gakondocards

11/10/2021

. D U N E O F G A K O N D O .

10/26/2021

Queen Nandi (sweet one), mother of Shaka, the great Zulu emperor and King of the Zulu nation. Nandi was the daughter of Bhebhe (also referred to as Mbengi) Mhlongo and Mfunda.

Nandi and Senzangakhona (Shaka’s estranged father) had earlier engaged in an act of ukuhlobonga (s*x without pe*******on) however it went beyond ukuhlobonga, resulting in pregnancy. When it was announced that she was expecting, a Zulu rep dismissed it claiming she had suffered a stomach disease caused by an intestinal insect, the ishaka beetle.

When the future Zulu king was born, Nandi named her child Shaka to spite the father and the Zulu people. Nandi would intimately refer to Shaka as her umlilwana – little blazing fire.

As a result, Nandi suffered great humiliation, rejection, and disparagement. Women of the eLangeni didn’t waste time in berating her.

“USontanti, Omathanga kahlangani, ahlangani ngokubona umyeni” (the floater, whose thighs are never pressed together, except at sight of a man)

This was made in reference to her failing to practise ukuhlobonga, resulting in the birth of an illegitimate son.

When confronted by animosity, rejection, insults, and humiliation, she still raised Shaka the best way she could. She taught him to never to give up on life, to have strength of will, and to believe in his destiny. She raised him to believe in the power of unity, and in the concept of “We are the same”. Nandi never lost hope in life; she was resilient; she never succumbed to pressure, and she knew her worth. She instilled these values into her son, shaping him into one of the greatest leaders in African history.

Nandi devoted her life to her son and his siblings, protecting them the best she knew how, seeking refuge, and later finding him the best mentor in Dingiswayo.

Nandi also exercised a great deal of influence over affairs of the kingdom, during King Shaka's reign. She was put in charge of military kraals and given power to govern. It is said that Nandi was a force in Shaka’s life, suggesting various political compromises to him rather than encouraging violent action.

10/18/2021

playingcards

10/17/2021

10/17/2021

A closer look at the standard edition back design. Go on for the full info about this weekend once in a lifetime deck of cards that celebrates african heritage.

Find the link in our bio to the Dark continent Deck

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Designed & illustrated by

10/14/2021

A closer look at the explorer edition.
Stay tuned on for the full update. Find link in bio for a pledge to the Dark continent Deck.

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Designed & illustrated by

09/23/2021

The Naming of UMUSENGO and ISINE Editions.

The Kinyarwanda language doesn't have basic terms for colour. Rather, most if not all, colour terms are nouns of objects with a particular colour derived from existing said objects.
Cows, or to be more precise, cow names, fill out the majority of colour names that exist in the Kinyarwanda language today. This is because cows are undoubtedly an impartial pillar in the Rwandan culture. An instance tributing such a unique position in the culture to cows alone, could be observed in what Rwandans considered to be the definition and embodiment of wealth.
In the olden times, any working person aimed to amass all courage and effort into presenting the fruit of their labour personified into a beautifully created masterpiece – a cow.
Cows had more value than land itself. They were not only applied into what now has been, for the most part, limited to dowry, but ceremonial rites in various institutions of the kingdom. The more the cows a person had, the more renown and prestige they possessed.
When it came to colours, the astonishment revealed itself in the diversity of cow coats (skins) which, by right, merited the cows to own colour names themselves alone. Colour terms referred originally to the colour of cows' coat only. But with time they later dissolved into the general naming of ‘colours.’
In our case, the naming of these deck editions drew inspiration and right from cow names. Namely, UMUSENGO and ISINE cows.
umusengo
/umuseengo/
noun
a ‘brown with white spots’ cow

isine
/isiine/
noun
a cow that is ‘greyish’ almost ‘blackish’ in colour.

What other colour or cow names have you heard but are curious about their origins?
What other cow names can you list down? Share in the comments. 


SUGGESTIONS FOR FURTHER READING
Kimenyi, Alexandre. [?] . Cow Metaphors *
Kagame, Alexis. 1963. Les milices du Rwanda pré-colonial. Bruxelles: Mémoirs de l'Académie Royale des Sciences d'Outre-Mer, Classe des Sciences sociales et politiques. T. XXVIII, 3..
Kagame, Alexis. 1969. Les grands genres lyriques de l'Ancien Rwanda. Butare: Editions Universitaires du Rwanda.

08/29/2021

Sunday sunny day + agashabazi tee =

08/25/2021

Inzovu Classic Tee