Article January 1, 1996 Issue

This new day!

by Kim Shippey

In this week's column two South Africans share their thoughts on ways of approaching each day of the new year.

The South African Broadcasting Corporation's nationwide network in English traditionally opens its transmissions with a few minutes of quiet devotion under the title "This New Day." Clergy representing several denominations take turns to share inspirational thoughts about the new day and lead listeners in prayer.

Recently, the Reverend Mvume Dandala of the Central Methodist Mission in Johannesburg opened his broadcast with the Zulu greeting "Sanibonani" ("Sakubona" in the singular). He explained that in literal translation it means "we see you." When Africans—in this case, Zulus—meet someone, they begin by affirming that person's existence. The full sentence would be, "SiyaKubona ukuthi ungumuntu"—"We see that you are a human being, as opposed to an unwelcome spirit." The response would normally be an affirmation: "Yebo, sakubona nawe"—"Yes, we see you too."