maas, amasi, noun

/mɑːs//əˈmɑːsi//aˈmaːsi/
Forms:
amaas, amaazShow more Also amaas, amaaz, amarsa, amas, masi, mazee.
Origin:
IsiZulu, isiXhosa, English, AfrikaansShow more IsiZulu and isiXhosa amasi. The form maas may have come into English via Afrikaans, and is considered more colloquial than ‘amasi’.
1. Thickened curdled milk; sack-milk; sour milk; thick milk.
Note:
A traditional staple food among the Black peoples of southern Africa. While similar in taste and appearance to yoghurt, maas is allowed to ferment and curdle naturally, rather than by the addition of bacteria. See also calabash milk (calabash sense 2), milk-sack (milk sense 1).
1809 R. Collins in G.M. Theal Rec. of Cape Col. (1900) VII. 58We passed through several villages, at one of which we stopped to procure mazee, or curdled milk.
1833 S. Kay Trav. & Researches 121Their general diet extremely simple. This ordinarily consists of milk, which..they invariably use in a sour curdled state. It is called amaaz, and rendered thus thick and acidulous by being kept in leathern sacks or bottles.
1855 G.H. Mason Life with Zulus 224He bade his wife fetch..Amarsa (a delicious Caffre beverage made of fermented milk).
1857 W.H.I. Bleek in Cape Monthly Mag. I. May 289Another peculiar custom among the Zulus and kindred tribes is, that the men are not allowed to drink any amasi or thick sour milk from a kraal of which they may think of courting a girl; or, more strictly speaking, they are not allowed to pay their addresses to a girl belonging to a kraal from which they may have drunk amasi.
1882 W.R. Ludlow Zululand & Cetewayo 73Maas, which is the chief food of the Zulus, where there are large herds of cattle, is most delicious and nourishing food.
1882 W.R. Ludlow Zululand & Cetewayo 73Corn maas is made from the Kaffir corn, or millet.
1887 J.W. Matthews Incwadi Yami 506Here we rested..during the intense heat, refreshing ourselves with cool delicious ‘amasi’ (sour milk), which we were fortunate enough to procure from the natives.
1905 R. Plant Zulu in Three Tenses 14His father would offer him a spoonful of what he was eating, probably Amasi, curded milk.
1949 E. Hellmann Handbk on Race Rel. 182Amasi, or curdled milk, was a plentiful source of proteins and fat soluble vitamins to supplement an otherwise starchy diet.
1953 R. Campbell Mamba’s Precipice 24They solidified the milk in calabashes and called it Maas.
1967 E.M. Slatter My Leaves Are Green 77The men brought in a couple of reed-mats for sleeping, and two clay pots filled with ‘amasi’ (sour milk) and mealie-meal.
1978 A. Elliott Sons of Zulu 111Most of the taboos of the kraals are tied to rules which necessitate an abstention from taking of sour milk or amasi.
1981 Daily Dispatch 19 June 3Mr Mama said he had been perturbed to see Xhosa words like ‘amasi’ being changed to ‘maas’, ‘amarhewa’ spelt ‘amahewu’ by advertisers.
1989 Pace Dec. 21 (advt)Delicious, thick, pure, creamy, home-made Maas. Introducing new Nestlé Make-it-Yourself Maas. Made from real milk to give you all the taste of traditional, creamy homemade maas.
2. combination
amasi bird, see quotation.
1987 M. Mahlaba in Weekly Mail 12 June 23The motif used to illustrate this is a bird-creature called the Amasi Bird which, in African mythology, was supposed to supply rivers of curdled milk.
Thickened curdled milk; sack-milk; sour milk; thick milk.
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18091989

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amasi bird

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IsiZulu
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maar, conjunctionconj. & adverbadv.maasbanker, nounn.
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