Arlakan
asked:
About the title of this book: The definition of Akata and how offensive it could be. Essentially it could be similar to having students in Nigeria reading a book titled “(The N Word) Witch”. Now not all dialects/translations carry that negative of a connotation, but if you do a quick google search the comparison of the word Akata to the N word is pretty frequent. Thoughts????
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Akata Witch,
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Gorokh Antin
akata
Contrary to popular opinion among non-Yorubas and some Nigerians or Africans who does not understand this word, akata does not mean coton picker or slave and it is not derogatory.
It means a cat that doesn't live at home like a wild non domesticated cat, this is used to reference mostly African Americans as they are considered Africans by all Africans but the fact that they don't live in Africa make them akata while those of us who live at home can be considered as Ologbo (cat).
It is no different from an African American calling his buddies "cat" , it is just that the Yorubas recognize the fact that this is a cat that isn't at home.
I am Yoruba who also studied Yoruba in high school and have a better understanding of this word than any none Yoruba or Yoruba who have never studied Yoruba as a language.
It is also another word used to identify Africans who have visited America.
On a recent visit back to Nigeria, a friend was asked about the Iraq war and he directed the question to his friend another Nigerian who was visiting home from America.
" why are you asking me that?, ask the akata here , he can answer it"
The Nigerian have also become an akata because he no longer lives at home.
This is a Yoruba word and only a Yoruba can truly know what it means, for more information search online for Yoruba dictionary, then email the Yorubas listed on the contact page for meaning of akata and they may be able to help you further.
by Waheed ALABEDE March 13, 2007
Contrary to popular opinion among non-Yorubas and some Nigerians or Africans who does not understand this word, akata does not mean coton picker or slave and it is not derogatory.
It means a cat that doesn't live at home like a wild non domesticated cat, this is used to reference mostly African Americans as they are considered Africans by all Africans but the fact that they don't live in Africa make them akata while those of us who live at home can be considered as Ologbo (cat).
It is no different from an African American calling his buddies "cat" , it is just that the Yorubas recognize the fact that this is a cat that isn't at home.
I am Yoruba who also studied Yoruba in high school and have a better understanding of this word than any none Yoruba or Yoruba who have never studied Yoruba as a language.
It is also another word used to identify Africans who have visited America.
On a recent visit back to Nigeria, a friend was asked about the Iraq war and he directed the question to his friend another Nigerian who was visiting home from America.
" why are you asking me that?, ask the akata here , he can answer it"
The Nigerian have also become an akata because he no longer lives at home.
This is a Yoruba word and only a Yoruba can truly know what it means, for more information search online for Yoruba dictionary, then email the Yorubas listed on the contact page for meaning of akata and they may be able to help you further.
by Waheed ALABEDE March 13, 2007
Sunshine Jones
I think this is a clear case of why it's so important to read beyond a book's title page. Despite the racial slur in its title, I was required to read Kaffir Boy by Mark Mathabane in high school. I assume the book was selected because whoever designed the curriculum could recognize that the author's intent was not to offend, but rather to honestly depict his experience. In the case of Akata Witch, it is clear from my reading that the author's intent was not to offend Black Americans but rather to honestly portray the difficulty of fitting neatly into poorly demarcated racial/national hierarchies.
But I also think we have no business trying to determine what could or couldn't possibly be offensive to others - that should be up to the reader and if it offends them they are welcome to stop reading.
But I also think we have no business trying to determine what could or couldn't possibly be offensive to others - that should be up to the reader and if it offends them they are welcome to stop reading.
Dominique
The South Africa publisher named it 'What Sunny Saw in the Flames'. Perhaps you could look into purchasing one of those copies? The name of the book, as it stands now, is a reference to how people might view her as a Leopard person. It's like if Harry Potter was named something like 'Mudblood Wizard', but Mudblood was a real swear word.
Summer (speaking_bookish)
This is touched upon specifically in the book.
Rick Presley
I found this helpful: https://youtu.be/tioAhTVPugE
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