Khanga

"I have been satisfied, and God arranged my condition"

I went into town this weekend to buy the new Christmas khanga, and it occurred to me that this is something so very Tanzanian, and it might be interesting to the folks back home. Khanga are cloths which are worn by women here either as wraps or they are tailored into dresses and outfits. They are about $4.00 usually and come in sets of two. The khanga I bought is white with black polka dots and purple bells and candles. It says "Heri ya Chritsmas na mwaka mpya" or "Happy Christmas and new year," but we had to laugh that they spelled Christmas wrong.

I'm not sure what this one says. The proverbial Swahili can be very hard to translate.

The interesting thing about them is they all have a saying/proverb at the bottom, and these proverbs can be used as messages. So many with wedding proverbs are given to brides. Those with Christmas messages are given as Christmas presents. But often, one woman will wear one with a saying intentionally to communicate something to another woman.

For instance, if you have made a mistake, sought forgiveness, but didn't get it, you might wear a khanga with the following proverb around the person you offended. "Mhesabu visa pendo haliwezi." "Whoever counts the mistakes of his or her friend can never love."

And "Maneno yako mazuri, vitendo vyako hatari." "Your words are good, your actions are danger." Someone might wear this around a hypocrite.

"Yote ni matawi shina ni mimi." "All are branches. I am the trunk." (The legally married woman is the root. The rest of the women/wives are branches to the man.)

"Coast issues are not a game." I'm not sure what this really means.

Many khanga are simply nice reminders: "Natule asali tumwache nyuki na ukali wake." or, "Let’s enjoy the honey and ignore the bee and its sting."

"Penzi la mama haliishi." "A mother’s love does not end."

"Furaha ya harusi ni kupendana." "The joy of a wedding is to love one another."


This one is a mystery to me too.

Some khanga simply make political statements: "Hongera Rais Kikwete kushinda uchaguzi." "Congratulations President Kikwete on winning the election."

Currently there are several khanga with Barak Obama's face on them as folks are still excited about Obama as the American president. I've also seen his face on belt buckles and other odd places.

In any case, it's very good to know at least some elementary Swahili before buying a khanga, even if you love the pattern and colors, or else you might be making a statement you did not intend!