Pole

Pole

I’m sure that most of you read the word “pole” (the title of this post) like you would read “flag pole” or “straw poll.” In Tanzania this word is not a noun, it is an important greeting.

First here is how you pronounce it, you put an “ay” at the end of it, so basically you pronounce the “e” at the end. POH-lay.

Here are some of the situations in which you might find yourself using such a word:

You’re walking along in the village and you come across a woman out working in her garden. You say “pole,” and she says “asante” or thank you.

You might be helping someone to lift something heavy and you might say to them (or they might say to you) “pole.” The response is always “asante” or “asante sana” (thank you very much.)

You might be attending a funeral and you want to say something to the widow of the one who has passed away, you would shake her hand and say “pole.”

If someone sneezes … pole.

If someone loses or drops something … pole.

In the first example the word means “take it easy,” in the second it means “gently,” in the third it means “my sympathies,” it can also mean “feel better” or “I’m sorry.”

If you want to use this greeting for a whole group of people you say “poleni” pronounced, poh-LAY-nee.
You can also say “pole sana,” which is like putting a “very” behind the word. You can also say “pole pole” which means “slow” or “slow down.”

Then if you want to get really complex you can learn the tribal language versions of this word. In Kichagga there are three ways to say “pole”:

• kwasha mbe (for men) or kwasha ma (for women) – meaning “what’s up?”
• koloilya mbe (for men) or koloilya ma (for women) – If someone is working hard this means “take it easy.”
• kutire mbe (for men) or kutire ma (for women) – meaning “my sympathies.”

Now, most of you will probably never have any reason to learn these words or know what they mean. So the reason I write about it is that I would love for you to know is how important the sentiment behind the word is. This, I think, tells us something about the heart of our Tanzanian brothers and sisters.

At first I thought this was just a “catch all” word that had no meaning. I have since learned that at the heart of this word is telling a person “I care for you.”

I was teaching a class with the women’s group. I was asking them to tell me how they might respond to a friend who came to their home needing to talk about a difficult situation. The first person to raise their hand said “I would first say pole.” I sort of blew her off (because I hear this word ALL THE TIME.) Then I guess I listened to all of the other people’s responses with more attention. When I was ready to move on that first woman came back to me and said, “I want you to know how important that word ‘pole’ is in our culture. It is a way of telling that person that we are connected, that we exist in this world together.”

There is an African word “Ubuntu,” it was used as the theme for an ELCA national youth gathering a few years ago – it means “I am because we are.” It is a way of saying that we are all connected, our village, our homes, our families, our children belong to everyone. We survive because we are connected. That we exist at all is because of each other. I haven’t confirmed it with anyone who actually knows, but I suspect this is the deep meaning behind the word “pole” too.

“Pole” is my new favorite Swahili word.

The other day I sneezed and John said “pole.” I responded by saying “asante sana.” I know it’s only three words, but I like to think its proof that John and I can carry on a conversation in Swahili. I’m sure you’re all very impressed.