Kiswahili culture
What hakuna matata means (and Simba, Rafiki, Mufasa)
Hakuna matata is Kiswahili for 'there are no worries' or 'no problems'. Hakuna means 'there is not' (the negative of kuna, 'there is') and matata means troubles, problems or fuss. It is correct, ordinary Kiswahili, the language of Kenya, Tanzania and much of East Africa.
How it's used in Kenya and Tanzania today
You will hear hakuna matata, but in Kenya and Tanzania it is linked above all with tourism: hotels, safari guides and beach bars use it with visitors. The phrase was already popular there before the film: the Kenyan band Them Mushrooms helped spread it with their 1982 song 'Jambo Bwana'. Day to day, Swahili speakers more often say one of these:
Hakuna shida
No problem (heard everywhere)
Hamna shida
No problem (relaxed speech, especially in Tanzania; hamna also means 'there isn't')
Hakuna tatizo
No problem (tatizo, a problem)
Usijali
Don't worry
Poa
Cool, fine (informal)
Pole pole
Slowly, take it easy
Hakuna matata and The Lion King
The phrase went round the world with Disney's The Lion King (1994). Disney registered 'Hakuna Matata' as a trademark in the United States for goods such as clothing; in 2018 a petition started by Zimbabwean activist Shelton Mpala asked the company to give it up and gathered tens of thousands of signatures. A Kenyan intellectual-property lawyer pointed out at the time that a trademark on T-shirts does not stop anyone from saying or writing the phrase.
The Kiswahili behind the characters' names
Many names in The Lion King films are ordinary Kiswahili words. Here is what the well-attested ones mean, and which names are not Kiswahili.
Pumbaa
from kupumbaa, 'to be foolish, careless, dull-witted'; mpumbavu is 'a fool'
Sarabi
mirage (a loanword from Arabic)
Shenzi
from -shenzi, 'uncivilised, crude'; mshenzi is a rude or uncouth person
Kovu
scar (the young lion in The Lion King II)
Nuka
from kunuka, 'to smell bad' (The Lion King II)
Vitani
'at war, in battle', from vita, war (The Lion King II)
Nala
not a standard Kiswahili word; it is often said to mean 'gift', but the Kiswahili for gift is zawadi
Mufasa
not a Kiswahili word, and there is no well-attested meaning for it
More Kiswahili you may already know
A few other words travel with hakuna matata on T-shirts and in safari brochures. This is what they mean at home.
Jambo
hello (what visitors hear; Swahili speakers usually say Hujambo? or Habari?)
Karibu
welcome; also 'you're welcome'
Asante sana
thank you very much
Safari
a journey, any journey
Sources
- Daily Nation (Kenya), 'Petition calls on Disney to drop Hakuna Matata trademark' (2018), nation.co.ke
- Wiktionary Swahili entries for matata, pumbaa (citing Madan's Swahili-English Dictionary, 1903), sarabi, kovu, mshenzi, vitani and zawadi (en.wiktionary.org)
- Five College Center for the Study of World Languages, LangMedia: Basic Communications in Tanzania (poa, informal greetings)
- Everyday usage in Kenya and Tanzania: common usage, needs native check
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