A glossary of words used in the plays.  This includes words from Afrikaans, Xhosa and Zulu, as well as words and references in English that may not be clear to people in different parts of the world.

Updates, corrections and enquiries are welcome.

apartheid

political system of separate development of different national peoples.  In practice it meant the discrimination of non-whites within South Africa (Afrikaans)

baas

boss, sir (Afrikaans)

boet, boetie

brother, comrade (Afrikaans)

dankie, dankie baas, dankie my baas

thank you, thank you sir (Afrikaans)

ja

yes (Afrikaans)

ou

old (adjective), old man, person (noun) (Afrikaans)

shebeen

a cheaper drinking place

struesgod, ´struesgod

swear word: good god  (Afrikaans)

rand

South African currency

TRC

Truth and Reconciliation Commission which looks at abuses under the apartheid years

Blood Knot

aitsa

ooh

bokhie

girl, chick

Chevy

 a type of car

chick-a-doem-doem

the noise sounds like the rhythm of the music

cookie, hey cookie

hey girl, hey chick

ek se

right!  OK! (Afrikaans)

hoe´s dit vir ´n ding!

look what we got here- said insultingly (Afrikaans)

hoer

whore (Afrikaans).

hotnot

swear word: native

kaffermeid

offensive term for a girl who is going with a black man (Afrikaans)

koppie

hill (Afrikaans)

links draai, rechts swaai

turn left, swing right (Afrikaans)

opskud en uitkap

get up and go (Afrikaans)

ou hoer

old whore (Afrikaans)

ou pellie

old friend

pellie

friend

polka

a dance

P.S.

post script.  Indicates a late addition to a letter

tickey draai

a dance (Afrikaans)

Zwartgat

offensive term for a black person (Afrikaans)

Boesman and Lena

aikona

no! (Xhosa)

al weer sukke tijd

here we go again (Afrikaans)

arme ou Lena

poor old Lena (Afrikaans)

arme ou Lena se maer ou bene

poor old Lena with her thin old legs (Afrikaans)

baasie

boss, with affection (Afrikaans)

babalas

hung-over (Zulu)

bang in my broek

shit in my pants (Afrikaans)

bedonnerd

beaten into the ground (Afrikaans)

blikkie

tin, can (Afrikaans)

boesman

bush man, someone from the wilderness (Afrikaans

bhomboloza outa, bhomboloza

cry out old man- from notes to Selected Plays

boggerall

swear word: nothing

brak

mongrel, bitch dog (Afrikaans)

broek

trousers (Afrikaans, Boesman and Lena)

daar kom ´n ding die kant

something's coming (Afrikaans)

die geraas van ´n vervloekte lewe

the ramblings from a cursed life (Afrikaans)

dop, lets have a dop

lets have a drink (Afrikaans)

drol

turd (Afrikaans)

dronkies

drunks (Afrikaans)

dwaal, being in a dwaal

being in a haze, being confused (Afrikaans)

eina

ow! - from notes to Selected Plays

en dit

and this (Afrikaans)

en klaar, finish en klaar

finished and done with (Afrikaans)

ewe

yes (Xhosa)

gebabbel

chatter (Afrikaans)

grappie

 joke (Afrikaans)

hamba wena

get lost, go away (Xhosa)

hond

dog (Afrikaans)

jou verdomde...

you damned... (Afrikaans

jou lae donner

you dirty bastard- from the notes to Selected Plays (Afrikaans)

kaalgat

bare-arsed, naked (Afrikaans)

kijk net

jusy look (Afrikaans)

klap

a punch (Afrikaans)

kom die kant

come this way round (Afrikaans)

kondens melk

condensed milk, milk from a tin (Afrikaans)

lieg

lie (tell a lie) (Afrikaans)

loop

walk (Afrikaans)

maak sy bek oop

open his mouth (Afrikaans)

manzi

water- from notes to Selected Plays (Zulu)

moenie skiet baas

don't shoot sir (Afrikaans)

more is nog ´n dag

tomorrow is another day (Afrikaans)

net ´n bietjie warm gemaak

just been made nice and warm (Afrikaans)

nog ´n een

another one (Afrikaans)

oppas

look out, take care (Afrikaans)

ou blikke kondens melk...hoed

old can of condensed milk/ make this life sweet/ Boesman is a bush man/ but he has a natives hat (Afrikaans)

ou grappie

old joke (Afrikaans)

Outa

old man (Afrikaans)

poep

shit (Afrikaans)

Pondokies, pondoks

huts

safa

suffer, I'm suffering- from notes to Selected Plays

sa! sa vir die kaffir

get him!! Used when setting a dog on someone- from notes to Selected Plays (Afrikaans)

siestoggies, my baas! Siestoggies, my groot little baasie

ah, no, my master! No, my big little master! - from notes to Selected Plays

sinkplaat

corrugated iron- from notes to Selected Plays (Afrikaans)

skeef, why you looking at me so skeef

sideways, strangely.  Why are you looking at me so strangely (Afrikaans)

soeterigheid

sweetness (Afrikaans)

sommer

just (Afrikaans)

stompie

cigarette end (Afrikaans)

sukkel along

struggle along (Afrikaans)

vark

pig (Afrikaans)

vastrap

a dance (Afrikaans)

vat jou goed en trek

take your possessions and go (Afrikaans)

vies

dirty, angry (Afrikaans)

vlenterbroek

torn trousers- from notes to Selected Plays (Afrikaans)

voetsek

go to hell (Afrikaans)

vrot ou huisie vir die vrot mens

a rotten old house for those rotten people (Afrikaans)

vuilgoed

piece of rubbish (Afrikaans)

weg is ons

we are on our way (Afrikaans)

wie´s die man

who is that (Afrikaans)

witman is ´n snaakse ding

the white man is weird (Afrikaans)

yessus

Jesus! Oh no

The Coat

ag sies tog

oh what a pity (Afrikaans)

arrears

money owed for the rent

boeie, boet

friend

ewe

yes

Rooi Hell

South African prison. Literally Red Hell

samp

a food dish made of dried maize kernels

sis

sister

tsotsi

gangster (The Coat, Sizwe Bansi, Tsotsi)

tula

silence, quiet

Hello and Goodbye

 

Errol Flynn

Hollywood actor

hoer

whore (Afrikaans).

hoered

had sex with (Afrikaans)

jiffy, in a jiffy

quickly, shortly

Jo´burg

Johannesburg

kaffir

offensive term for a black man (Afrikaans)

P.E.

Port Elizabeth

S.A.R.

South African Railways

voortrekker

the Boers who established the Afrikaners in South Africa (Afrikaans)

The Island

1965

June 1965 refers to an actual performance of Antigone in St. Stephen's Hall- from the notes to The Township Plays

Antigone

a classic Greek play Sophocles.  Antigone is the daughter of Oedipus

bioscope

the cinema, the movies.  Winston acts out films (Afrikaans)

die Hodoshe Span

The Hodoshe shift.  Hodoshe is a Xhosa word for a carrion fly, which lays its eggs in dead bodies.  So Hodoshe became the nickname of a hated prison guard.  John and Winston are on the team of Hodoshe.  (Afrikaans/Xhosa)

Eteocles

in the classic Greek play Antigone by Sophocles, Eteocles is the dead brother of Atigone.  He is honoured whereas the other dead brother Polynices is seen as a traitor

Glenn Ford

Canadian born Hollywood actor

Georgie

Geordie Mnci played in Antigone in St. Stephen's Hall in 1965- from the notes to The Township Plays

haai

wow, gosh (Xhosa)

hodoshe

a fly.  See die Hodoshe Span

lap, lappie

rag (Afrikaans)

moer

a swear word: fuck (Afrikaans)

moeg

tired (Afrikaans)

Mulligan

Mulligan Mbikwane played in Antigone in St. Stephen's Hall in 1965- from the notes to The Township Plays

Nomhle

Nomhle Nkonyeni who played in Antigone in St. Stephen's Hall in 1965- from the notes to The Township Plays

Number Four, Number Fourteen, Number Twenty-two, Number 42

other units in the prison

nyah nyah

na na (more or less meaningless sound)

Nyana we Sizwe!

patriotic Xhosa rally cry meaning "son of the land" -from notes to The Township Plays (Xhosa)

ons was gemoer vandaag!

we were really messed about with today (Afrikaans)

operator

John is pretending to talk to the telephone operator

poes

swear word: pussy, cunt (Afrikaans)

pleading in mitigation of sentence

in a court attempting to obtain a lesser punishment

Polynices

in the classic Greek play Antigone by Sophocles, Polynices is the dead brother of Atigone.  Polynices is seen as a traitor whereas the other dead brother Eteocles is honoured

Prisloo

Commander of Robben Island prison

prison regulations

the official rules of the rights and obligations of prisoners

punkie

a type of fly, slang for a prostitute (Afrikaans)

quarry

a pit for digging minerals

the Queen

Eurydice, wife of King Creon in Antigone

Robben Island

A South African island used as a political prison.  Nelson Mandela was one of the prisoners.  This is the island of the play The Island

solitary

solitary confinement- when someone in prison is punished by being kept isolated from other people

Speedy Gonzales

slang for someone who is very fast

strand

beach  (Afrikaans)

'Master Harold' ... and the Boys

balls

nonsense

Batman and Robin, Submariner

children's comics

Brown Bomber

the Brown Bomber was black American boxer Joe Louis.  In his first attempt at the world title he knocked Max Schmeling down three times but lost.  In his second attempt in 1938 he won the world title

bullshit

nonsense

cats and dogs (coming down cats and dogs)

raining very heavily

Churchill

prime minister of Great Britain during the second world war

cream in my coffee/...

you're the cream in my coffee is a popular song written by Brown/DeSylva/Henderson

fart-face

swear word: an ugly person

foxtrot

a dance

Fred Astaire, Ginger Rogers

famous Hollywood dancers

haaikona

no! (Xhosa)

helter skelter

all over the place

hunky dory

perfect

jaw-breaker

very difficult

Joan of Arc

a heroine in France in the 15th century.  She was executed by being burnt at the stake

Joe Louis

the Brown Bomber was black American boxer Joe Louis.  In his first attempt at the world title he knocked Max Schmeling down three times but lost.  In his second attempt in 1938 he won the world title

Julius Caesar

a play by William Shakespeare

Jungle Jim, Batman and Robin, Tarzan

children's comics

kip and toss

a sleep

M.C.

master of ceremonies.  The person who introduces events

mom

mother

os-killate

oscillate

quickstep

a dance

Rita Hayworth

Hollywood film actress

Salvation Army

a charity organisation

Sarah Vaughan

black American jazz singer

Max Schmeling

the Brown Bomber was black American boxer Joe Louis.  In his first attempt at the world title he knocked Max Schmeling down three times but lost.  In his second attempt in 1938 he won the world title

William Wilberforce

British politician who worked for the abolition of slavery, which became law in the British Empire in 1833

Winston Churchill

prime minister of Great Britain during the second world war

Nongogo

Nongogo

a prostitute

Playland

ANC

The African National Congress. Liberation movement in apartheid South Africa, later the government party

M.C.

master of ceremonies.  The person who introduces events

Sizwe Bansi is dead

Armstrong on the moon

Neil Armstrong was the first man to land on the moon in 1969

big-shot

very important person

blourokkie next time

blue clothing, meaning next time its prison, with blue prison clothes

buggerall

swear word: nothing

Ciskeian Independence

Ciskei s a region of South Africa. Under apartheid it was made a home-land, a sort of self-governing area for Xhosa blacks, but in practice it was an impoverished area and "self-government" had no meaning.  Later Ciskei was given pseudo-independence in an attempt to present apartheid as fair.  It meant the inhabitants lost their rights and South African nationality

cunt

swear word: person

Galaxies

the Galaxy is a model of Ford car

General Cleaning

a major cleaning up of the factory, to impress the bosses

gqokra izi khuselo zamehlo kule ndawo

put on safety glasses here - from notes to The Township Plays

Ford, Henry Ford Junior Number two

Ford car factory in South Africa, with factories in Port Elizabeth and Pretoria.  The car manufacturer was founded in 1903 in the USA by Henry Ford.  His grandson Henry Ford II took over the company in 1945 just before Henry Ford's death

foreman, general foreman, plant supervisor, plant manager

managers in a factors, in order of increasing importance

hier is ek, my baas

here it is, sir (Afrikaans)

kak

shit (Afrikaans)

kitsy

a cat´s name

Labour Bureau

government office for employment

line, on the line

on the production line.  In car factories a line of workers added different components to new cars

makulu, makulu baas

big boss - from the notes to The Township Plays (Afrikaans)

Natal

One of the nine provinces of South Africa, now called Kwa-Zulu Natal

N.I. Number

National Insurance number

Nixon

former president of the USA.  The newspaper is reporting the American election results of 1968

pay-packet

wages were given in a paper envelope, the pay-packet

piece of cake

very easy

proprietor

owner

Stetson

a type of hat, like a cowboy hat

tow motor

a vehicle or machine which is powerful enough to carry or drag heavy weights or other vehicles

tsotsi

gangster

Ttshotsholoza, kulezondawo, vyabaleka

a work song - from notes to The Township Plays

yo

wow