wanga

English

Noun

wanga (plural wangas or wanga)

1. (voodoo) A magic spell or charm.
   • 1953, Maya Daren, The Divine Horsemen, McPherson & Company 2004, p. 117:

     All magic is performed under his patronage, whether it be the medicinal, protective paquet, or the less benevolent wanga.

   • 2008, Stephan Palmié, Africas of the Americas, p. 364:

     Not all wanga contain the enslaved spirits of the dead, but they work best if they do.

   • 2011, Mark Juergensmeyer (ed.), The Oxford Handbook of Global Religions, p. 549:

     Love charms are the most common type of wanga.

Anagrams

• Gnawa

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Old High German

Etymology

From Proto-Germanic *wangô. Compare Old Saxon wanga (“cheek”), Old English wange, Old Norse vangi (“cheek, temple”), Gothic 𐍅𐌰𐌲𐌲𐌰- (wagga-), Italian guancia (“cheek”).

Noun

wanga n

1. cheek

Declension

Declension of wanga (neuter n-stem)

case	singular	plural
nominative	wanga	wangun
accusative	wanga	wangun
genitive	wangen, wangin	wangōno
dative	wangen, wangin	wangōm, wangōn

Descendants

• German: Wange

References

1. Joseph Wright, An Old High German Primer, Second Edition
2. Köbler, Gerhard, Althochdeutsches Wörterbuch, (6. Auflage) 2014

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Swahili

Noun

wanga (u class, no plural)

1. starch

   vyakula vya wanga ― carbohydrates

Verb

-wanga (infinitive kuwanga)

1. to ache in pain
2. to count, to calculate
3. to do magic / witchcraft

Conjugation

Conjugation of -wanga
Positive present -nawanga Subjunctive -wange Negative -wangi Imperative singular wanga
Infinitives
Positive kuwanga Negative kutowanga
Imperatives
Singular wanga Plural wangeni
Tensed forms
Habitual huwanga Positive past positive subject concord + -liwanga Negative past negative subject concord + -kuwanga
Positive present (positive subject concord + -nawanga) Singular Plural 1st person ninawanga/nawanga tunawanga 2nd person unawanga mnawanga 3rd person m-wa(I/II) anawanga wanawanga other classes positive subject concord + -nawanga
Negative present (negative subject concord + -wangi) Singular Plural 1st person siwangi hatuwangi 2nd person huwangi hamuwangi 3rd person m-wa(I/II) hawangi hawawangi other classes negative subject concord + -wangi
Positive future positive subject concord + -tawanga Negative future negative subject concord + -tawanga
Positive subjunctive (positive subject concord + -wange) Singular Plural 1st person niwange tuwange 2nd person uwange muwange 3rd person m-wa(I/II) awange wawange other classes positive subject concord + -wange
Negative subjunctive positive subject concord + -siwange Positive present conditional positive subject concord + -ngewanga Negative present conditional positive subject concord + -singewanga Positive past conditional positive subject concord + -ngaliwanga Negative past conditional positive subject concord + -singaliwanga
Gnomic (positive subject concord + -awanga) Singular Plural 1st person nawanga twawanga 2nd person wawanga mwawanga 3rd person m-wa(I/II) awanga wawanga m-mi(III/IV) wawanga yawanga ji-ma(V/VI) lawanga yawanga ki-vi(VII/VIII) chawanga vyawanga n(IX/X) yawanga zawanga u(XI) wawanga see n(X) or ma(VI) class ku(XV/XVII) kwawanga pa(XVI) pawanga mu(XVIII) mwawanga
Perfect positive subject concord + -mewanga "Already" positive subject concord + -meshawanga "Not yet" negative subject concord + -jawanga "If/When" positive subject concord + -kiwanga "If not" positive subject concord + -sipowanga Consecutive kawanga / positive subject concord + -kawanga Consecutive subjunctive positive subject concord + -kawange
Object concord (indicative positive) Singular Plural 1st person -niwanga -tuwanga 2nd person -kuwanga -wawanga/-kuwangeni/-wawangeni 3rd person m-wa(I/II) -muwanga -wawanga m-mi(III/IV) -uwanga -iwanga ji-ma(V/VI) -liwanga -yawanga ki-vi(VII/VIII) -kiwanga -viwanga n(IX/X) -iwanga -ziwanga u(XI) -uwanga see n(X) or ma(VI) class ku(XV/XVII) -kuwanga pa(XVI) -pawanga mu(XVIII) -muwanga Reflexive -jiwanga
Relative forms General positive (positive subject concord + (object concord) + -wanga- + relative marker) Singular Plural m-wa(I/II) -wangaye -wangao m-mi(III/IV) -wangao -wangayo ji-ma(V/VI) -wangalo -wangayo ki-vi(VII/VIII) -wangacho -wangavyo n(IX/X) -wangayo -wangazo u(XI) -wangao see n(X) or ma(VI) class ku(XV/XVII) -wangako pa(XVI) -wangapo mu(XVIII) -wangamo Other forms (subject concord + tense marker + relative marker + (object concord) + -wanga) Singular Plural m-wa(I/II) -yewanga -owanga m-mi(III/IV) -owanga -yowanga ji-ma(V/VI) -lowanga -yowanga ki-vi(VII/VIII) -chowanga -vyowanga n(IX/X) -yowanga -zowanga u(XI) -owanga see n(X) or ma(VI) class ku(XV/XVII) -kowanga pa(XVI) -powanga mu(XVIII) -mowanga
Some forms not commonly seen in modern Standard Swahili are absent from the table. See Appendix:Swahili verbs for more information.