tshwala, noun

Forms:
α. chali, chaloaShow more chali, chaloa, chuala, chuallah, chullah, chwala, joila, jowalla, jwarlar, schwala, tjaloa, tjoalla, tjwala, tschwala, tshwala, tswala, twala twyala, twala ’twyala, tyalla, tyalli, tywala twyala, tywala ’twyala;
β. itywala, outchuallaShow more itywala, outchualla, outchuella, utshuala, utshwala, uTyala, utyala, utyalla, utyalwa, utywala.
Origin:
IsiZulu, IsiXhosa, SothoShow more IsiZulu utshwala, isiXhosa utywala (formerly utyalwa); however, in some quotations the writers may be using the Sotho synonyms (see joala).
a. i. A thick home-brewed beer made traditionally among African people from fermented sorghum millet and water; any commercially-prepared equivalent; African beer, see African adjective1 sense 2 b; bojalwa sense 2 a; ijuba sense b; jabula; jabulani sense b; joala; mtombo sense 1 b; ndambula; sorghum beer, see sorghum sense 2. See also leting, mabela, umqombothi. ii. A similar beer made of maize; cf. mahewu, maiza. In these senses also called Bantu beer or kaffir beer (sense a), both of which are offensive, and KB.
α.
1803 J.T. Van der Kemp in Trans. of Missionary Soc. I. 438The Caffree corn is, as I think, a kind of millet, but grows from seven to ten feet high...The corn..is eaten boiled..; they likewise malt it, after which it is boiled, and the decoction fermented. This drink they call tjaloa.
1834 T. Pringle Afr. Sketches 509Of the millet beer or ale the Caffers have two kinds, the common sort termed chaloa, and the stronger inguya. The millet (Sorghum) is first carefully malted, afterwards boiled in large earthern pots, and then regularly fermented.
1835 G. Champion in J. Bird Annals of Natal (1888) I. 206The twyala, or common beer of the country, made from Kafir corn, or Indian corn, fermented in water, is brought to the king daily.
1855 G.H. Mason Life with Zulus 153I found them sitting under the shade of their craals or of mimosa bushes, taking snuff, drinking ‘Joila’ (Caffre beer), or smoking the root of a species of wild hemp that grows in great profusion all over the colony.
1860 D.L.W. Stainbank Diary. (Killie Campbell Africana Library KCM8680) 19 JulyI saw Masingua and drank some ‘Schwala’ for the first time — being very thirsty. I liked it very much.
1862 J.S. Dobie S. Afr. Jrnl (1945) 21A gourd full of sour drink called ‘jowalla’.
1870 A.F. Lindley After Ophir 306Shimyan and jwarlar were produced for our consumption.
1897 F.W. Sykes With Plumer in Matabeleland 256Laden with offerings of grain, Kaffir beer (tshwala), freshly killed meat, and other useful produce, the credulous natives approach the mystic site.
1899 G.H. Russell Under Sjambok 240The man of this land can also abide here, eat my food, and drink my chuala, but I do not say that he is welcome.
1930 S.T. Plaatje Mhudi (1975) 46The tshwala..is brewed with the grain from Tsauana’s corn-bins.
1941 in A.M. Duggan-Cronin Bantu Tribes III. Pl.150Tshwala, beer, the favourite food of the Swazi, takes over a week to make, and goes through many complicated stages.
1952 H. Klein Land of Silver Mist 75I called my young men. They were full with ’twyala and knew not what they were doing.
1972 S. Afr. Panorama Nov. 36‘Tshwala’, the beer brewed by the Bantu, is more than a mere social drink. The traditional village brew is extremely nutritious and is considered a national foodstuff.
1976 A. Delius Border 183‘This beer, this tyalli,’ he cries, holding up half a calabash full.
1981 Voice 18 Feb. 2The amount of tshwala guzzled during the Xmas periods..could fill the Vaal Dam.
1990 Fair Lady 28 Mar. 138Twala. It’s the stuff they give to black mineworkers. A kind of non-alcoholic beer, rich in vitamin B.
1990 R. Malan My Traitor’s Heart 227Someone would press a bowl of bitter tshwala beer into my hands.
1994 M. Roberts tr. of J.A. Wahlberg’s Trav. Jrnls 1838–56 50In the evening they drank Tjoalla (Kaffer drink, intoxicating).
β.
1836 A.F. Gardiner Journey to Zoolu Country 30A large bowl of outchualla (native beer) was sent to my hut by order of Dingaan.
1839 W.C. Harris Wild Sports 133A whole calabash of the native malt liquor. This detestable beverage, which is denominated outchualla, is of a whitish colour, frothy, and produced from fermented Kafir corn.
1850 J.E. Methley New Col. of Port Natal 77They..offered us outchuella, or native beer, a white liquid of acid taste, extracted from Kaffir corn, and fermented, of which they are very fond, and not unfrequently get intoxicated upon it.
1852 C. Barter Dorp & Veld 217 (Pettman)Utshuala, a fermented liquor made from the grain of the amabele, or Kaffir-corn.
1855 J.W. Colenso Ten Weeks in Natal 103Two large pots of uTyala were then brought in...It is a sort of beer, made of millet or Indian corn — looks like yeast, and tastes like a mixture of yeast and cider.
1855 R.B. Struthers Hunting Jrnl (1991) 90My hunters had..been..shooting game and drinking Itywala (beer) and abusing the people.
1860 W. Shaw Story of my Mission 458About harvest time..there is a supply of fresh corn to make fermented liquor called utyalwa, (kaffir beer).
1866 W.C. Holden Past & Future 278Drinking utyalla or beer..being rather reserved for..festival occasions, than used as a common every-day beverage...Utyalla is made from the amabele or Kaffir Corn; and being long boiled in large beer-making pots, inbeza, and subjected to fermentation, it becomes intoxicating, acquires a sour taste, and is much liked by the people.
1878 T.J. Lucas Camp Life & Sport 103The Zulus make a kind of beer called ‘outchualla,’ which is strong and not unpalatable. This is prepared by the women, who make quite a secret of the process.
1909 N. Paul Child in Midst 198The women fill huge gourds with utywala or Kafir beer.
1935 R.S. Godley Khaki & Blue 113The amount of alcohol contained in ‘utywala’ is very small.
1955 J.B. Shephard Land of Tikoloshe 110Utywala, the other kind of Kaffir beer, is also a nourishing food but, because it is made with grain which has sprouted, it is much more potent than Marewu.
1962 A.J. Luthuli Let my People Go 57I myself encouraged the healthy brewing of utshwala, corn beer.
1967 S.M.A. Lowe Hungry Veld 145Ukhambas of utywala (native beer) were handed round.
1979 M. Matshoba Call Me Not a Man 153She bears the children and brings them up while you drink utshwala and sleep with concubines.
1986 P.A. McAllister Xhosa Beer Drinks. 41Apart from the common utywala (Xhosa), utshwala (Zulu) or bjalwa (Sotho), made in earlier times almost exclusively from sorghum but nowadays mainly from maize, a variety of similar but non-alcoholic beverages were made.
1988 P. Du Plooy Informant, Pietermaritzburg, KwaZulu-NatalThe origins of shebeens lie in the gathering of men at the homestead to drink utshwala brewed by women.
b. rare. Loosely, any liquor; bojalwa sense 2 b; also called Bantu beer (offensive), KB.
α.
1962 J. Taylor Tsotsi Style’. (lyrics)Me busy making money mighty fast, Selling the white man’s tshwala.
1964 G. Gordon Four People 109What would you do, if you were a Native like us? How would you get your tywala?
β.
1945 F.C. Slater New Centenary Bk of S. Afr. Verse 230Utywala, Xhosa for Kaffir beer; the term is also applied to spirits.
A thick home-brewed beer made traditionally among African people from fermented sorghum millet and water; any commercially-prepared equivalent; African beer, see African adjective1 sense 2 b; bojalwa sense 2 a; ijuba sense b; jabula; jabulani sense b; joala; mtombo sense 1 b; ndambula; sorghum beer, see sorghum sense 2.
A similar beer made of maize; cf. mahewu, maiza. In these senses also called Bantu beer or kaffir beer (sense a), both of which are offensive, and KB.
Loosely, any liquor; bojalwa sense 2 b; also called Bantu beer (offensive), KB.
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18031994