Mzungu is a derogatory term for a white person. It is a racist word that I have rarely heard adults say, without a look of embarassment if you meet their eyes afterwards. The children shouted it as we drove past in our work cars, when we went to Western Uganda, "Mzungu! Mzungu!" with beaming smiles and hands waving.
It's a Swahili word that (according to my friend) means "one who wanders aimlessly drunk" and refers to early Europeans' love of alcohol and exploration in colonial Africa. My mzungu friends and I tend to use it playfully when refering to each other, and find it hard to take any real offense from the word as it is so rarely said to us nastily. However, this in itself seems to offend my Ugandan friends.
In some gift shops here you can buy t-shirts that say "My name is not Mzungu", and when I was in Zambia my friends and I had shirts printed with Mzungu on the back.
It is a bad word, that I feel completely desensitised to. I think I should better just stay clear of it.
Sorry if you're offended!!
xxxxx
It's a Swahili word that (according to my friend) means "one who wanders aimlessly drunk" and refers to early Europeans' love of alcohol and exploration in colonial Africa. My mzungu friends and I tend to use it playfully when refering to each other, and find it hard to take any real offense from the word as it is so rarely said to us nastily. However, this in itself seems to offend my Ugandan friends.
In some gift shops here you can buy t-shirts that say "My name is not Mzungu", and when I was in Zambia my friends and I had shirts printed with Mzungu on the back.
It is a bad word, that I feel completely desensitised to. I think I should better just stay clear of it.
Sorry if you're offended!!
xxxxx
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