Senzeni Na? | Translated | #t005

"Senzeni Na?" (also spelt Senzenina) is a powerful South African protest song that emerged during the apartheid era. Its title translates from Zulu and Xhosa as "What Have We Done?" - a mournful, rhetorical question expressing the pain and confusion of people suffering under racial oppression.

(Line-by-line translation)

[Title]

Senzeni Na?

What Have We Done?

[Verse]

Senzenina

What have we done?

Sono sethu ubumnyama

Our only sin is that we are black

Sono sethu yinyaniso

Our sin is the truth

Sibulawayo

They are killing us

Mayibuye i Africa.

Let Africa return.

Source: https://www.mamalisa.com/blog/senzenina-a-zulu-protest-song-and-funeral-song/