| Sauti Kutoka Nje | A plea from outside |
| 1. Hodi hodi enyi ndani. | Hello, hello there, oh you people inside |
| Nifungulie ni’ngie; | Open up for me, that I may come in |
| Nipate joto la ndani | Let me warm myself with the warmth inside |
| Baridi inipungue | So I may be less cold (lit. so the cold may diminish from me |
| 2. Hodi hodi enyi ndani | Hello, hello, oh you inside |
| Nje baridi imezidi | The cold outside is too much (to bear). |
| Nnatetemeka mwilini | I am shivering all over my body |
| Natafunwa na baridi. | I am gnawed at by the cold. |
| 3. Hodi hodi enyi ndani | Hello, hello, oh you inside |
| Mimi ni mtu mwenzenu | I am your fellow human being |
| Si mnyama wa porini | I am no wild animal |
| Nisaidie mwenzenu | Help me, your companion |
| 4. Hodi hodi enyi ndani | Hello, hello, oh you inside |
| Nina mwili kama nyie; | I have a body like you; |
| Mwili wangu si wa nyani | It’s not a baboon’s. |
| Ninaishi kama nyie | I exist just like you. |
| 5. Hodi hodi enyi ndani | Hello, hello, oh you inside |
| Mbona hamn’fungulii? | How come you don’t open up for me? |
| Hamtaki nije ndani | Why you don’t want me to come in |
| Au hamnisikii? | Or do you not hear me? |
| 6. Hodi hodi enyi watu | Hello, hello, oh you inside |
| Mtu baridi yanila | The cold consumes me, a human being. |
| Nanyi mwakaa kimya tu | And you remain quiet just the same |
| Utu gani, lahaula! | What kind of humanity (is this), Oh God! |
Summary
While ostensibly a plea to be allowed into a warm house to be sheltered from the cold, the author’s voice is raised to beg for inclusion of all peoples in the benefits of the newly independent country of Tanzania in its efforts to create a more just society through ujamaa. At another level it’s an appeal for basic human companionship and community. Life without community is cold and lifeless whereas warmth and security come only from one’s fellow human beings.
Glossary
| enyi | [pro.] | Ooh you (pl.); see ewe! (TJH). You there! I say you! (for ee nyinyi!) (FJ). Hodi hodi enyi ndani, Hello, hello there, oh you people inside (M&K-SKN1). |
| fungulia | [v. appl.] | Open up for, open for (TJH). See -fungua open, etc. (FJ). Hodi hodi enyi ndani, Nifungulie ni’ngie; Hello, hello there, oh you people inside, open up for me that I may come in (M&K-SKN1). |
| lahaula | [intr.] | 1. blasphemy. Kila lahaula hufuatwa na adhabu ya mungu, every blasphemy is followed by God’s punishment. 2. as an expletive; Well I never! What next! Also used on hearing a person blaspheme or use unseemly words (< Arabic …. an abbreviation of ‘there is no power nor strength but in God’, etc.) (FJ). Tamko la kuonyesha mshangao (KKS). Utu gani, lahaula! What kind of humanity (is this), Oh God! (M&K-SKN6). |
| nyani | [n. 9/10 an.] | Baboon (FJ). Nina mwili kama nyie, Mwili wangu si wa nyani; I have a body like you, it’s not a baboon’s (M&K-SKN4). |
| zidi | [v. i.] | Be too much, be excessive, get worse (neg. context) (TJH). 1. become more (greater, larger, taller, longer, etc.), grow, increase, multiply, be more and more… 2. be the greater, have more power (than), outstrip, gain on (in a race), be superior (to)… 3. get the better of, beat, overwhelm, reduce to straits, e.g. kazi imenizidi sana, the work has become too much for me, is too much for me … (FJ). Nje baridi imezidi, The cold outside has gotten worse (M&K-SKN2). |