South African Afrikaans’ Peace Poetry
Peace poetry can save a life and language and travel can save the brain.
Afrikaans of South Africa, Africa
Afrikaans an Indo-European Language
of Germanic, West, Low Saxon-Low
Franconian, Low Franconian origin
similar to Dutch
and spoken in Namibia and South Africa
Peace in Afrikaans
“Vrede” the same word in Dutch means peace and inner peace
Vreugde is peace as is “Vreedsaamheid”
“Sekerheid” and “Doodskiet” mean calm
as does “Gerus”
“Gemoedsrus” is peace of mind
where “Gemoed” is heart
and “rus” is another way to peace
calm and tranquility
so peace of mind
is really calm of the heart
Similar to its English neighbor “Harmonie”
is peace and harmony
“Kalm” is calm and tranquil
And there are more ways
to peace and calm
“Kalmeer” (calm), “Kalmte” (peace),
“Pouse” (calm, tranquility),
“Rus” (calm, tranquility)
“Rustigheid” (peace)
“Sekerheid” (calm)
“Slag” (calm)
“Stilstand (calm, tranquility)
“Stilte” (peace)
“Veiligheid” (peace)
“Verneder” (calm)
“Verslaan” (calm)
“Vreedsaamheid” (peace)
Peace on earth is “Vrede op aarde”
“Wêreldvrede” pronounced [ˈveə̯ɾəltfɾeə̯də]
is world peace
while “Siel rustigheid” is peace in your soul
and “Mag Vrede Seëvier Op Aarde”
may peace prevail on earth
The worth attributes of love, joy, peace
forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness
gentleness, and self-control
are “Liefde, blydskap, vrede
geduld, sagte omgee, goedheid, vertroue
nederigheid en selfbeheersing”
Afrikaans Kindness Chiasm
If Galatians 5:22–23 were a chiasm
or had a Chiastic structure ABCDEDCBA
kindness, gentleness or
friendliness “vriendelikheid” would be at the center
love “liefde” and self-control
or temperance “selfbeheersing” would be related
as would be joy “blydskap”
and meekness or gentleness “sagmoedigheid”
peace “vrede” and faithfulness “getrouheid”
patience or longsuffering “lankmoedigheid”
and goodness “goedheid”
or in a different translation “vreugde” (joy)
Galatians 5:22–23
Galatians 5:22 Maar die vrug wat die Gees voortbring, is: liefde (love), vreugde (joy), vrede (peace), geduld (forbearance), vriendelikheid (kindness), goedheid (goodness), getrouheid (faithfulness), 23 sagmoedigheid (gentleness) en selfbeheersing (self-control). Teen sulke dinge is daar nie ’n wet nie.”
Die Boodskap (DB Bible): Galatians (Galasiërs) 5:22 Net soos ’n boom wat ’n baie goeie vrug oplewer, wys hierdie mense se lewe dat hulle aan God behoort. Sulke mense gee baie om vir ander. Hulle lewe is vol vreugde. Die vrede wat van God af kom (peace, literally the peace that comes from God), ken en ervaar hulle. Hulle verdra ander mense sonder om ooit lelik met hulle te wees. Hulle straal vriendelikheid en warmte uit; daarom wil ander graag in hulle teenwoordigheid wees. Hulle doen goeie dinge vir ander mense. Ander kan altyd op hulle reken omdat hulle self deur dik en dun op God vertrou. Hulle is vol deernis en ontferming. Die Gees stel hulle in staat om hulleself goed te beheer sodat sonde nooit hoogty in hulle lewe vier nie. 23 Natuurlik is die wet nie gekant teen so ’n leefwyse nie.
Here is how Google translate shows these verses:
Galatians 5:22 Just like a tree that produces very good fruit, these people’s lives show that they belong to God.
Love: Such people care deeply about others.
Joy: Their lives are full of joy.
Peace: They know and experience the peace that comes from God.
Foreberance: They tolerate other people without ever being ugly with them.
Kindness: They radiate kindness and warmth; therefore others want to be in their presence.
Goodness: They do good things for other people.
Faithfulness: Others can always count on them because they trust in God through thick and thin.
Gentleness: They are full of compassion and compassion.
Self-Control: The Spirit enables them to control themselves well so that sin never celebrates high in their lives.
23 Of course, the law is not opposed to such a way of life. *Notice the use of third person (these people, such people, they)
Peace is a South African Town
“Vrede” is a South African town
60 km south of Standerton
216 km south-east of Johannesburg
founded on the farm Krynauwslust in 1863
proclaimed a town 16 years later
“Vrede” is peace in Afrikaans
one of 11 offical South African languages
the name stuck to the town
afrter the settlement of a dispute
over the proposed site of the town
Vredefort another South African town
15 km south-west of Parys
76 km north-north-east of Kroonstad
laid out on the farm Vischgat in 1876
proclaimed 5 years later
called Vredefort or Fort of Peace
“Vredenburg” formerly known
as “Procesfontein” or lawsuit fountain
165 km north-north-west of Cape Town
11 km north-north-east of Saldanha
given the name Town of Peace in 1875
“Vrede” is also peace in Dutch”
Peaceful Resistance for Human Rights in South Africa
Peaceful resistance in South African languages
Afrikaans: vreedsame verset or vreedsame weerstand
IsiZulu: ukuphikisa okunokuthula
IsiXhosa: uqhankqalazo olunocwangco
Siswati: kwala ngekuthula or kwencaba ngekuthula
IsiNdebele: ukunghanghabala ngokuthula
Setswana: gana — ka — kagiso
Sepedi: twantšho ya go ba le khutšo
Sesotho: ho hanana ka kgotso
Tshivenḓa: mugwalabo wa mulalo
Xitsonga: nsihalalonkamadzolonga
Most South Africans can speak more
than one language.
constitution of South Africa names
eleven official languages
official languages of the Republic
Northern Sotho/Sepedi (9.4% of population) say peace “Khutšo”
Sesotho (7.9%) “Kgotso” (peace)
Setswana, Tswana (8.2%) “Kagiso” (peace)
siSwati, Swati “Lucolo” (peace) or “Kuthula” (peace)
Tshivenda, Venda “Mulalo” (peace)
Xitsonga, Tsonga (4.4%) “Kurhula” (peace)
Afrikaans (13.3%) “Vrede” (peace)
English (8.2%) “Peace” (peace)
isiNdebele, Ndebele “Ukuthula” (peace),
“Nokuthula” (peace), “Ngokuthula” (peace),
“Kuthula” (peace) the root, “Thula” means quiet/calm.)
isiXhosa, Xhosa (17.6%) “Uxolo” (peace), “Zoxolo” (peace)
isiZulu, Zulu (23.8%) “Ukuthula” (peace, silence, calmness),
“Thula” (quiet, calm), “Nokuthula” (peace), “Ngokuthula” (peace),
“Kuthula” (peace), “Ukuba nokuthula” (peace of mind)
South Africa Places of Peace
Ekurhuleni also known as the East Rand
from Tsonga “”place of peace””
Liefde en Vrede
suburb of Johannesburg, Gauteng
from Afrikaans “vrede”
Vrede, Free State
Vrededorp, suburb of Johannesburg, Gauteng
Vredefort, Free State
Vredehoek, suburb of Cape Town, Western Cape
Vredekloof, suburb of Cape Town, Western Cape
Vredelust, suburb of Cape Town, Western Cape
Vredenburg, Western Cape
Vredendal, Western Cape
Vredepark, suburb of Johannesburg, Gauteng
Weltevredenpark, suburb of Roodepoort, Gauteng
Peace Haven, suburb of Randfontein, Gauteng
Peace Heights, suburb of Sebokeng, Gauteng
Peacehaven, suburb of Pietermaritzburg, KwaZulu-Natal
Peacehaven, suburb of Vereeniging, Gauteng
Peacevale, suburb of Durban, KwaZulu-Natal
Salem, Eastern Cape from peace in Arabic
Salem, suburb of Hillcrest, Durban, KwaZulu-Natal
Afrikaans Onomatopoeia
‘n Harde knal (a loud bang)
Die hond blaf (the dog barks)
Die sweep klap (the whip cracks)
Die hond knor (the dog growls)
Die rivier bruis (the sound a river makes)
Die kat miaau (the cat meows)
Die leeu brul (the lion roars)
‘n Aap blaf (babbel) (a monkey barks (babbles)
‘n Akkedis piep (a lizard squeaks)
‘n Beer brom (a bear growls)
‘n Bobbejaan blaf (a baboon barks)
‘n Bosbok blaf (a bushbuck barks)
‘n Olifant trompetter (an elephant trumpet)
‘n Padda kwaak (a frog croaks)
‘n Renoster snork (a rhino snores)
Originally Published in Peace Poetry Dictionary, The Meaning of Peace and Calm in 5000 Languages on December 13, 2020.
