abalumbi, plural noun

Forms:
Also abberlomba, and with initial capital.
Origin:
IsiZuluShow more IsiZulu, ‘wonder-workers, magicians’, plural prefix aba- + -lumbi one who does wonders, from lumba do wonders.
A term (formerly) used by black people of whites, alluding to their technological and scientific achievements.
1887 A.A. Anderson 25 Yrs in Waggon II. 144The natives state the gold was worked and the forts built by the white men that once occupied this country, whom they called Abberlomba (men who made everything).
1956 A. Sampson Drum 156There is a large vocabulary of African words to describe Europeans, including abalumbi (magicians), izinjada (wildcats), and the Zulu phrase abandlebe zikhanya ilanga, meaning ‘those whose ears reflect the sunlight.’
1962 M. Brandel-Syrier Black Woman 128The God of the Europeans is the new great witchdoctor, more potent, knowledgeable and accessible..than the old Gods; the God from whom, no doubt, Europeans derive their ‘strength’...One of the words for Europeans is Abalumbi (magicians).
A term (formerly) used by black people of whites, alluding to their technological and scientific achievements.
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18871962