Mzungu

Mzungu (pronounced [m̩ˈzuŋɡu]) is the southern, central and eastern african term for a person of foreign descent. Literally translated it means "someone who roams around aimlessly" or "aimless wanderer". The term was first used by Africans to describe early European explorers. It is now commonly used in most Bantu languages of East, Central and Southern Africa. Especially in Kenya, Tanzania, Malawi, Uganda and Zambia.

In Swahili, the plural form of mzungu is wazungu.^[1][2][3] The possessive kizungu (or chizungu) translated literally means "of the aimless wanderers". It has now come to mean "language of the aimless wanderers" and more commonly English, as it is the language most often used by Wazungu in East Africa. However it can be used generally for any European language. To distinguish between English and other European languages kiingereza in Swahili, chingeleshi in Bemba or lungereza in Ganda are used and are simply Africanized version of the word English by epenthesis. Wachizungu, Bachizungu etc literally "things of the aimless wanderers" have come to mean the Western culture, cuisine and lifestyle.

Mzungu can also be used to describe an employer or the person who pays, regardless of gender or colour.^[4]

The etymology of the word stems from a contraction of words meaning "one who wanders aimlessly" (from the Swahili words zungu, zunguzungu, zunguka, zungusha, mzungukaji, meaning to go round and round; from Ganda okuzunga which means to wander aimlessly) and was coined to describe European explorers, missionaries and slave traders who traveled through East African countries in the 18th century.

Mzungu is preferred because Central and East Africa people do not link people of European origin to the "white" color. This is because the concept of color coding ethnicities is not a part of their culture. Actually they consider people of European origin to be reddish or pinkish.^[5][6] For instance in Kinyarwanda and Kirundi, European people are also known as rutuku which means red.

Regional variations

Language	singular	plural	possessive
Swahili in East Africa	Mzungu	Wazungu	Kizungu
Luganda in Uganda	Muzungu	Bazungu	Kizungu
Chichewa in Malawi	Muzungu	Azungu	Chizungu
Chinyanja in Zambia	Muzungu	Bazungu	Chizungu
Kinyarwanda in Rwanda / Kirundi in Burundi	Umuzungu	Abazungu	ikizungu
Bemba in Zambia and Democratic Republic of Congo	Musungu	Basungu	Chisungu
Sena in Mozambique	Muzungu	Azungu
Shona in Zimbabwe	Murungu
isiZulu in South Africa	Umlungu	Abelungu

Similar Swahili terms

• Chinese are called Mchina (plural: Wachina). The term generally is used to refer to all Asians from the Far East unless the nationality is known, then M+[nationality] is used. Example: Mkorea, Mjapanese. However, depending upon the region, mzungu can be used with a modifier, such as mzungu chinois, to refer to Chinese people.
• Arabs are called Mwarabu (plural: Waarabu)
• Indians are called Mhindi (plural: Wahindi)

See also

• List of terms for white people in non-Western cultures
• Tendai Mzungu

References

1. ^ H-Net Discussion Networks – Etymology of the term muzungu: reply. H-net.msu.edu (2002-09-19). Retrieved on 2011-05-28.
2. ^ The Wandering Wazungu. Travelblog.org. Retrieved on 2011-05-28.
3. ^ Notas. The Janissary Stomp. Retrieved on 2011-05-28.
4. ^ Volunteer "Mzungu! Mzungu! Mzungu! Give me my money" Ugandan experiences from Ian Anderson
5. ^ Akinyi, Princess of K'orinda-yimbo. Darkest Europe and Africa's Nightmare, Algora Publishing, 2008, pp. 2, 147.
6. ^ Segall, Marshall H. (2002). "Why is there still racism if there is no such thing as 'race'?. In W. J. Lonner, D. L. Dinnel, S. A. Hayes, & D. N. Sattler (Eds.), Online Readings in Psychology and Culture (Unit 15, Chapter 5), Center for Cross-Cultural Research, Western Washington University, Bellingham, Washington, USA.