Directions/Spatial Orientations in African Languages: Further Cases

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DIRECTIONS/SPATIAL ORIENTATIONS IN AFRICANLANGUAGES: FURTHER CASESSiegmulld Brauller

LeipzigOn the occasion of our last meeting, held here in Prague one year ago, G. Dimmendaal

in his paper "Spatial orientation in some Nilotic and Surmic Languages"(Dimmendaal/Rottland, 1996) referred to some interesting examples of anthropomorphiccentring in defining directions or spatial orientations in Nilotic and Sunnic Languages. Oneof his examples was the lexeme ciell meaning in Rek Dinka "east" and in Ruweng Dinka"west", even the opposite, whereas the lexeme luellg means "west" in Rek Dinka and "east"in Ruweng Dinka. His conclusion was, as I remember well, that the point of orientation isthe main river of their country, the Bahr eI Arab, flowing from west to the east, and that theRek live south of this river, the Ruweng north of it This demonstrates, that the directionsor spatial orientations in various societies do not exist a priori, but follow specific, ownorientations of the given natural and geographical orientations.

In the printed versions of the contributions of Th. Bearth (1996, p 20) and P. Zima(1996, p 157-160) we find now some more examples of this kind .

In this connection I would like to add another case of 'irregular' spatial orientation inShona or in Shona dialects, where m / x/zclIIyemha means in the (northern) Zezuru, Manyikaand Korekore dialects "north", while in the (southern) dialect of Karanga this lexeme means"south" The same refers to the less used partial synonym chamhell/he meaning "south" inManyika and Zezuru and "north" in Karanga. The students, to whom we have to introducethis constellation, generally ask the question, whether the Shona have no clear orientationabout directions or are unable to distinguish between south and north .

First, the terms for "east" and "west" reflect in Shona, like in other Bantu languages ofthe East African coast, certainly the most important feature of the human and social life, theway of the sun, its rise and setting, e.g.

"east" mahvazliva ( -hwI move from, Zliva sun, daytime, day)"west" ma"irira (-"ira set of the sun, -virira v. appl.)or mavirazliva setting of the sunor mad6kerlJ setting of the sun -d6kCt go down, set).This is the case in all Shona dialects, and also Zulu, the genetically next language to

Shona, shows the same ideas:impuma/anga for "east", andilltsholla/allga for "west", while the terms for "north" and "south" are unique :illyakato and ll ll z lllu (Wanger, 1917, S. 207)

In order to explain the different ideas expressing "south" and "north" in the Shonadialects we have to take into consideration aspects of the history and the origin of thevarious ethnic units, especially their different ways of settlement into their present-dayterritories. According to their oral traditions the northern Shona (Korekore, Zezuru), theeastern(Manyika) and southern (Karanga, Ndau immigrated into those territories in threewaves from the vicinity of the Lake Tanganyika (Tanganyika means "first, original land"from -Ianga "to start, begin" and nyikit "land, territory" and has above all nothing to do withthe later name of the German colony). The northern Shona settled the plateau north of the


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middle Zambezi , while the Karanga choose the southern way and created the famousMonomotapa Empire around Zimbabwe, now the Zimbabwe ruins (zi-mba big houses ,bwe stone ).

Besides the discovery and mining ofgold these inland people subsisted largely on cerealsand vegetables and from those interests they derived the mentioned directions asmacidz[lIIyembel meaning land of ploughing virgin land meaning north by those whosettled in the middle of the country, having their main territory to work on it in the north andmeaning south by those having their territory in the south of the Shona territories.

The southern and northern Shona, thus, came from various, different directions to occupynew (virgin) land and to plough it, viz . - Kim to plough virgin land, to work on virgin land ,lIyembel cow-pea(s) .

The same is the case with the synonymous lexeme chdmhemhe meaning in Manyika andZezuru south and in Karanga north .The etymology of chamhemhe is still to beexplained, and even native speakers are nowadays unable to do that in an convincing way,some say, there could be a meaning south wind, wind from south behind, some othersconnect it with the stative verb -pemhim/ikci to be, to become clear, getting light (m + p> mh).

Thus, the Shona have (originally) only three directions, east, west and north/or south,names of winds are not used for directions (there are such names like mhepfi wind(general) , east wind fIIvim/bere (Z), north wind mMmbara (M), north-east wind1I1",,.,iM (M) and I '/'Iira (Z), south wind hetc/Willlwe (M), west wind h6tora (Z) and/llIi/illgwe M).

The examples from Shona underline, also, the anthropomorphic centring of definingdirections, and they point out that the classical definition 0 u r main directions is notobligatory in ll cases. Finally, these dates can be used as arguments of verifYing the oraltraditions on the origin of these people.

I will now discuss and compare some more examples, especially from the south-easterncoastal areas, and compare these materials with those of Indoeuropean and other languages,in order to draw some conclusions. The choice of languages is rather fragmentary, we don'tpossess materials enough for the discussion of all problems, and authors did not pay specialattention to that problem in ll cases. So, I beg you not to criticise me because of that, it isa first approach and it is impossible to include here examples from ll African languages oreven a majority of them, from ll language groups or families.

An interesting example give Kimwn i and Kill 1Y c. Spiss, MSOS 7) having obviouslyonly two main distinctive directions:

map merallga east ( rise of the sun -pllllla to rise ) andmachollerallga west ( sunset , -cholla to set , lirallga sun ),but for north and south the identical lex ernemish,,(w)lIru meaning (both) sides of the human body , if you look, how thesun moves from east to west (/I/,\huwllru side of the body or of an object ) .In Kimatengo the same situation is attested (Hiifliger, KimatengowOrterbuch, MSOS 12):kupita wa Iyl/wa east (-pita rise of the sun )kllyillgi wa Iyl/wa west (-yillgila setting, going of the sun )but for north and south the same lexememllllltellgll meaning the place left and right between sunrise and sunset .


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9Also n ~ cpo Spiss 1900, where we find mihago for east andfuka for west , but

killisi south nd north .n ~ the neighbour language ofShona, the Tonga settled left and right of the middle

Zambezi, also only three directions are reported (Collins 1975)kUl/yika north (inyika the land , where they came certainly from)kujwe east wa to cut grass, where the grassland is ) andkllmho west (- kimhila to go about , of the sun)In Shambala we have to do (Gleiss 1912) with a more precise characterization of the

movement of the sun:east IwazlI Iwegila ZllWa ( Iwazul/lyazlI side -/mva to rise )west IwazlI/weingila ZllWa (-iI/gila to go to )south Iwazu Iwekila zuwa (-ikila to sink, where the sun starts to sink )

The interesting aspect of this example consists, in the first place, that not only the tworelevant points of the movement of the sun, rising and setting, are used to express thedirections, but also the highest point of its position and the process of sinking. For inlandpopulations, like in these examples mentioned, the winds do not seem to play such animportant role as for coastal populations or regions where navigation is developed. But,nevertheless, names of winds playa role in some languages, e.g. in Kim uro (Hermann,MSOS 7), where the term for west hoyaga is obviously derived from mwiaga wind,storm , that means the direction from where heavy winds come . t is also possible, thatother features of the human society and environment play an important role in determiningdirections, like in Kinyamwezi, what shares a common term for north nd east , that ismaheda, while the term for west is makulldi, whose original meaning is region, where therivers go .

In Lingala we have two terms connected with the direction of the Congo river : I/gide isthe term for south (original meaning downstream, down the river ) and likohi (lIIokol6)the term for north ( upstream, up the river ). For trading people the Congo river is ofdecisive importance, even in orientation. For Skolaster (1910) points out, that theterm for east jihe (hi-) is the same as for forest , which is the decisive feature in theeastern direction.Bambara, in order to quote an example from West Mrica, which follows terms of themovement of the sun to designate east and west (tie hfi sortie du soleil , tIe hi tomberdu soleil ) uses for north various relevant features: ,mheli fe direction of the Sahel ,kimyeka direction of the sand and hahafe direction of the (great) river, the Niger .

An interesting situation we find in Kiswahili and its dialects, where we find now (inStandard Swahili) a four direction system in our modern sense: kusilli (in the) south ,ka.l'kazilli (in the) north , mashariki east and magharihi west . The last two arewell-known borrowings from Arabic. In coastal regions, where navigation is developed, thename of winds play, certainly, a greater role to designate directions. KU.l il/i and Kaskazinihave their origin in the names of the two main winds at the East African coast, the Kaskaziis the north-east monsoon , which enables the dows and ships to sail with their own forcefrom Arabic and Asian countries along the East African coast up to the Cape ofGood Hope.And the Kusi south-west monsoon enables the ships to return back.

Bleek 1856) gives evidence for these two terms in languages along the East Africancoast (viz. kll.l i for south and kasikasi for north in the languages ofMocambique andCap Delgado).


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:1The terms mashariki ("east") and lIIagharihi ("west") are of well-known Arabic origin,

what can be explained by the dominating role of Arabic sailors and captains in that region.But why didn't they introduce the respective Arabic terms for "south" and "north" alsoinstead maintaining the Bantu versions kusilli and kaskazMilli ? Certainly, because of thedominating role of these two monsoons for navigation along the East Ali-ican cost with theirwell-known names without any need to replace them by Arabic terms.The two monsoons do not blow straight from north, but from north-east, and not straightfrom south, it's rather from south-west. And these two terms testified by Bleek'svocabularies are also to be found in the respective hinterlands, e.g. in and..IY.Js.uy(Wurtz, W orterbuch des Ki-Tukuu und Ki-Pokomo, Z A ~ S , Bd. I), which have kasikafhiand ka.\ikasi for "north-east monsoon" and kllsini (kusi) resp. f IIvu/olli for "south-westmonsoon".

The system of modern Swahili is, obviously, already simplified and standardized. ButSacleux (1891, 1939), without any doubt the best expert in recording the terminology ofSwahili during the colonial occupation of the East African coast, testifies a more detailedand complicated system of directions, which is quoted also by later authors of dictionariesand which is the following :Traditional Kiswahili (Sacleux)

shemali(vent du lIord) kaskazini

(Ycnt du lIord-est)

111 angharibi/ mashariki/m atueo/mateo/ / maavio ya dyua/maehco matlay

/kusin;(vent du sud-ouest)

papazi/upapazi/su heli(vent du sud)

Traditional Swahili, thus, offers us a combination of names of winds, names of the sunposition and Arabic influences, which share the same ideas, e. g.

ash-sharq "east" from sharqa "to shine (of the sun)ash-gharh "west" from ghariha "to set down" (of the sun),while the prefix lIIa- in Swahili and Arabic has locative character.Arabic shows, like other Semitic and Indoeuropean languages, an interesting feature inso far, that the terms for "north" shamaal (rather "north-east") has also the meaning "left,

left side (shimaal ( left, left hand ) and another word for "west", yamiill, has the meaning"right hand , right side after a term al-Yamaall/a, name of a region, of a country. The systemof Arabic is as follows:
http:///reader/full/and..IY.Jshttp:///reader/full/and..IY.Js


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ash-shamaal (lIorlh/llorth-easl/leClllefl side, shimaalleft side)

al-gharb (we&l) ash-sharq (easl)(yamiill right. right halld)ai- Yamaama

al-djul\oub (wulh)

Such connections are not to be observed in the Mrican languages mentioned up to now.In most Bantu languages these directions (rightlleft) are derived from the hands and theirfunction, e.g

Swahili klilia (mkono wa kulia) "right" , "the hand to eat with" < -Ia "eat"Shona / /Idyi "right" < -dya "to eat"Tonga IlIlyo "right, right side, right hand, the hand to eat with" < -Iya "eat",while the term "left" is derived and connected from the left hand, destinated for dirty,

unpleasant actions, viz.Swahili kllsh "left"Shona /'/IhtJshwe, rllh()she "left hand, left side, left" (ru-h-thhwe), for which Bourquin(1923) reconstructs-lio "right" and olio "left" (Bondei lII-(),\'{), Zigua 1II-OSO, but Tonga 11IIIIwezi).

The examples from Arabic demonstrate, that, what concerns the terms of "right" and"left", the face of the observer(s) was directed to the east.

This does not seem to be the case in Ancient Egyptian (Erman-Grapow "Wbrterbuch derAgyptischen Sprache"), where we have similar words for

"west" 7/1/11./(also "west wind, western") nd ./, ////11 "right side, right" and"east" 71b./(also "east wind") and 71b.(/"left, left side", where the face of the observerwas, obviously, directed to the south in order to realize such a constellation . The whole

system of Ancient Egyptian is as follows:(basic orientation from north to south)

m J tj "north"ml;ljt "north wind cool wind"

7m ,t IIwest" - 1Jb.t cast1mn.tj "west wind" Hb.tj "east wind H 8 d 1Jb} "Ioft, left1m "righi, righl hand" ,id.

r ~ j l1south IIdw "south wind"


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]2

The system of Ancient Eyptjan, thus, shows also a combination of names of winds andof the sun position. Ancient Greek shows a combination of relevant winds for navigation andsun positions :

a p K t o ~ p o p E a ~north-western wind / northern wind

/ill


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33Let us still compare the directions of other Indoeuropean languages, which offer in

general a combination of positions of the sun and various relevant winds :Germanic:1 Osten, east < ahd . oslall, mhd. o.l'lell, latv. (lIISfrtlllli "east", lith. alllira "red sky", lat.(llIrora, gr. emr;2 . Sliden, south < ahd . .I lIl1d, goth . .1 1111110 "sun", mhd. SlIlll, lat. S/lper, gr. ullep3. Westen, west < ahd. westllll, "wind from west", old Indian a1'(ls, lat. 1/1-, lith. all-, slav./1-, slav. vecer, lith. viikara.l' "evening"4 . Norden , north < ahd. lIordall "north, north wind", gr. vepror; "below, lower position,cll"Slavonic '1. Russ . vO.l /ok, pol. w.I'chtld, czech. vycl/od "east" < oldslav. "east, eastern wind", basicmeaning /ekat' "flow", chodit "go" ("where the sun comes or flows from")2. Sever "north" related to lith . . i l / l r i i ~ "rough, penetrating wind", goth . .I'kiiira willdi.l'"strong wind from north"3. Zapad "west" basic meaning "where the sun is falling" (padal)4.J/lg "south" (russ . etc., czech/ill, bulg. and skr.}lIg) "wind from south, warm wind", cpoczech/ihllo/l/i "to thaw, become warmer"ful!.tK :1 "east" lith. ry/lii morning, in the morning < rylas2. "south" lith .pio/l.l "midday, lunch time"3. "west" lith. viikarai (viikaras) "evening, evening time"4. "north" lith. Ji(llll'l} "north, north wind" ( iia/l/'1ls "cold wind fi'om north")

Although we discussed and compared linguistic data about directions and spatialorientations in various languages and language groups, we could draw some provisionalconclusions:

I. First of all, it's possible to underline, that the designation of the directions in thelanguages discussed here, may be all referred to concrete items of the human society,to human activities and their relation to the human environment, e. g., the positionof the sun or its way, which are important of every-day's life, especially foragriculture and transport, also in navigation along rivers or the sea.

2 . In traditional societies it is the sun (its rising and setting) which is decisive fordesignating the directions. The sun is the most remarkable and reliable feature of thehuman society. Its rise marks the end of the night, the beginning of the day and ofthe work, its setting the end of a working day, the time for rest and recreation. Thesun position is, more or less, constant. Sunrise and sunset determine the life in atraditional society. The directions referred to its position may vary from two(KingonilKisutu), three (MatengQ), to four , which is, certainly, the basic and mostused model (Zillu, Swahili)

3. To designate directions also other important and relevant features of the humanenvironment like rivers and their directions, big forests, deserts and winds are used.Directions are, thus, anthropomorphically centred (cp. Shona) .

4. With the growing role of production for trade and exchange, realized especially bynavigation on great rivers or the open sea, the winds obtain more and more acultural and economic impOl1ance and lead to more than four basic directions . While


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4the designations for "east" and "west" are adequate to the movement of the sun, thedesignations for "north" and "south" can vary with the direction of the variouswinds. Only later on they are connected with the direction towards the both poles.

5. Especially developed was the nautical system of the classical Greek society with itsgreat influence upon the culture upon the Roman Empire, a system of four basic andeight additional graduations, which comes near to directions and their graduationsin modern times .

6. With the change of orientation the names for one and the same direction maychange, cpothe cited case of Shona or Greek eoe;, Baltic all';;/'( "east", "sunrise",which changes to "south" in Latin (auster, australis) .

7. From the designation ofdirections we may derive the basic orientation to designatethem. In Indoeuropean and Semitohamitic languages (viz. the exal11ple of Arabic inthis connection) the basic orientation was, obviously, directed to the place of sunrise(for praying or other ritual cerel11onies),. Here the directions "north" and "south" areonen connected with the idea of "lett" and "right", while in Ancient Egyptian thebasic orientation was directed to the south, where the Nile comes from .


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eferences

Bearth, T 1996. The Linguistic Mapping in a West African Highlanders Idiom. Space illLangllage. Praha.

Bleek, W H 1 1856. The Language.l A1ozambiqlle. London.Bourquin, W 1923. Neue Ur-BaIllU-Wol'/slalllllle. Berlin.Collins, B 1984. Tonga Grammar. Lusaka.Dimmendaal, G . - Rottland, F 1996. Projective Space and Spatial Orientation in Some

Nilotic and Surmic Languages. Space ill Language. Praha.Erman, A. Grapow, H WOrterbuch del' agyplischell ,\iJrache. Berlin.E/ymolvgi.l'che.l' Wbrterhllch des Delll.lchell. Bd. 1-3. Berlin 1993.Hafliger,1. 1909. Kimatengo Wbrterbuch. MSOS 12. Berlin.Hermann, C 1904. Lusiba, die Sprache der Lander Kisiba, Bugabu, Kjamtwara, Kjanja und

Ihangiro. MSOS 7. Berlin.Meinhof, C 1910. G/'I/Ildriji eiller Lautlehre del' Balllll.lprachell. Berlin.Sacleux, Ch . 1949. Dictionllairefrallfais-.lwahili . 2.ed. Paris.-- 1939. Dicliol1l1aire .Iwahili: rallvai.l'. Paris.Schrader, O. 1917-29. Realfexikoll de,. indogel'mani.l'chen Altertllm.l'kunde. Bd. 1-2, 2 Aufl.

Berlin.Skolaster, P H. 1910. Die Ngumbasprache. MSOS 13. Berlin.Spiss, C 1904. Kingoni und Kisutu. MSOS 7 Berlin.--. 1900. Kihehe-Wortersammlung. MSOS 3 Berlin.Wanger, W 1917. KOl1versatio/1.\gramlllatik del' Z 1 / I - ~ i ) r a c h e . Mariannhill.Wurtz, F. 1895. Wbrterbuch des Ki-Tikuu und des Ki-Pokomo. Z OS I Berlin.Zima, P 1996. es relations multidimensionnelles de la langue et de I espace en tant que

phenomenes stratifies. p c e in Langllage. Praha.


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Language and Locationin Sp ce and Time

Petr Zima Vladimir ax (eds.)

998LlNCOM EUROPA


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Published by LlNCOM EUROPA 1998.All correspondence concerning LlNCOM STUDIES IN THEORETIC L LINGUISTICSshould be addressed toLlNCOM EUROPA, Paul-Preuss-Str. 25, 0-80995 [email protected]://home.t-online,de/home/LiNCOM.EU ROPA

All rights reserved, including the rights of translation into any foreign language, No part of thisbook may be reproduced in any way without the permission o the publisher.

Printed in Germany

Die Deutsche Bibliothek - CIP-Einheitsaufnahmeanguage and location n space and time I Petr Zima Vladimirax (ed.). - MOnchen ; Newcastle: LlNCOM Europa, 1998.(LiNCOM studies in theoretical linguistics : 07)ISBN 3-89586-540-0

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Directions/Spatial Orientations in African Languages: Further Cases

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