shimiyana, noun

/ʃɪmiˈjɑːn(ə)/
Forms:
isishimyana, isishishimeyaneShow more Also isishimyana, isishishimeyane, isityimiyana, shimayane, shimeya, shimeyana, shimiaan, shimyaan, shimyan, shimyane, simelane, sishimeyana.
Origin:
IsiZulu, EnglishShow more IsiZulu isishimeyana, intoxicating drink made from sugar-cane or treacle; A.T. Bryant (Zulu-English Dictionary, 1905) suggests that the isiZulu word is an adaptation of English machine; but see also quotation 1948.
Especially in KwaZulu-Natal: a home-brewed liquor of sugar (or treacle) and water, fermented in the sun. Cf. mbamba.
1870 A.F. Lindley After Ophir 306Shimyan and jwarlar were produced for our consumption, and we were invited to witness the usual dancing performances at the kraal after dark.
1891 Natal Code of Native Law 19 of 1891 (Swart)Isityimiyana, An intoxicating liquor made of treacle or sugar mixed with water.
1900 J. Robinson Life Time in S. Afr. 307‘Shimyaan’, a concoction of treacle and water allowed to ferment in the sun. This beverage was maddening in its effects, and the parent of much crime.
1906 H.C. Campbell et al. Col. of Natal Native Affairs Commission 1906–7 25The use of Isityimiyana was not very prevalent in Durban, but a great deal of methylated spirits was drunk by natives.
1948 E. Hellmann Rooiyard 48Babaton comes first in popularity, with shimeya or shimeyani as close second. Isiqataviki (kill-me-quick) is made to a much lesser degree...Isishishimeyane, now usually contracted to shimeya, was first concocted by the workers in sugar cane fields. Its name is popularly conceived to be onomatopoeic, suggesting the swaying gait of an intoxicated man.
1949 L. Hunter Afr. Dawn 12There, our sons learn to drink isishimiyana, which enters their brains like a maggot, making reasonable people act like madmen.
1961 T. Matshikiza Choc. for my Wife 76They plug you cockfull of Shimiyana. Some randy home brew mixed with brandy.
1963 L.F. Freed Crime in S. Afr. 204Another kind of poison drink used by Natives is known as ‘gabeen’, and, like ‘skokiaan and shimyane’, predisposes to crime.
1967 O. Walker Hippo Poacher 25Tom sat down while they shared a big clay pot full of sishimeyana, a very potent drink made from sugar cane.
1980 D.B. Coplan Urbanization of African Performing Arts. 203Noxious chemical mixtures such as babaton, ’skomfana, shimiyane, skokiaan, and isikilimikwiki (‘kill me quick’), and commercial European liquors.
1986 P. Maylam Hist. of Afr. People 150Insanitary shacks, sheds and back-yards, where women sold beer or more potent alcohol such as methylated spirits and isitshimiyane to African workers.
1989 O. Musi in Drum Apr. 36Shimeyane (that was their version of barberton).
a home-brewed liquor of sugar (or treacle) and water, fermented in the sun.
Entry Navigation

Visualise Quotations

Quotation summary

Senses

18701989

Browse Related Words

By Category

Alcoholic Drinks

By Origin

IsiZulu
English
shibobo, verbv.ship, nounn.
Copyright © 2025 Dictionary Unit for South African English