ANALYSING THE ISIHLONIPHA LANGUAGE AS TO WHETHER IT IS A LANGUAGE

OF RESPECT OF OPPRESSION

Isihlonipha sabafazi is a women’s language of respect which is a subcategory of the hlonipha

culture of some southern Bantu language communities, specifically, the isiXhosa, isiZulu,
isiNdebele and Basotho. The language involves the avoidance and replacement of certain
phonemes occurring in the names of a woman’s male relatives as well as female relatives who
have a sort of male status in society like a mother in-law. As a number of scholars have agreed,
language reflects the social position of women in a society. In many African societies, the
language of men and women differs in terms of use of politeness strategies, (Holmes, 1995). This
essay explores Isihlonipha as to whether it is a language of respect or oppression.

To begin with, it is important to note that most African societies are characterized by respect.
This respect is manifested in various ways. As for the aforementioned tribes, respect is also
manifested linguistically. According to Ntuli (2000), respect among these tribes is held with such
great esteem that children are taught from a tender age to avoid the use of what is regarded
impolite words which when used may be regarded as disrespectful. Respect is expected from
both men and women as well as children and it is shown both verbally and non-verbally. For
instance, it is reported that the heroic Shaka Zulu exhibited the isihlonipha language. Adfter
along travel withgout water, Shakaissaid to have arrived at well-watered place. He wished
toname it amanzi amnandi (fresh or pleasant water). However, his mother’s name was Nandi and
thus out of respect for her, he had to name the place nandi as part of the qualificative. He
therefore replaced nandi with toti and called it amanzimtot. For women as well, their respect is
emphasized on the language use. They have to use the language of avoidance in order to show
respect to men and women of higher status in the society. The language compliments other forms
of respect that they already pay like avoiding contact with their father in-law. Moyo (2018)
however emphasizes that the syllabic avoidance among men is very rare.

The rationale behind the use of Isihlonipha is traditionally to avoid incest (Fandrych, 2012).
Having sex with a relative in the African culture is considered a taboo and sinful. Anyone who
commits this is termed an outcast in some cultures. In other communities, the culprits are killed
and kids born as a result of incest have deformities and can also be killed to conciliate the gods.
It is further believed that sleeping with one’s relative can cause great tragedies upon someone
such as poverty, (Mwangi, 2021). In a quest to do away with such calamities, the use of
Isihlonipha is encouraged to ensure there is distance between male and female relatives. The use
of isihlonipha is there to compliment other forms of respect to male relatives like the father in-
law for example. A woman is not allowed to be close to her father in-law let alone hold a
conversation.

One can arguably say that isihlonipha has also helped maintain the sanity and dignity of women
in the society by not letting them utterobscene words. Men are traditionally accorded a higher
status in the African society. Such being the case, it is only wise and acceptable to avoid
mentioning or using words that would seem to put their sexuality in the open. For example, men
are allowed to refer to the penis as isende while women are encouraged to use euphemised
versions like igwala likababa (father’s cigarette). This is especially because often times, young
children learn their language from their mothers and it would not be culturally and morally
acceptable for the children to mention private parts by their names.

Additionally, sanity has really been maintained in their society through language use, Iishlonipha
in this case to be precise. The sanctions that have been put in place for women who fail to use
Isihlonipha have been quite effective. They have taken away the freedom from women to break
taboos. The feeling of freedom encourages the breakage of taboos. According to Allan and
Burridge (2006), note that breaking a taboo can be a deliberate provocation, thus conveying a
certain feeling of freedom. This is what was evidenced in the early 1930s according to Epprecht
(2010). Due to the economic depression, female migrancy increased drastically. By the early
1930s, the behaviour of some women had become so outlandish and unruly, and the breakdown
of the traditional hlonepho or respect so great, that many Basotho men were confounded in
Lesotho. Women in the camps swore, they shamelessly mocked authority, they even carried
knives and used them. For example, it was reported that a female brewer actually killed a
customer for failing to pay for his beer. Hut burnings, poisonings, stabbings, while often between
female rivals for men’s attention, exacerbated men’s sense of loss of control over their children.
All these abominations to their culture occurred because the customs had weakened to rapid
migration and mixing of various people.

Lastly, as mentioned above, women in the camps openly fought for men’s attention which is
quite a taboo in the African society. Under normal circumstances, as guided by the morals of a
society, men are supposed to propose women, seek the attention of women and not the other way
round. However, weakening of such morals brought chaos like it was in the camps. According to
Cozien (2012), the isihlonipha customs were imposed on women that were sexually active in
order to bridle their sexuality just to maintain sexual purity in the society. Lack of strict rules led
to women disrespecting themselves in the camps to the point swearing openly and fighting for
men.

As expressed above, one can easily see that isihlonipha has really helped to maintain respect and
morality in the Nguni socities through language use. For there to be order, sanity and purity in
the society, there has to be respect for each other. However, the language, apart from enforcing
respect, oppresses women in a number of ways as elaborated below.

The use of isihlonipha seems to place a burden on women. As observed by Zungu (1997),
although women and men hlonipha (show respect), women have a greater load to carry. Women
have to go through a process of careful selection of words and phonemes to use when speaking.
This only shows that women are expected to show more respect than men in the society. Ntuli
(2000) adds that if all forms of respect were put on a measuring scale together, with the people
interacting in it, the end product would undoubtedly fall more on the side of women. The impact
of Isihlonipha is so strong that, with regard to the variety of Sesotho spoken in Lesotho, in many
families, married women are for example, still expected to be silent during family discussions,
celebrations and funerals. Even though there have always been a few exceptions to the rule, for
instance the chieftainess Mantsebo Seeiso who added as regent from 1941 to 1960, the tradition
remains unbalanced (Gill, 1993). This in turn also leads to the conservativeness of women in
gatherings of both genders. Women are reluctant or afraid to speak up in front of men in
workplaces or meetings because of their cultural background which makes the vulnerable in
some type of way.

On top of that, Fandrych (2012) observes that Isihlonipha is a tool that was used to silence
women in the society against any forms of abuse happening to them. He argues that Isihlonipha
may have had a totally different function: due to the “right of first night” of the father in-law, a
woman’s first child was commonly regarded to be his child. This undoubtedly led to a strange
and complicated situation for the young mother. The observation makes Tlali’s quotation
(1977:21) appear in a new light: hlonipha can thus be interpreted as a strategy to prevent the
woman from talking about the incestuous initiation to her new family by depriving her of the
linguistic tools necessary for naming and accusing the perpetrator. For instance, a research on
Sotho-speaking rape/assault victims shows that the restrictions imposed on isihlonipha
vocabulary make it impossible for complainants to describe the act of forced or non-consensual
sex, something which is necessary for police to be able to lay a charge against the accused. This
is not surprising considering that the making of these laws is championed by men themselves.
One can also argue that the breaking of taboo by women in Lesotho was due to the fact that
women had so long been oppressed by men and they wanted to fight for themselves and earn a
status in the society.

Research has also revealed that modern women do not conform to hlonipha out of free will. One
researcher, Fandrych (2019), notes that nowadays most Basotho university students tend to be
critical of what theu perceive as restrictive practices such as hlonipha. They enjoy a considerable
amount of behavioural and linguistic freedom while on campus. Female students tend to live a
double standard life as they have to practice hlonipha back at home during the holidays and
forget it when they are in school.

Lastly, Isihlonipha is oppressive to women in the sense that the worth of a woman in marriage is
tallied to or determined by the proper observance of Isihlonipha. Failure to observe it results in
sanctions. A woman who does not respect her husband as well as in-laws, not only embarrasses
her husband’s family but her family as well (Luthuli, 2007). This places enormous responsibility
on women because the shame will not only be theirs but will also affect others in the extended
family context due to the view that the husband will only be respected by members of the
community if he receives respect from his family (Luthuli, 2007). A woman’s ability to be a
good wife cannot be judged by her use of a language. Moreover, women are not given adequate
time to learn the language. There are a lot of other qualities a woman has as a wife but all these
are overlooked to appoint that she is sent back to her home or referred to a goat if she fails to use
Isihlonipha.

Respect through avoidance is still common many Bantu societies although it is on the decline in
the urban and professional communities. Clearly, education and economic independence
empower women-a development which has been observed with regard to many other gender
related inequalities and injustices. Much as the language is a cultural enrichment element, it
should be realized that it comes at the expense of the freedom and liberty of women. Language
should be a vessel for voicing out injustices for women and not the other way round. In a world
that is male dominated, only language can help women speak and maintain their status in the
society as well as enjoy equal rights.

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