Eat These Words

“Okay, let’s eat the front.” Mu ci-gaba. This is a phrase we hear very often in our new language, which means “let’s begin/proceed/go forward.” Learning this early was good preparation for discovering that in the “Casa” language the words for eating and drinking are often used in dramatic metaphors. The winner at something is the “one who eats.” To win is “to eat victory.” If you had a most excellent time, you “ate the world.” So, what do you think “eating money” is? (this is also expressed as “killing money”) But don’t accept a bribe, or you’ll be said to have “eaten your nose!”

Some kids eating and about to "drink laughter"

Likewise, drinking is used in interesting, animated ways. First, there are things that might be in a semi-liquid form which you could imbibe, like you always “drink medicine,” “drink candy,” “drink porridge,” and even “drink air” (or what I would consider the opposite when you “drink cigarettes”). But you also “drink” when you experience a lot of something, like when you “drink suffering,” “drink a chat” by having a good long conversation, or bust a real move while you “drink dancing.” While these examples might not make you sha dariya (drink laughter) all the way until your sides hurt, it’s still fun to imagine doing some of these things so fully that you eat it or drink it!