Title: Inkwenkwezi Efihlakeleyo
Author: K Sello Duiker
Xhosa translation of The hidden star
Translator: Xolisa Guzula
Publisher: Penguin
ISBN: 978-1-4152-1087-1
To read the English text, click here.
Inkwenkwezi Efihlakeleyo - Uhlalutyo Lwencadi
Indlela abhala ngayo umbhali onguK. Sello Duiker isoloko ibhula oku kukaYesu ekhupha amadimoni emntwini ewafaka kwiihagu zaseGadarene ezabaleka zayozijula emaweni emva koko. Le ncwadi, Inkwenkwezi Efihlakeleyo, ephume sele itshoba lilele umbethe kumbhali wayo, nayo ilandela kweli khondo linye. Owaye ququzelela ukupapatshwa kwale ncwadi okokuqala ngonyaka ka2006, Annari Van Der Merwe, ukhe wandihlebela ukuba kumalungiselelo uthethe nombhali okokugqibela esendleleni eya eJapan. Ufumanise apho kwezo ntetha ukuba umbhali wayengenguye mpela, engathi uphantsi kwefuthe lengcinezelo lengqondo. Kodwa akakwazanga ukuyinakekela loo nto kuba esesikhululweni senqwelomoya. Wazixelela ukuba uya kumbona ukubuya kwakhe ngaloo mpelaveki, kanti akayazanga ukuba uya kubuya sowuvutha umlilo. Usutywe kukufa umbhali kanye ngaloo mpelaveki engazifundanga nokuzifunda izilungiso zokugqibela zemanuscript.
Ezinye impawu zokubhala kukaDuiker kukukwenza amabali asukela mandulo ebaliswa ngathi ziintsomi, kwakunye nokunakana kakhulu umvandedwa wombalisi. Enye into ethandekayo kule ncwandi kukulandela iintsingiselo zamagama zabantu abakweli bali. Umzekelo umhle ngulo kaMandla, idonki enamandla etsala inqwelo ethutha amalahle. Isebenza kanzima le donki isebenzela nje enye imbongolo ekhohlakeleyo yomntu othanda imali engayondli. Noxa lona eli bali lisenzeka ePhola endiqondayo ukuba isekezelwe kwiPhola Park eRhawutini, ukulifunda kukhumbuza elaa bali labhalwa nguGeorge Orwell lithi Animal Farm, apho nakhona izilwanyana zithethayo.
Umdlali ophambili apha nguNolitye oneminyaka elishumi ohlala nonina kumatyotyombe asePhola. Nabo bayasokola bephila kanzimana kuba umama kaNolitye kufuneka avuke yonke imihla ayokuthengisa oni-noni kwistand sakhe esisePark Station. UNolitye ungumntana othanda ukuqokelela amatye amahle wade wafumana elinemilingo ngenye imini. Amabali obukroti bukaNolitye aqala apho. Simbona eyinkokheli yokwenza okuhle kwingingqi yakhe ade abe nalo necebo lokulwa oonqevu besithili encediswa yimigqakhwe yezinja akwaziyo ukuthetha nazo. UNtante Mathews owaziwa ngokunxila nokuhlekisa egingqini nguye yedwa umntu omdala okwazi ukuva uNolitye xa ethetha nezilwanyana kuba unentliziyo entle. Ubuya abalisele uNolitye ngoyise kuba yena ekhula engamazi ngenxa yokuba wasweleka esemncinci. Uva ngoNtante uNolitye ukuba uyise waye engumphilisi, bugqirha xhwele elinayo nemilingo.
Le ncwadi inokuthandwa ukufunda lulutsha elifuna ukwazi banzi ngezithethe neentsusa zakwaNtu ezibaliswa okwentsomi namabali. Wenze omsebenzi omhle kakhulu ugqirha wezencubeko yokuthetha uXolisa Guzula othe wayiguqulela kwisiXhosa le ncwadi. Indifundise lukhulu mna yanceda ekutyebiseni nesiXhosa sam ebesesineendawana zokusilela kuba kaloku kula maxesha siphila kuwo uthi uze uviwe okanye kuthathwe ukuba ufundile uthethe isiNgesi. Siyayazi ndawo zonke ukuba ulwimi lukaJoji lunayo indawo yokucinezela nokujongela phantsi ezinye iilwimi. Into ke phofu isebazalini ukuba bancedisane nabantwana babo ekufundeni iilwimi zabo zemveli. Yenye yencwadi enokubanceda kwezi nzame ke lena. Nam ndiyathemba izakuncedisana gqithi nelinge lam lokufundisa abam abantwana isiXhosa esinomongo.
Iintsingiselo zamagama esiXhoseni zixhomekeka ngokwengingqi neminyaka ngamanye amaxesha. Inoba yile nto ugqirha Guzula ebuntangarha nam, kwaye sisuka kwingingqi enye, le nto amagama awasebenzisileyo apha kule ncwadi kulula kum ukuwalandela. Noxa kunjalo abekhona nje amaxesha ambalwa apho ndiqonda ukuba mna ngendisebenzise elinye igama. Nantsi imizekelo embalwa yale nto ndithetha ngayo:
'... zibhityile zitsho ngezikhumba ezingabukekiyo ...' Mna ngendithe: '... zibhityile zinebhula ...'
Nalapha: '...luhlobo lwenja exutyiweyo...' Ngendithe: '…umgqakhwe wenja…'
Enye into endivuyisileyo yeyokuba ugqirha Guzula engoyikanga ukusebenzisa amagama asetyenziswayo ngoku ekuhlaleni. Ndakhe ndanempikiswano nomnye ugqirha weelwimi kuba edikwe yinto yokuba ndisebenzise igama elithi wodrophu esiXhoseni. Xa ndibuza leliphi elingcono wathi yityesi. Saphikisana ke ngaloo nto kuba mna ndiyazi ityesi iyile nto kuthiwa yikist ngesiLungu, kwaye asiyowodrophu ikist. Waphela esithi yibhokisi yempahla, naleyo zange indonelise mna kuba xa esebenzisa elo gama wenza le nto ayinqanda kum yokuxhosalaza igama lesiNgesi eliyibox.
Mandivale ngokucoma Umuzi/Praesa ngalo mbono mhle kangaka wokuguqulela le ncwadi kulwimi lweSintu. Nakugqirha Guzula ngomsebenzi omhle encomekayo. Ndichulumanciswa nakubona ukuba iUJ Prize inesiqingatha sezokuguqulela. Ndithakazelela ukubona lencwadi iphakamisa laa ndebe ngo2024. Maz' enethole mawethu!
The hidden star translated: A book review
K Sello Duiker’s writing is always a Gadarene rush. He was always writing to exorcise his or our cultural demons. This book, The hidden star, was published posthumously in 2006. Annari van der Merwe, who was at the helm of organising its publication, says she actually sent the last edits of the manuscript on the Friday of the weekend Duiker died. She phoned him to confirm the address, and they talked a while before she left for Japan. That was the last conversation they had together, because she came back to the sad news of his death after that weekend. So, Duiker never really saw the last revised edits of his book. It fell upon Annari to doctor the manuscript for publication.
The book has Duiker’s usual epic ambitions, intense inner life and plot disjointedness. Added to this is a lot of African mythology from intsomi and spirituality. Duiker also adopted the Xhosa practice of taking very seriously the invested meaning behind people’s names and place names here. Not only is Mandla, the donkey who pulls the coal cart through the streets of Phola, where the book is set, a familiar character of almost all townships, but the name Mandla also deliberately invokes power/strength. It extends easily also to George Orwell’s Animal farm names and scenario.
Nolitye, meaning Stone Girl, lives in an informal area called Phola – probably named after Phola Park. She’s a stone collector. She keeps them on the plastic pail behind the door of her mother’s house. Her mother is a costermonger at Park Station, Johannesburg. She leaves very early and comes back late from her drudgery. She’s often cantankerous, lonely and tired. Nolitye’s father died when she was very young, so she doesn’t know much about him. She visits people who knew him, like Ntate Mathews, the only adult who, like Nolitye and other kids, can here talking animals, because, as an innocent drunk, he has been reduced to childhood status. Upon her visit with her friend Bheki, Ntate Mathews reveals to Nolitye that her father was a clairvoyant and a healer who was able to vanish from sight at will. This sets Nolitye into a collision path with her own destiny.
Nolitye, who is about ten years old, has several friends, chief of whom is Bheki, with whom she shares the secrets of the Magic Stone she has found. The stone helps her through the growing pains of Phola, helps her against childhood bullies, and even heals the leader of the talking stray dogs, Rex. These dogs form the army of goodness informally led by Nolitye. Children around Nolitye’s age keep disappearing at Phola, without being heard from again. Nolitye and her horde of talking animals become involved in attempts to solve these disappearances, something that takes them into the Alice in Wonderland’s rabbit hole. The influences of African and Western fables is apparent throughout the book. Thus the book is perfect reading material for young adults in particular, especially those who wish to learn about the African mythological worldview.
The recently published Xhosa version of the book I read is competently translated by Xolisa Guzula, who is a senior lecturer and an early literacy specialist with interests in biliteracy development at the University of Cape Town. Perhaps the only major gripe I have about the translation is that it uses a formal rather than a literary tone, thus at times ending up losing the light, playful tone of the original version. The words used within Xhosa differ slightly according to region. Guzula and I come from the same region and are of the same age group, so it was relatively easy for me to follow her transition because the words and their meanings were familiar to me. I was even happy to add new words to my vocabulary through the book. She is not only a mother-tongue Xhosa speaker, but obviously also has a deeper knowledge of the academic Xhosa. Were I to compare her translation with others, I would say it follows the likes of PT Mtuze, especially in books like UDingezweni. I prefer more poetic Xhosa language, along the lines of SEK Mqhayi’s writings. So, my gripe is a matter of preference more than anything else.
Translation is a literary art. Hence I was very attentive to Guzula’s choice of words, especially solutions she came up with for contemporary words that might not have Xhosa equivalents. I was glad she chose to use words derived from other languages, and spelled and pronounced them in Xhosa, like iapile for apple, wodrophu for wardrobe, etc. Though I felt she was over 90% spot on in her translation, there were times I felt differently about her word choice and phrases. For instance, on the first page where Duiker describes the ugly stray dogs as having dishevelled pelts, Guzula renders this as: “zibhityile zitsho ngezikhumba ezingabukekiyo”. I would have opted for: “zibhityile zinebhula”. Another instance is this one: “luhlobo lwenja exutyiweyo”, where I would have preferred this poetic brevity: “imigqakhwe wezinja”.
Beyond these minor things, I think this is a superb translation that not only makes the book accessible in Xhosa, but, because a language lends a new way of seeing the world, will enrich your knowledge and enjoyment of the book even if you have already read it in English. It helped me polish my Xhosa grammar and vocabulary. I am also adding it to the homeschooling syllabus for my own kids. I believe it is incumbent upon parents to boost and enhance their children’s knowledge of indigenous languages, since as non-home language English speakers, we’re faced with the daunting reality of English hegemony wherever we go in this modern world.