In a country choked by high internet costs and limited options, Zimbabweans are turning to remarkable ingenuity. Facing arrest and equipment seizure for using Starlink, tech-savvy individuals have devised a way to disguise the kits.
One such individual who communicated anonymously with us here at Techzim has said he’s helping people hide their Starlink terminals from the authorities.
They modify the terminal so that it looks like a solar panel, or just a light. They are also able to make it work without the indoor router, removing any evidence of the presence of a Starlink connection, even if the authorities suspect, or a neighbour snitches.
The modified terminal would look something like this:
He explained:
We work with the Starlink Gen 2 terminal. We crack it open, and modify it so that it runs on 12v DC. The unit is then able to fit inside either a solar panel or a street light.
Converting it this way also enables us to do away with the cable and the Starlink router.
He said customers are loving the modified kit.
The product has been a hit in the market as users love the stealthy element about it. No one knows that there’s Starlink on site as the solar panel and/or street light are ordinary off the shelf products.
On the legal grey area they are playing in providing a service to people whom the law considers criminal, the source said:
This has been necessitated after seeing people being arrested for wanting a cheaper Internet solution. We do not provide Starlink kits but convert a client’s unit for them.
My focus is on providing a valuable service that helps people access affordable and reliable internet solutions. My goal is to offer innovative and discreet modifications to Starlink units, allowing users to enjoy high-speed internet without drawing unnecessary attention.
In today’s digital age, connectivity is more crucial than ever, and I’m committed to helping individuals stay connected in a way that suits their needs and preferences. Whether it’s through hidden Starlink units or other creative solutions, I’m here to support my clients in achieving seamless internet connectivity.
The Starlink issue has been topical in Zimbabwe for several months now.
Zimbabweans want Starlink because it offers cheaper internet compared to fibre and and other ways (like LTE, ADSL, Mobile data) to connect to the internet in Zimbabwe. The government however says it’s illegal to use it because SpaceX, the US based company offering Starlink, is not licensed to provide internet services in Zimbabwe.
A Starlink month’s subscription in Zimbabwe is about $40 for unlimited internet. Compare that to anything between $140 and $400 for an unlimited usage internet interconnection from providers like TelOne (government owned), Liquid (the largest by network size and subscribers), Dandemutande, Telco, Powertel and others.
Mobile data providers also charge quite significantly more. The largest provider, Econet, has 25GB priced at $38 a month.
The difference in monthly subscriptions between Starlink and the Incumbents has been significant enough, the black market for Starlink kits continues to thrive. The government is trying to enforce the regulations where they can. There have been at least 2 arrests for the Starlink crime.
The minister of ICT for her part, has promised to look into why the internet is so expensive in Zimbabwe, but has already warned while she’s interested in more access, she’s also needs the operators to run viable businesses. Which probably means you shouldn’t be too hopeful there.
132 comments
Pindula free app is still down, tried going to tech news and back to pindula jobs but still its giving error message on the pindula jobs site
Try uninstalling the app and re-downloading the latest version here: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=co.zw.pindula.news&hl=en&gl=US
Please send screenshot on hello at pindula dot com if you have any issues
I knew it, the Zimbabweans i know will find a way to use Starlink in disguise but muchenjere kuti ZRP ichafamba ichikudumurisa vanhu ma solar mudzimba kuti ione kuti munei mu solar panel
That is practically impossible thing to do. They should simply swallow their price and let those who can afford use because zimboz will always find a way outside the net of the authorities
Again its scary if a situation where they want to shut down internet (not saying i want it to happen, but in case of a future coup) they would need absolute silence. But with starlink most governments are afraid there wont be censorship anymore and dictatorship.
So why publishing their secret
Kkkk thinking the same.. This article exposes the whole deal
“One such individual who communicated anonymously with us here Techzim…” I think the guy just wanted to get the grapevine juices flowing with a little publicity. Plus I guess they figured they technically aren’t breaking the law by customising a customers property. After all, they aren’t involved in providing the service or importing the kit. A judge might disagree but lets see how it goes.
Old regimes will go eventually, they think they can stay forever. Then someone comes to disrupt you.
Zvakutoda CID Mutorashanga
Kkk Yesaya. We apologies to viewers in Mutorashanga and surrounding areas for loss of transmission. Program line up ZBC. Would love to visit , Mutorashanga. Directions anyone for a bus anyone?
Chero vakauya andi kuduburi coz i am not a technician. They must have a letter yekuratidza vatenderwa vauye pamba pangu coz mangwana ndika birwa or anything ndivo 1st suspect .
Zimbabwe. Too much stick and not enough carrot! Can you even be mad at this? The need for affordable and quality connectivity is real out here. Gov can’t continue to be blind to that fact. Let Starlink in and collect vat. Let G6 in and 🕵️🚨🚔🔎👩💻. Give networks and ISPs conditional tax breaks they can pass on to their clients. Create digital nomad friendly policies including visas (all that money is going to asia and europe right now). Not everything has to be a battle.
Inspector Gadget, you never let us down. Sober Sense….
Word
Preach comrade. Tho…. You understand a thief is the most aggrieved person when his “stuff” is stolen kkk
That is practically impossible thing to do for the gvt to continue searching for the terminals on properties.They should simply swallow their price and let those who can afford use because zimboz will always find a way outside the net of the authorities
They like the Black Market you see, were you use chisimba and not brain. Brings out all many of unsavory characters.
And guess what this means? Even if the Gvt is to legalize now chances are high, they won’t collect as much revenue as they ought to have collected already 🤣🤣🤣
Once starlink is given license (if it ever happens) to broadcast signal in Zim and we start factoring in taxes the prices will likely go up.
Africa in general has been getting consistent discounts off of the actual full price. I think as long as Elon can bank that $60 or so he’s getting from other African countries, there is a chance it would still come under $100 for subs. Kits can still be imported from the neighbourhood, but official local units would probably be still competitive with setup costs of some local ISP, worse still if there is financing.
What’s his number, I want one modified
Its a trap!😂
How much is the customization
The question to technology and innovation should not be ‘Why?’ but ‘Why not’ we can not resist technology
I know many pple with starlink
Tipei number dze maTechs
Very poor price comparison.
Starlink = 150Mbps bandwidth costing $50/month
Other ISPs ~ averaging 50Mbps bandwidth costing > $8,000
Kurohwa pasi peTSOKA!
$150 x 12 months =
$40 x 12 months =
USA GDP per Capita ?
Zimbabwe GDP per Capita.
You mean they earn way more than the average Zimbabwean and they have access to highspeed affordable data. Yes and Netflix, Hulu, Spotify, HBO, Food Network, NFL and Pizza for $1 a slice, no not a small slice, an uncommonly large slice of Pizza. Can you choose your own toppings like Subway, y∆y!
SpaceX yakapedza ma sports. Checkmate!
Zvikanetsa inochererwa pasi mugarden, vamwe vakabuda negold muhandbag wani.
The keepers of the law so not really like keeping it. As long as it’s in their favour, they will burn Zimbabwe to the ground, rather than have it succeed.
Zimbabwe remains undefeated. Now we are going after a space company because we are afraid of those little lights in the night sky. You were warned.
Snitch of the year goes to yours truly!
If I was an ISP in Zimbabwe, I would look for ways to make my Network give us the best return on investment. So where can we cut costs without affecting the users experience online. A data centers with mirrors. Magirazi anochemgeta ma Linux image, latest torrents, popular torrents. I wouldn’t want a situation were 10 users are downloading or streaming the same episode of The Bachelor from the public internet. They will just pull it from our local mirror without having to go on to the internet, we save bandwidth for other tasks, it’s cheaper and the users watches in 2K with no glitches. What about a mirror fr YouTube, I’m not sure but tinker tailor soldier spy, someone will figure it out. A if there is an Xain of local high sort out content, it’s cheaper for the ISPs and MNOs. A why haven’t you invested in companies that compliment your business. No, I don’t mean to take their idea and mess it up, collaboration is better. Apple is making movies. Amazon makes Movies. Sony Makes Movies. MTV Makes Movies. Verizon does the lot, Xfinity. Then others think the US companies are bonkers. Vano’onera kumberi, ndizvo zvinotora Mari inotenga, brings the best out of society.
Oops, did I do that?
Iwe, why publish the actual images of the modded device, why??????
@Mavatera @Potraz @Liquid @Telone @Mthuli @Zimra There is a simple win win solution regarding Starlink and taxes, Starlink on its own does not have internet or bandwidth it relies on ground stations similar to Mazoe’s earth station. Currently the whole of Africa’s Starlink clients are getting their internet from Nigeria hence why SADC Starlink users have the Highest latencies in the world 110ms+. To improve the quality of Starlink internet in SADC Zimbabwe has to approve Starlink’s V3 ground station so that local ISPs can provide the internet through its fibre infrastructure, this will reduce the latencies which is inline which Starlink’s goal for <20ms, what this means is that Starlink will now buy bandwidth from local ISPs in forex which will help local ISP grow their network and collection of Taxes by Zimra. This will not only improve the internet for SADC but also improve our local internet as we will need to upgrade our internet exchanges as currently ISP are peering for free in SA. This will the attract CDNs and Hyperscalers to bring content closer to the edge by bringing their services closer to the customer. This will greatly reduce the costs of inter et as CDNs are local. 98% of our traffic is served from Terraco in Joburg where the CDNs and Hyperscalers peer. The owner of Starlink is the richest person in the world and has a wealth of knowledge which our other sectors can gain e.g finance, Elon Musk setup paypal and now he is working on X payments such synergies can help. Tesla EVs and Solar City requires lithium which we have in abundance. Through better relations we can setup the first Gigafactory in Africa, which will be a project far bigger than Manhize and thus create 10s of thousands of jobs, and technology transfer to fix other issues like Zesa, Agriculture , mining, transportation and more. I am willing to work with government in making Vision 2030 a reality
Starlink has a planned ground station for Mozambique. Zimbabwe will have to somehow wrestle that out of Moz hands…a tall order😳
Toenda Moza.
Taxes kudhara, we won’t be paying $40 as you expect. Memotobhadhara maybe at-least $100
Ichoooo chatgpt yapindira
Am sick and tired of monopoly. way to go tech-savvy guys, it gives the laggards a reason to wake up and smell cow dung, this is Africa, you snooze you lose.
Brilliant, why should ordinary Zimbabweans obey the law when the Govt itself has gone rogue?
I have moved my Starlink kit deep kumusha and the kit is at a hill near my home and it’s providing School children and locals who live within a 100 metres with free internet.For convenience I disabled the password.I had put it out there just for trial and on second thought I decided to leave it where it is as it is secure.
God Bless You
I was looking for some with this mindset since ions , how did you broadcat the signal beyond for a rangevof 100 m
Zimbos are ok with being abused left right and center
We are not okay with it anymore.
Techzim is now a Big Snitch yikes
Hamusi matengesa base here akoma!
Why is this “journalist” snitching? WTF man?
Kkkkk journalists are snitches by nature …lesson learnt a long time ago. Do not be too friendly with the following 3…police ,thief and of course the journo.
But the interviewee was not under duress wani? It’s news, the story just be told
Idiot sellout
They didn’t give the name, so technically they didn’t sell out, the interviewee agreed to speak.
Nhywe, do people know what a sellout is
I don’t know.
Hie
Was it necessary to expose, it’s like u snitching
I agreed with them
Wouldn’t it be easier to just make the antenna part of your roof flash with your tiles or roofing sheets or mount it on lower levels not on the roof.
Flush mounting will work if you are lucky enough to have your roof aimed in the right direction. Low level mount is a plan as long as your wall, trees, neighbours don’t block your angle.
Make the antenna flash with your house’ chimney and never use the chimney for fire purpose
Kana mashaya zvekunyora munobvunza isu l mean writer what’s this crap
Yah mdara marwadziwa, MYSRIP
Stupid man stupid article
At first, this will appear as so-called snitching until you apply your mind. This is actually a national crisis when the public resorts to these disguised methods just to enjoy cheaper, fast & reliable internet.
Hopefully, this will show arrogant Potraz that they are fighting a losing game.
They should have allowed interim roam(ing) kits from neighboring countries to enter the country collecting customs (even at a premium) & keeping a record just as happening in SA. After local licensing people would naturally switch their addresses to Zim.
Foolish ones, now they are fighting an unknown “enemy” whose location they will never figure out. They don’t know how many kits there are in the country & in whose hands they are in. They are in the dark just like us all. Utter foolishness.
CAAZ saw this problem and began doing some form of registration of drone imports even as they worked on drone regulations.
They were aware of the fact that drones were coming into Zim & would come in even if they banned them until regulations. Thus they had/have an official record of drones in the country.
Not Potraz. We told them the horse had bolted a long time ago.
Will they now go around getting atop high roofs and tearing open random people’s solar panels & solar lights…in the order of tens of thousands? 🤷🏾♂️
Let them cook in their folly.
Fools 😂
This article should be taken down before the officials see it. It will do more harm than good in stirring up unnecessary drama. You know how things work in zim, its not the gvt who will fine you but blackmailing officials zrp and kanzuru vanenge vakungoti pano pano vanoda $5. ZBC used starlink and didnt admit. Here are citizens admitting to nonsense. Delete your article. Ehe munoda content but this is rubbish
The regime wins because when opressed citizens find ways around their unfair gain there are non-beneficiaries who snitch for mere content. Chakutadzisa kungochengeta kadhiri aka chii? This is very immature.
The white community in ZW are the biggest market for starlink but have no business publicising their tricks. They have much better secrets like smuggling networks but never expose themselves like this. Delete your article shamwari
😂 hezvo
This is what it means to have free media. We can’t just have what we want reported on & object what offends us in pursuit of narrow interests. The corrupt politicians may as well approach the media and ask for cover-ups. Let the chips fall where they may. This article perfectly reveals the national crisis we are all in.
Potraz must do the right thing.
Let them cook in their folly.
please can i have one of these kits contact me on 0782492797
Are you fr 😳
Publish about the currency please.
We miss Mr Sengere, and his hard hitting economic commentary.
Publish about the currency please.
Dear Customer. Please note we have suspended trading in ZWL, effective 5 April, as we prepare for currency changeover on our system. We regret any inconvenience.
The country needs to benefit and also the people there benefit too. There is no contry where you can do business without paying tax. Starlink just needs to register and move on. I like this initiative and its services. I am an ICT technician I am patiently waiting for it to be a success. I wish to be an online worker enjoying cheaper data tarrifs
BSAC : Hut Tax, Cow Tax
Sekendhi Ripubric : Tax, Tax and more tax. Mansion tax?
MaRasta : Less tax more enterprise road.
That’s what happens when someone gets a position they do not deserve or earn.
Typical zimbawean govt response…. We are going to sincerely investigate why this poor Zimbabwean citizen is bleeding and in so much pain, because we have no idea what has happened to result in such a situation.
All while whilst still holding the the knife and the club they used on the citizen.
Here is what Liquid charges for the cheapest unlimited package in both countries:
Fibre Home Lite 5 @5Mbps (Zambia) – K600 (US$23.13)
FibroniX Family Entertainment @100Mbps (Zimbabwe) – Z$2,059,420 (from US$189 to US$317)
Please feel free to click on the Orange text and that will take you to Liquid’s product pages where you can verify the prices I quoted
Note: the Zimbabwean package boasts much higher speeds, however, 99% of the population would switch to a cheaper package at lower speeds if such an option was available. Heck, until late 2023, Liquid topped its capped packages at 10Mbps because they said people didn’t really need or utilise higher speeds. So, it’s a mystery why there is no $23-5Mbps package in Zim.
Also note: the Zimbabwean package has a range of prices because of the currency situation. The $189 figure comes from using the most generous black market rate of 1:10900 whilst the $317 comes from using the official rate.
The “crime” of trying to make effective the right to access information and meaningful communications. The talent and ingenuity of these young techies is admirable. They will receive a cascade of job offers. The publication, though, may ruin their attempt to connectivity.
In some countries they reward skill and innovation. In others they hound them out so they can go make other people’s country better. They do not think about their grand children and what kind of society they would want to leave them.
Once Starlink has been successfully licensed, it will now be official and legal. Wait until it is licensed in Zimbabwe. using Starlink right now in Zimbabwe is considered as a crime and therefore you may be arrested.
What is the bottleneck Sir?
Correct
OFCOM SPECTRUM REGULATIONS: Bob Houlston G4PVB reports on a recent statement by OFCOM, regarding its new approach to licensing and spectrum rules, which will result in a range of ‘restricted’ radio services being able to take to the airwaves. The statement reads (in part): “Our new flexible approach means restricted radio services – which typically cover small areas and can include hospital radio, drive-in movie soundtracks and services for events – will find it easier to access the spectrum they need to broadcast. These restricted services are mainly broadcast in the AM and FM broadcasting bands, but we haven’t always had sufficient frequencies available to meet demand. But by making changes to our spectrum planning, we can identify small gaps in spectrum use – known as ‘limited coverage spectrum’. Because this spectrum only enables limited coverage, it is not suitable for national, local and community radio broadcasts, but is particularly suited for restricted services which only need to be broadcast nearby. We have also simplified our licensing process to make it easier for these smaller services to get the licences they need to broadcast. Before today’s announcement, several services took part in a trial to see how the new process would work. One of these was Stoke Mandeville Hospital Radio (SMHR), based in Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire. As part of the trial, the station was able to broadcast on an FM frequency which has previously been unavailable to it.” You can access the full story at the URL below.
(SOURCE: OFCOM, via Bob Houlston G4PVB RU Volunteer Correspondent).
https://tinyurl.com/2p9yy3ys What’s new in the world of radio
VERITONE SYNTHETIC VOICE GETS AN AUDITION:iHeartMedia’s plan to use Veritone’s voice-cloning technology for its podcast platform has some radio industry observers asking the obvious questions: How good does it sound and is broadcast radio far behind?
The largest radio company in the United States says that for now, the synthetic voice solution will only be used to translate podcasts from English to other languages for use on the iHeartPodcast Network, first for Spanish-speaking audiences. But Veritone officials confirm its technology could someday be used for advertising to reduce time-to-market and production costs for radio.
One veteran broadcast engineer said Veritone’s voice cloning product is exactly the sort of tech breakthrough that media are quickly adopting as the industry embraces cost-saving measures and could at the very least bring a more centralized approach to commercial production and staffing by leveraging artificial intelligence.
There are dozens of examples of text-to-speech apps available commercially, many of which can convert text into human-like speech, even if it is still might be a bit robotic. Observers familiar with this technology say some of the services on news websites are becoming good enough to be, “almost indiscernible from real human voices.” But what Veritone and iHeartMedia are trotting out appears to be an effort to take synthetic speech and voice cloning to another level, according to those familiar with the AI platform. Veritone says “hyper-realistic custom voice clones” will offer increased revenue streams for branded synthetic voices of top talent — imagine the cloned voice of Ryan Seacrest someday pitching for the local hardware store. Veritone launched Veritone Voice in 2021, which has the ability to, “control and manage the entire voice creation lifecycle for efficiency and scale.” The company says its synthetic voice solution will allow iHeartMedia to reach new audiences at scale with their current top podcast talent.
“With no additional studio time, voice talent can authorize Veritone’s synthetic voice solution to automatically produce more podcasts, advertisements and additional audio in multiple languages with the same energy, cadence and uniqueness of top talent,” the technology company says.
(SOURCE: iHeartMedia | RADIOWORLD).
https://tinyurl.com’
In the UK, BAZ and POTRAZ are one entity handiti?
We have 16 local languages + Portuguese.
I think DFA should get support to lay more dark fibre. It’s their core business and companies that specialize should be supported by the POTRAZ USF. Plus they donate to children’s homes, so they are good guys.
We are sick and tired of these exorbitant data prices . Starlink,MTN unlimited etc pliz come to Zim .
I shed a tear for Zimbabwe. His is not what our freedom fighters had in mind, the euphoria of 18 April 1980 has been replaced by fear, repression and incompetence.
‘People love their chains’
‘People love their chains’.
My masters, those ‘funny’ looks you are getting when you are on a podium, are the people stirring. The desire for freedom is an inherent human right and the Rhodesian’s thought not in a 1000 years.
Zimbabwe ine potential yekuDeveloper technologically but mweya wana mbuya doesn’t want that to happen 🤣
👴🏿💨🧺🤭🧙🏿♂️
even with high taxes ,high upfront fees etc. there must be an option for unlimited data plans/packages. econet netone telecel should provide those plans , are they saying that it’s impossible to put a price tag on that.
The reason why it feels so expensive, is because we don’t have such packages. (even if the prices are higher than in other countries ,I still think that would make things a lot better for the subscriber)
One of the reasons why it’s so expensive in Zim is the lack of competition in that business area . if you look closely, we only have one private player competing with government entities. We need more private players.
You can imagine the cheapest (cents/mb) that econet is offering is 2 loaves of bread in exchange for 2500mb+500mb off-peak to be used in 1 hour (thats just too expensive)
Yes 2 things
Well not entirely, ZBC, ZTN, 3KTV, Radio stations can all give us their rdp:// rmtp:// http:// streaming links and we can add them to the bouquet in less than 5 minutes.
In Africa, Starlink is licensed in Mozambique, Malawi, Zambia, Eswatini, Rwanda, Kenya, Nigeria and Benin.
Progressive African countries. I would love to visit Mozambique for obvious reasons🤭😜, Eswatini because they have a Princess. Nigeria just to hang out and see the night life. Goma because I would like to see someone.
Kenya definitely, their Tech and Agriculture is impressive.
How about the most educated country in Africa, still wrapping with regulation because it has to go through the party?
You mean they are seized with the Birthday party on the 18th of April rather than being open for business.
How do you throw a birthday party for a person you suppress and undermine. Lots of unmarked graves out there, their spirits are going to decimate your lineages. Kana vafamba zvodzi pane Sekuru, Mbuya vaishungurudza vanhu. To stop the Ngozi you have to compensate the victims. Imagine compensation at a nation scale? You are not reading the warning signals.
Hi ecocash is sending message saying we can transact in zig now but the system is still not working
this “latest news” is now SIX days old …..
🥋💀💰🐉🩸🍸🇿🇼🧠👂🏾👏🏾🔫⏰💣🤯
🐍💤
🧑🏼❤️🧑🏿
Vasikana mune Mari here yekuti tiende Tanzania.
Vakomana mune Mari here yekutiende Sinoia
Bhuzu mana shera’
Mutoko
Chipinga
Chipinge
Nyanga
Chirundu
Lupane
Zengeza
Mkokoba
Esigodini
Mukumbura
VaMugabe shera’ shera’
VaMugabe shera’ shera’
Zv∆ungoti Zii Zii mudiwa wangu. Chii’ chaurikoronga.
Kanausingadide ndinyeurirewo’
Happy Leonard Dembo Day Zimbabwe.
Ngoma ndiyo ndiyo. 🤭😜😂🧺
Hamadzangu ndipeiwo pekupotera kwandabva kure.
Inga vakuru vakareva kuti nherera zvichengetewo’
Achachema nani nherera ino ndeya ndeya’
Ishe inzwai kuchema
Tipei mweya wekudada💜
Happy Leonard Day Zimbabwe. 🇿🇼
Icho!
Charira!
Forms and imagery in Shona Proverbs
Fortune
University of Rhodesia
of single verbal sentences, the majority are single principal clauses with a subject (S) predicate (P) structural pattern. Others consist of combinations of verbal clauses.
1.1.0.
Of the single clauses, a large and interesting group (7 per cent of the total in the book) have relative verb phrases (RVPs) as subjects and principal verb phrases (PrVPs) as predicates.
e.g. 415 Atswinya / arwa (One who has pinched / has fought; viz. Every little contribu-tion counts) 438 Avengwa / anhuhwa (One who is hated / stinks; viz. Call a dog a bad name and hang him) 1066 Chafamba / chasvava (One who has travelled / has faded; viz. Away from home one loses importance) 889 Pagara murimi / pagara mupopoti (Where there lives a farmer / there lives a grumbler; viz. A farmer is never satisfied with the work done for him) 409 Akweva sanzu / akweva namashizha aro (One who has pulled a branch along / has pulled along its leaves; viz. Inherit a wife and you inherit her children as well) 394 Dzafura churu chimwe / dzava nzivani (Those that have grazed at one anthill / have become G. FORTUNE 2 7 acquainted; viz. Experience once shared unites people ever after) 568 Chid pamuchena / chiri pamutenure (What is on a poor man / is on a slope and not secure; viz.
Because of his bad luck, a poor man is ever in want) 1.1.2.
The above examples show that this type of sentence is capable of close structural correspondence between the two halves of the proverb since both consist of inflected VPs and, save for the essential contrast of relative versus principal tones, may show identical inflectional and VP patterns. Thus the two halves are front-linked and structurally parallel.
In poetry parallelism indicates the use, in successive lines or stanzas, of similar grammatical structures to repeat a single idea by means of a variety of images.
e.g. Muno kufamba kunenge kukavira nyimo, kutizira kuchinge kudyara nzungu, kucheuka kukange kutsindire’shwa.
(You have a walk like the planting of ground-peas, a run like the sowing of ground-nuts, a turning as in the capture of termites).
In proverbs consisting of single sentences, parallelism appears to be used to state a relationship of implication, ‘S implies P\ One action or state, for S is expressed as an agent acting in a certain way or being in a certain
Department of African Studies
subject and verb on the one hand (S and V), and the rest of the predicate on the other, namely complements and adjuncts (C and A).
e.g. 418 Chomungozva chinodyiwa / nowabata mwana (Food from a nursing mother is eaten / by one who holds her child; viz. One good turn deserves another) 523 Nherera inoguta / musi wafa amai 3 0 FORM AND IMAGERY IN SHONA PROVERBS (An orphan eats his fill / on the day his mother has died;
viz. His future outlook is bleak) 176 Kandiro kanoenda / kunobva kamwe (A small dish goes / whence comes another small one; viz.
One good turn deserves another) 478 Mapudzi anowira / kusina hari (Squashes fall / where there are no pots; viz. Fortune favours fools) In these cases complements and adjuncts consist of RVPs and inflected RVPs, and thus involve verb phrase relationships. Cross-correspondence of gramma-tical structures involved in subject plus principal V in the first half being followed by relative V and its complements in the second enables the com-bined imagery of the first half to compare cross-wise with that of the second.
Here in this situation, reminiscent of the chiasmus in 1.1.6., the lexical items are typically constrastive and the effect one of ironic paradox.
Our ancestors probably whistled before they learned speech as we know it, and since Africans are the first people then our language is the most ancient. It’s so easy, aeiou. Then language became more complex and people drifted apart, and other slangified it or spoke backwards…kkkk
In other examples where S is a RVP and P a PrVP there is a slight departure from strict correspondence of grammatical items and this accompanies a choice of contrasting, not congruent, lexical items.
e.g. 601 Chitemura / chava kuseva (One who used to eat stiff porridge dry / is now eating it with relish; viz. His luck has changed) 596 Aiva madziva / ava mazambuko (What were pools / have become fords; viz. Circumstances have changed) 1.1.4.
In these examples, S and P contrast in two respects, that is both in regard to tense signs (/-A-I-/ versus /-A-/) and lexical items. This double contrast makes for congruence and irony, and indeed the two proverbs in 1.1.3. are classic comments on the turn of the wheel of fortune.
1.1.5.
Where the sentence is negatively inflected, proverbs express negative implica-tions in a predicate of present tense following upon an act or state performed or realised by a subject.
2 8 FORM AND IMAGERY IN SHONA PROVERBS e.g. 260 Ashamba / haanokorerwi (One who has washed / does not have stiff porridge broken off for him, is not helped to food; viz. A cultured person is entitled to proper respect) 407 Afirwa / haaringwi kumeso (One who is bereaved / is not looked in the face; viz. Actions or words made under stress of sorrow are not to be taken seriously) 36 Ateyera mariva murutsva / haachatyi mhapa kusviba (One who has set traps in burnt grass / no longer fears his apron getting dirty; viz. A man must take the consequences of his actions) 82 Chafamba kamwe / hachiteyewi (Something that has passed only once / is not trapped;
viz. A single transgression is not taken serious account of) 166 Aguta / haaoneki (One who has had Ms fill / does not bid farewell; viz. He leaves because he has nothing further to ask) 251 Apunyaira / haashayi misodzi (One who has become emotionally upset / does not lack tears; viz. Exertion brings some reward) Irony in these proverbs arises from the comparison of the lexical items in S and the negative implications in P. It arises from a certain wry awareness of ‘the nature of things’.
1.1.6.
In certain proverbs the first half is a RVP in structure, but an adverbial com-plement (C), not S, in function.
e.g. 221 Pachapwa madziva / miramba tichanyurura (When pools dry up / we fish out the barbels; viz. The death of one man brings benefits to others) 147 Panodya ishe / varanda vanodyawo (When the chief eats / the subjects eat as well; viz. The office of the chief benefits his people) 272 Panoda mwoyo / nzira haisviki (Where the heart longs to be / the path never reaches; viz. A watched pot never boils) 1.1.7.
A popular saying ((Artillery is the god of war)).
🏝️e🍿
Seeing The power of Starlink in the bush, and the power of A.I development, I have decided that no the will keep the keys to the armoury at the Ecology Corps. You use you finger on the door, then use your finger on your locker. Time in. Time out…etc will be punched into the Infosys. 300 Bullets per month, for free shoot. Anymore will need to be purchased from the thrift shop😆. It would be nice to have a regular match home or away in the gun club.
You might need the keys and someone is on the harvester and he is like what, I cannot hear you. You lost your knees? What, you knees are missing. Nah won’t work. Biotech is better, all records will be in the database.
Yes some guys will like to go shooting on the their free time.
Range always open🎯
I noticed uhuru wallet is not available anymore
Football is a 100 mins Comrades. If you slack off kuma dying minutes you might just hear the commentator losing his mind, ‘and Ole has won it. Baby faced assassin.
Hanzi me Barca muchadya mazwi enyu.
Yes because that’s all there will there to eat.
Matouudzwa.
Hamuna hasha.
Soft as wool😆
It’s zvinhu zvako one one , one one, one one
Wakugara wakamira, URI layan,…..manje tokuzoku🥊
You mean a whole central bank said you will eat your words
How many policy changes from Mr apex from 2017 till now.
How many zeros do you need in your account
Secret all whiskey tastes the same after to glasses kkkkk
Wine on the other hand is classy, we could have brandy wine and vinegar in Mvuma, cheese , pizza. But yiu throw chicken to us like dogs…
If we are dogs you are a baboon.
Hanzi I will obey constitutional term limits, but you don’t obey the right to water, economic freedom, deployment, life and fun in your own nation, or is it yours.
Keep the trophy cabinet shiny
G44 Arise
The shops have started refusing Bond Sir, but we are supposed to last until 30 April, somehow, we must all wing it while they think about what to do with us.
Sir you didn’t drink at all at school. I notice some people who did are still doing it. They don’t change their behaviour. They used to chase people around the playground and steal their break. They are still doing it.
I am over 18 so I can drink if my pocket allows. Ukandiwona ndine Itero 14. Ndine budget reizvozvo. The only people I had chasing me when vaMugabe was in power where girls in the playground at Vainona primary. Pama engineers pa Pomona apo. Drinking and smoking in school no, after go nuts, as long as you are not stealing from anyone and are making your honest paper. Don’t let badmind people influence you. You have greatness African child, believe in the greater good.
Mai Charamba – Holy Spirit come help Africa now…..
Today is World Health Day!
Our resolution remains strong: health for every child! 🌍💙
Together, we can continue to build a brighter future for children worldwide by prioritizing the health and well-being of every child, everywhere.