First English-isiZulu architectural dictionary explains indigenous South African architecture

2017-12-11T14:03:00-05:00

Can you tell the difference between a Brakdak and an Afdak, a Sekwere or a Caka? Do you know your Domba hut from your Zulu one? An Inqolobane from an Indlu yezikhali? Give yourself a pat on the back if you do. Truly, you deserve it. However, don't worry too much if you can't, as there's a new English-isiZulu architectural dictionary, just published by UKZN Press, which contains more than 1200 entries of local architectural terms.

"I set out to study independent vernacular architecture in the 1970s, not realizing that a multitude of readings and meanings would emerge out of it," the book's co-author Franco Frescura, a former Professor and Chair of Architecture at the University of KwaZulu-Natal, tells HuffPost South Africa. "As I explored, many of the people I met taught me how to read various aspects of rural architecture — like where do you locate the kitchen, where do you place the wives in polygamous housing? And then I realized the value of the research."

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First English-isiZulu architectural dictionary explains indigenous South African architecture