Magou = a non-alcoholic home-brewed drink made of thin, slightly fermented maize-meal porridge, often with wheat flour added
Kwedini = young African (esp. Xhosa) boy (who hasn’t gone through the coming-of-age rite)
Makoti = a bride; a newly-wed woman
From Carmen: The following words do not appear in the OED either, but I couldn’t help writing about them (this is my chance to relate my interest in rituals with my husband’s interest in words).
Abakwetha = a coming-of-age rite of passage (an initiation ceremony for boys, which includes circumcision)
Incibi = the man who performs the circumcision
Umguyo = the all-night party before the initiation ceremony
Thwasa = a medium/ shaman; a person who can talk to the ancestors’ spirits (called izinyanya)
Ukuthwasa = the initiation ritual of a thwasa
Inkenqe = supernatural powers
Igqwira = a bad witchdoctor
Igqira = a good witchdoctor
