Kuwasha (to wash clothes)

Have you ever washed your own clothes by hand? Have you ever washed other people's clothes by hand? Maybe you have, maybe you haven't, but if you're a Zambian woman, you probably have. In Zambia, washing machines are expensive. Electricty is expensive and unreliable, and most people don't have access to it. The same can be said for running water. But who needs a washing machine, anyway! Washing clothes by hand isn't the end of the world! It's part of everyday life.

I learned the local techniques of how "kuchapa" (to wash clothes). My grandmother, who grew up on a farm in the American midwest has also filled me in on the techniques she used. (I'll share some tips at the end.)

Many of you may find the word "kuwasha," which is a synonym for kuchapa, easier to remember. Nyanja by nature is an ever-changing language, borrowing from different languages and evolving its own slang constantly.

Even though I do possess the skill of being able to wash clothes by hand, in Zambia, I liked to take the opportunity to give employment to others by paying them to do my washing. Or, in the case of my younger live-in sister-in-law, convincing her to washa for me. She was way better at it anyway. My whites never got as white and I never wash jeans with as much determination. (Thanks, Misozi! We miss you!)

Here is a Zambian TV ad for hand-washing soap that show's some of the local expertise in chapa-ing.





I am so so SO thankful that we have a washer and dryer in our new apartment in the American midwest! (Back to my roots!) We are very blessed.

That said, as a small family, especially a small family which contains one member who likes to make messes, and is potty training, and uses cloth diapers on a part-time basis, I have actually had the desire to chapa from time to time, not wait for a full load of like-colored laundry to be ready to go into the machine.

Easier said than done! The laundry detergent readily available in the US is only for washing machines, and is harsh on ones hands. Having experienced the wide variety of hand-washing soaps available in Zambia, I recently found American laundry soaps disappointing. In Zambia, we had brands such as Boom, Chik, Bullet, Chapa, Washa, Sunlight, and Omo, that I can come up with on the top of my head. These brands had products ranging from bar soap for clothes, to washing paste to washing powder.

In America, I couldn't find anything like this in the normal grocery stores! Woe was me. Until, who came to the rescue, but noneother than, my local neighborhood... Mexican grocery store!
Behold, Roma! Complete witha beautiful lady washing her clothes in a bucket. And very affordable!

Thanks to Roma, we're back in action, washing the occasional lone stinky cloth diaper or delicate green sweater that shouldn't, for its own sake, go in the washing machine with the white towels. This washing goes on in our secondary bathroom (another blessing).

A little while ago, I had a small kuwasha/kuchapa project soaking in the sink, when I started doing something else in the kitchen. I came back a few minutes later to find Miss Nzinzi Tembo doing some washa-ing herself:



What a helpful girl! And, I'd much rather have her immersed in hand-washing soap than in Tide.

Thanks for reading Nyanja Word of the Week!

Vocabulary:

kuwasha (pronounced "koo WAH shah") = to wash clothes

kuchapa (pronounced "koo CHAH pah") = to wash clothes (synonym)

kuwasha mbale (pronounced "koo-WAH-shah mm-BAH-lay") = to wash dishes

Line from Mathew Tembo song, "Next Year", being said from a wife to her husband, who she is fed up with:
kuwasha washa ni kwako (pronounced "koo-WAH-shah WAH-shah nee KWAH-koh") - washing clothes (all the time) is yours (your job)

ni = is

kwako = yours

("Next Year" and other Mathew Tembo songs can be downloaded from iTunes, Amazon, and other popular downloading sites!)

And last but not least, tips for handwashing:

Tips from Zambian Women:

* Use patience, persistance, and work up your callouses. (I learned this by observation.)

* Always work up a good lather!

* For stains on white cloth diapers (nappies), smear hard-bar washing soap on stains, then hang them up. Once they dry completely, getting the stains out is much easier!

* For stains on jeans, use washing soap with a small scrub brush, like a nail brush.

Tips from my Mother and Grandmother:

* Use REALLY HOT water, and give clothes time to soak.

* Use a washing board!