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2014 annual ProZ.com translation contest: "Celebrations" » English to Swahili » Entry by Francis Gandi


Source text in English

Translation by Francis Gandi (#16741)

Who cast that first fateful tomato that started the La Tomatina revolution? The reality is no one knows. Maybe it was an anti-Franco rebellion, or a carnival that got out of hand. According to the most popular version of the story, during the 1945 festival of Los Gigantes (a giant paper mâché puppet parade), locals were looking to stage a brawl to get some attention. They happened upon a vegetable cart nearby and started hurling ripe tomatoes. Innocent onlookers got involved until the scene escalated into a massive melee of flying fruit. The instigators had to repay the tomato vendors, but that didn't stop the recurrence of more tomato fights—and the birth of a new tradition.

Fearful of an unruly escalation, authorities enacted, relaxed, and then reinstated a series of bans in the 1950s. In 1951, locals who defied the law were imprisoned until public outcry called for their release. The most famous effrontery to the tomato bans happened in 1957 when proponents held a mock tomato funeral complete with a coffin and procession. After 1957, the local government decided to roll with the punches, set a few rules in place, and embraced the wacky tradition.

Though the tomatoes take center stage, a week of festivities lead up to the final showdown. It's a celebration of Buñol's patron saints, the Virgin Mary and St. Louis Bertrand, with street parades, music, and fireworks in joyous Spanish fashion. To build up your strength for the impending brawl, an epic paella is served on the eve of the battle, showcasing an iconic Valencian dish of rice, seafood, saffron, and olive oil.

Today, this unfettered festival has some measure of order. Organizers have gone so far as to cultivate a special variety of unpalatable tomatoes just for the annual event. Festivities kick off around 10 a.m. when participants race to grab a ham fixed atop a greasy pole. Onlookers hose the scramblers with water while singing and dancing in the streets. When the church bell strikes noon, trucks packed with tomatoes roll into town, while chants of "To-ma-te, to-ma-te!" reach a crescendo.

Then, with the firing of a water cannon, the main event begins. That's the green light for crushing and launching tomatoes in all-out attacks against fellow participants. Long distance tomato lobbers, point-blank assassins, and medium range hook shots. Whatever your technique, by the time it's over, you will look (and feel) quite different. Nearly an hour later, tomato-soaked bombers are left to play in a sea of squishy street salsa with little left resembling a tomato to be found. A second cannon shot signals the end of the battle.
Ni nani aliyerusha nyanya ya kwanza lililoanza mapinduzi ya La Tomatina? Ukweli ni kwamba hakuna ajuaye. Labda lilikuwa maandamano ya anti-Franco au sherehe la hadhara lililovuka mpaka. Kulingana na hadithi iliyosambazwa zaidi, katika sherehe la Los Gigantes mnamo mwaka wa 1945, wenyeji walikuwa wanatafuta kuonekana kwa kuanzisha vita. Ikatokea kuwa kuna mkokoteni wa mboga karibu na hao majamaa wakaanza kurusha nyanya zilizoiva. Waliosimama karibu bila habari walipurwa, nao wakaingilia mzozano huo mpaka ikasababisha mahali pote ikawa ni mboga zikirushwa hewani. Waliochochea mzozo huo ikabidii walipe fidia kwa wachuuzi wa nyanya lakini hilo halikuzuia kurushiana nyanya. Na hapo kukazaliwa mtiindo mpya wakupurana na nyanya.

Kuhofia kuwa kupurana na nyanya italeta vita na ghasia, polisi walikomesha, wakatuliza na baadaye wakakomesha tena, muda kwa muda tendo hili la kupurana mnamo wa mwaka 1950. Mwaka uliofuatia wa 1951, wenyeji waliopuuza sheria hiyo walitiwa kizimbani mpaka kilio cha wananchi kuwaachilia kikaskika kila mahali. Upinzani wa sheria hiyo ilifika kileleni pale wananchi waliiga mazishi ya nyanya na wakafuatana kwa msafara mkubwa mnamo wa mwaka 1957. Baada ya hapo, viongozi wa eneo hilo wakalazimika kutuliza sheria hiyo kwa kuweka masharti kidogo tu na kuidhinisha mtindo huo uendelee.

Ingawa nyanya ilichukuwa jukwa la kati, wiki kabla hapo ilitanguliwa na sherehe ya aina mbalimbali. Ilikuwa kufurahia wafu watakatifu wa Buñol, Mama Maria na St. Louis Bertrand iliyoenda sambamba na misafara mitaani, muziki na mlipuko wa mataa kwa mtindo wa sherehe ya Waspania. Katika kujenga nguvu kabla mpurano, mapochopocho ya pilau huandaliwa jioni kabla, inayoangaza aina tofauti ya mlo wa wali wa Valencia, aina kadha wa mlo wa baharini, saffron na mafuta ya zaituni.

Leo, sherehe hii imepata kiwango cha uadilifu. Waandalizi wamejizatiti mpaka wakapanda nyanya zisizolika bali tu zimepandwa kwa sherehe hii ya siku moja mwakani. Shughuli huanza kama saa nne asubuhi ambapo wahudhuria hukimbia katika mashindano ya kuchukua kiweo toka mkuki wa kuteleza. Watazamaji huwamwagilia maji wanariadha hao huku wakiimba na kucheza ngoma. Wakati kengele la kanisa linapogonga kuashiria jua utosini, malori yaliyobeba nyanya huingia mjini, huku watu hupiga mayowe wakisema "NYa-nya, Nya-nya" mpaka kelele kufika kileleni.

Kisha, kwa kulipua kombora la mfereji mkubwa wa maji, sherehe hiyo huanza. Hilo ndo ishara la kupurana na kulengana na nyanya kwa yeyote yule aliyekaribu na amehudhuria hoja hilo. Walengaji wa mbali, wakaribu na wale waliyo kati yao. Kwa njia yeyote ile ya upuraji, hoja hili linapomalizika, utafanana na utajihisi tofauti. Baada ya saa zima hivi, walionyunyiziwa rojo la nyanya huachwa kucheza katika bahari la rojo katika densi ambayo huwezi kuona chochote kinachofanana na nyanya nzima. Mlipuko wa pili kutoka kombora huidhinisha mwisho wa vita hivi.


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