What does Hakuna Matata REALLY mean?

Ya...It still means no worries! But I don't know if I've ever heard an East African say it unless they are trying to make an American well versed in Disney language, feel smart. Swahili, or Kiswahili as it is called in the language, has a rich history and is one of the most widely spoken African languages. 

Had to throw Pumba in there...

Some would argue that my son has no business learning Kiswahili because he is a mazungu (Swahili for white person) and it isn’t part of his culture. It took me a while to explain to Jenn why I wanted to teach my son Swahili.  And NO, It isn’t just a cool “code” language that Jack and I can chat in when we are around Americans. 

Swahili was really what solidified my love for East Africa. It was when I learned the language that a piece of me became African. When I spoke Swahili, my humor, my mannerisms, and the way I viewed life simply became more African. There is a lot of emotional, intellectual, and social investment you make when you learn a language and it more than pays off.

I tried to initiate him over a year ago and he simply wasn’t interested. I was just throwing it into our everyday conversations and it frustrated the heck out of him. I gave up till about 5 months ago and then I started wondering what would happen if I incorporated Swahili in our playtime, imaginary animal conversations, and even on our adventures. 

What if he started associating it with fun rather than something I was just pushing down his throat? 

I went all out and did funny voices and exaggerated expressions. He fell in love with it instantly! He even started telling his mom to say things in Swahili. Since that little breakthrough, Swahili is our language of play. It’s what we speak when we are wrestling, it’s how we communicate with his plastic animals, and it’s what we use when we go birding. He copies the sounds and really takes on the longer more difficult words like a champ. He speaks it the way he hears it, so it comes out African.

When we are interacting with people in town, I try and give him chances to use his new words. If you want to see East Africans just light up, have a little muzungu speak their language. I love seeing it and it really boosts Jack’s confidence in both Kiswahili and Kinyarwanda (I don’t necessarily teach him Kinyarwanda beyond the basics but he picks things up here and there).

I really learned that just because he isn’t interested in a certain subject at a given time, doesn’t mean he won’t be later. It also may mean that the method I’m using simply isn’t engaging him or his mind. That is what I love about Montessori methods. It teaches us as facilitators to look at setbacks like this as a challenge and determine what new, creative methods we can use to better meet our childrens’ needs. The buck stops with us! if we can facilitate learning on their terms and level, we will open the flood gates.

When it all comes down to it, teaching my son Kiswahili gives him something he can take with him wherever he goes to remind him of where he grew up. I would be heartbroken if he left here only remembering safaris and some of the adventures we had…there is much, much more to East Africa. I think it is absolutely fascinating how languages and accents seem to be influenced by environments and cultures. Kiswahili is prolific all along the ancient arab trading routes that went from the beautiful white beaches of Mombasa all the way to the jutting rain forest covered mountains of the Congo. To experience both ends of that trade route with the ability to engage in with that language on a personal level has been fulfilling to say the least.

I am giving my son another identity and land to connect with. As he starts to discover who he is, a lot of his pivotal growth and development will be rooted in East Africa as it is with his American heritage. I don't believe it will take away or detract from the other, instead, Kiswahili will add perspective, further dimension, and flavor to his life, as it has mine. No matter where he goes in this world, Kiswahili will be part of him and he will connect back with the memories he made here as a child. He will have words he can connect those experiences to.  
 
Tastes, sounds, smells, and words collide to make a real African memory, like Jack drinking South African rooibos tea with us as a torrential rainstorm darkens the world outside. Only two words can adequately describe it--Chai pamoja.