Noises

Malawians don’t wear their emotions on their sleeves (or whatever the expression is). They let you know loud and clear how they feel with sounds. I have compiled a short list of my favorites and I must say that I have started using these as well. I can’t help but wonder how these will be received when I come back home.

Odie – This is used to let someone know you are at their house. We don’t knock here. Well, actually I have conditioned my neighbors to knock on my door because I refuse to answer an “odie”. They are pretty okay with me changing things up.

ooooOOOOOoooooo – This sound is the sound of realization. (When the “o” gets bigger, that means the voice goes up an octave and gets louder). It’s acknowledging that something is understood, loud and clear.

An example of its use: When you tell your neighbor the reason you are sweating so much is because you have been waiting on the side of the road for three hours waiting for transport, but there is none because there is a fuel crisis: “ooooOOOOOOooooooo”

Eeee – This sound is almost a shriek and always has the same pitch, no matter who uses it. If you closed your eyes in a room full of Malawians and one made this sound, you could easily think that anyone of them made it. It’s funniest when a man uses it. It is used when something is shocking or if someone feels sorry for you.

An example of its use: You tell your neighbor you paid 2500 Malawian Kwacha for a charcoal stove when it should have been 400 Malawian Kwacha: “Eeeeeeeee!”

Ah-ah – This is the sound of astonishment or disgust. It’s a short “ah” and”ah” and it’s used as a “oh no you didn’t!” sort of a response.

An example of its use: Your neighbor tells you to go take a bathe (okay, this is a very personal example) and you show her the bottom of your foot to tell her it’s not that dirty, but oh wait, it’s very dirty indeed: “ah-ah!”

Ahahahahaha eeeeeeeee – This is my favorite. This is typically used by a group of women who are chatting and they use it in unison. One of them says something hilarious and then everyone laughs heartily and ends with the “eeeee” at the end, as if to sigh after all that hearty laughter.

Example of its use: The crazy foreigner came over to the house to chat, but obviously doesn’t know Chitonga well enough to make a significant contribution to the conversation so she straps your newborn on her back and starts dancing around the compound. You say something to the others in Chitonga…something to the effect of ‘She is such a weirdo’:  everyone in unison responds, “ahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha eeeeeeeeeeeeeee”