Table of Contents
Revisiting the classics of Xitsonga music. 🪘
Song title
- Nta dyiwa hi makoti.
Song artist
- Khatisa Chavalala & The Queens.
Song album
- Gazankulu (1989).
Title meaning
- Devoured by vultures. 🪽
Se nta dyiwa hi makoti? — Will I be devoured by vultures?
Khombo ra mina — Oh my troubles.
Ni na khombo manani — Oh my troubles, mother.
A mi swi voni na xaniseka… — Can’t you see I am suffering?
Ni pfumala na mulahli! — I don’t even have anyone one to bury me…
Explaining “Nta dyiwa hi makoti”.
“Nta Dyiwa Hi Makoti” by Khatisa Chavalala is a mother’s cry for her two sons, both named Mkachani, murdered by their wives. The song’s title is a powerful double entendre. In Xitsonga, makoti means both “daughter-in-law” and a vulture. The phrase ku dyiwa hi makoti carries a deeper meaning: to die far from home and be eaten by scavengers — abandoned, without dignity, without a proper burial.
In the song, Khatisa Chavalala, a grieving widow whose husband died under suspicious circumstances, fears for her own fate. She calls out to her late mother in anguish, asking what will happen to her when the gods finally summon her. Will her youngest son’s cruel wife bury her — or leave her body to rot?
Khatisa Chavalala doubts she’ll receive the respect or burial she deserves. Things are that tense, that loveless, in her own home. Her sorrow gives voice to the silent suffering of many mothers — aging, unprotected, and mistreated by the very women they once welcomed into their families.
“Keep exploring, keep learning, and let the language guide you.“
Ahee! 🤗