willing to learn.

Exaverio Dafa - Mgcini my brother I LUV YOU and do apreciate the great work u are doing. Dont let minor distotions derail ur focus. Until today ive neva thought of you as anything else but a brother. And thats not gonna changer too. Light the fire with ur pen and together we learn and grow.

Mark Vusani - lol!!!!

Isaac Njenge - Guys I'm shona and have a couple of ndebele friends. I cannot speak ndebele, not because I do not want, because I have never been exposed to the language enough to learn it. We come from a country which by design people had to learn shona, ...but could go by without ndebele. I leave in multi linguistic country now, where I would be better placed if I spoke ndebele, but too bad I can't. I blame it on our country's leadership. We have have so many languages in Zim and it pains me that we behave like shona and ndebele are the only ones. My pain is not about not being able to speak only ndebele, but growing up in such a multi culturally diverse country thinking that shona is the only zimbabwean way to speak.

My prayer is for us to build a zimbabwe that recognises and accepts all zimbabweans, tonga, sesotho, venda, ndebele, etc...and know that a country's strenth is in the diversity of its people.

Chelesile Ngwenya - l don't think its a must for people to speak Ndebele or Shona, bt well we 've got only one international language which is English. So pls let's be civilized and love one another then we will built a strong Zimbabwe, let us not promote hatred pls .

Oliver Chemhere - ‎@ Nyoni its not tribal but zim is fo shona so what?

Exaverio Dafa - Sory Oliver but thats not correct.

Rutendo Chigora - ‎@ Martha, you can't possibly clump all Shona people together as though there was a consensus amongst them to reject the Ndebele language!
It's sad to see how bigoted people in our country are - for a country of self-proclaimed intellectuals, we have no concept of the fact that language does not have to be divisive!

Elphas Chinorinda - I don't like this debate it has a lot of ???

Clarisa Yolanda Edwards - shona n ndebele we al one n frm e sme country nowanda we a bein bten wen We outsyd e country koz we aktly confused on our own.thts a disgrace nwe sis mani!!!

Exaverio Dafa - ‎@Elphas i personaly dnt thnk it wrong to rattle our own skeletons. We're a younger generation of logical beings striving to see thru the divides so we can have a clear vision of 'who done it?' We only need to dump the negative disposition in our aproach to these skeletons

Bonani Sibanda - Akumangazi vele mfoka Nyoni.sad nd irritating ol it takes is effort.

Mgcini Nyoni - Guys, the problem is bigger than you think: We have Shona police officers in rural Matabeleland; the villagers don't understand Shona and the police officers don't want to learn Ndebele. Stalemate! And the boys go about trampling on people'...s customs; even going to the extend of subjecting married women to corporal punishment. I remember at kingdom bank the other day, one boy suggested that shona be used in the bank because, I quote "we are colonising Bulawayo"

Elphas Chinorinda- Point taken thanx man

Edmore Moyo - I love all people regardless o race, lngage, cultr but what shona people a doing is not fair. Ndebele is a 2nd famous language in zim. Thx dñt want 2 len. If u go 2 Nkayi, Tsholotsho, Lupane n Binga u find a 5yr old child. He/she can speak shona. Then go 2 Harare , a 70yr o...ld man can tell u "handinzw Ndebere" y? It’s very fun felos. I once traveled with shona people a lt.1st in Mozamq. They lent Portuguese in a weeks time. 2nd we went 2 Zambia, they leant kiluba in 2dys. 3rd we went 2 Malawi they taught me chichewa. 4th we went 2 DRC. There I saw imihlola. In a month they we able 2 py proverbs in swahili. They could translate Lingala bible. They also could teach Congolese in Katanga province kicongo(a familiar language found in the then DRC) so my deductions are they don’t want 2 learn Ndebele because it’s a language from south.

Rutendo Chigora -Mgcini, you talk about isolated incidents and use them to make a generic conclusion about Shona people who don't understand or speak Ndebele. There is a logical fallacy there, and if you can't see that then your poetry reflects the exact op...posite of who you really are. Yes, some Shona people are stubborn. The same goes for some of the Ndebele. Everyone is somewhat flawed, you have no right to attribute all faults to the Shona because you've just shown the same discrimination you're condemning.

Tswarelo Mothobe - ‎...ibvayi lapha...

Exaverio Dafa - ‎@ Nyoni I understand your sentiment. In shona we say 'hapana musha usina benzi' and a shot at translating it means 'in a every family is one who goes against the grain. 'It’s bound to be a small number & we have to believe it’s a small number. We've been going downhill too long to notice up is where we should be heading. Removing these obstacles is the only way to break the freefall, gather & start up where we belong

Selina Moyo - The blood that runs underneath my, your, our skin is the same. Red! U r a black person, an African above all, u r a creation, a great one 4 that matter. When God created man he didn’t say u r shona or ndebele, so why stress yourself about that????

Oliver Chemhere -Mncini u may try to bring e sky on earth but, yo utterences is totally tribal. If u think u can built yo own empire in Zim which is shona free then, I wish u prosperity & good luck. Umsebenzi wakho is to unite zimbabweans not to divide them.... Go over yo 1st post. i hate artists who want to gain popularity on tribal grounds. What strategy is being used to deploy police officers?. So k'uya cala nah?.so what a u trying to tel e zimbabweans.

Nsukuzimbi Nyoni - ‎@Chemhere the problem is not with deployment,it lays in the recruitment where by,if they employ 20 police officers only 6 will be from matebeleland(venda,tonga,kalanga,ndebele etc)and that make it agenda.

Nkosana Makwanda - Nyoni u a rite many shona can't speak ndebele n when u go 2 south africa u find them speaking zulu o xhosa which is similar 2 ndebele n it took them less than a year i thank u again for raising dis issue

Tswarelo Mothobe - when did we as a people reach this point of glaring and making noise about what makes us different? At what point do we begin to pretend that tribalism is not real on our land? What is Ndebele honestly and who is? since when has ignoring a ...problem solved it? dont you all realize how foolish you sound trying to justify your identity? LESSON ONE: Ndebele is neither a tribe or language first. it is a nation of people that includes among other tribes the sotho, karanga, xhosa, zulu, tswana, khalanga, rozvi, swati etc. the language came about from the coming together of these rich cultures and more and thus came as well, the tribe, all including. hense today you have us pronouncing the letter "R" in our ndebele. Ibhora, irekeni. only the back ward keep replacing R with an L but this is todays lesson children

Natasha Msonza - how many Shonas actually terrorize Ndebeles for not knowing or speaking Shona in Harare? I honestly do not appreciate your tribalistic comment, Mgcini. It’s so below you, friend. It so happens that isiNdebele is mainly spoken in that part of... the country, and three quarters of Zimbabweans speak Shona and its many dialects. If Ndebele was taught all round as a National language, I am sure many a Shona would have loved to learn to talk the talk of fellow countrymen.

Edwin Ngoni Tawengwa - I think it is a low blow, below the belt actually to look at a man or woman through the color of their skin, the tribe they belong to, the dialect they speak or the chief to whom they pay tribute. The content of a man's heart is the most im...portant measure of the quality of that being. Being Shona is no excuse why one who lives and works in Matebeleland should not be able to speak Ndebele. It is the language of the area and one must make an effort, and the locals must bear with them when they make mistakes. It is not a lie that tribalism is the elephant in the room that Zimbabweans prefer not to talk about, but till when? What kind of a nation do we want to leave our kids with? Do we want to set in motion a tribal conflict that will only perpetuate itself through generations to come. It is high time our generation makes an effort, an effort to embrace our diverse views, cultures, languages etc. There is no reason why we cannot have Ndebele being taught in traditionally Shona parts of this great nation, I believe that a man who knows many languages, cultures etc is at a distinct advantage.

Chiedza 'Doffy' - Mgcini wat u hv started n brought up as bn here b4 us n frm wat l c it will b here long after we gone. As an artist u shld knw betta don't kill ur talent many hv done so

Isaac Njenge - Guys I'm shona and have a couple of ndebele friends. I cannot speak ndebele, not because I do not want, because I have never been exposed to the language enough to learn it. We come from a country which by design people had to learn shona, ...but could go by without ndebele. I leave in multi linguistic country now, where I would be better placed if I spoke ndebele, but too bad I can't. I blame it on our country's leadership. We have have so many languages in Zim and it pains me that we behave like shona and ndebele are the only ones. My pain is not about not being able to speak only ndebele, but growing up in such a multi culturally diverse country thinking that shona is the only Zimbabwean way to speak.
My prayer is for us to build a zimbabwe that recognises and accepts all zimbabweans, tonga, sesotho, venda, ndebele, etc...and know that a country's strenth is in the diversity of its people.

Exaverio Dafa - Thanx to all of you for opening this can of worms. One thing i seem to pick frm commentaries coming frm both sides is the eagerness to dump the divide. Thanx to Mgcini for the rattling. This was long overdue. We inevitably are left with not much choice but to get togetha and move on as a consensus. We the younger generation are tired of inheriting past bigotry into our own. ITS OUR TIME!!!

Oliver Chemhere - In other words u a saying those entering Byo MUST be in a position to speak Ndebele?. Mncini u are a role model & an icon to e zimbabweans by being an artist. Instead u shld be promoting e idea of Shona & Ndebele being complusary subjects r...ather than marketing e idea of Zimbabwe belonging to the shonaz. As an icon u shld be in a position to know e impact of tribalism to yo career & e influence u hv to e society. We shld focus on bread & butter issues. All along i thot u were my really bro, not knowing that from another mother.

Chiedza 'Doffy' - This is a serious dent to urr career for mst of us who wr ur fans lm disapointed in u! @Oliver l agree wt u all e way

Sanele Selu Njini - Mgcini I am 100% with u on that one. For crying out loud in a bucket this is MATABELELAND. I do not want to be subjected to Shona especially when receiving a public service. I do not speak shona nor do I understand it. Just because I am Zimbabwean does not mean I understand shona!!!!!

Edwin Ngoni Tawengwa - ‎@Sanele, while I respect your view, since it is a personal opinion of yours, but it is delusional because when you look at the Statistics there are more Shonas in the land, it is like a white man saying I do not want to be subjected to a public service being offered by a black man. If we have more people who share your views then we are in for a crisis

Exaverio Dafa - @Oliver.Please dont be too dogmatic. Mgcini Nyoni is an artist and artists are well knwn for touching on sensitive issues.If not for that then art would be a docile & uneventful dour media of any dynamic society like ours in case u miss é ...point as to what art is.Its controvesy in any media and representatiön. As long as we aproach this argument without drawing vivid lines and cool heads we are able to discard bigotry

Justine Masamvu -hey u long time, u are poet at heart never instigate "hate" i no its bad we shona dont speak ndebele.As black pple we need to reduce black on black crime here in canada its really bad where nedbele n shona's reporting one another to admin we are all one pple "united we stand and divided we fall" anyhoo how r u n fams keep up the peorty ting i would come just too far away stay safe later tsamberian

Shingie Persy Mtetwa – Greetings, I am your Ndau friend from Chipinge. We attended Tsambe together, I would have loved to but how do I contribute to your last status. All I can say is I am taken aback. A comment like ‘Bayanyanyisa’ even saddens me more. It’s loaded and full of hate. Warm regards.