‖pula, interjection and & noun

/ˈpʊːla/
Forms:
Also poola.
Origin:
Sotho, SetswanaShow more Sotho and Setswana.
Rain.
A. interjection Especially among Sotho- and Setswana-speaking people: a greeting or salute; an invocation or blessing. See also khotso.
1827 G. Thompson Trav. 180Mattebe..made the same movements with his assagai..after which he waved the point towards the heavens, when all called out ‘Poola!’ i.e. rain or a blessing.
1864 T. Baines Explor. in S.-W. Afr. 436His speech was greeted by cries of ‘poola, poola’ (rain, rain), a term synonymous in a dry country with refreshment or blessing.
1918 H. Moore Land of Good Hope 284The royal salute, ‘Pula, Pula,’ echoed and re-echoed.
1934 Star 1 Mar. (Swart)When Prince George, at the end of his reply..raised his hand and uttered the traditional Basuto salute ‘Pula’ which means rain, a wave of enthusiasm swept the..council chamber.
1943 D. Reitz No Outspan 182They stood respectfully, each man holding up his arm in salute crying ‘Poola-poola’ which in their language means ‘rain-rain’. In a drought stricken country rain is like God to them so ‘Poola’ is their cry.
1952 Drum Apr. 23‘Pula! Pula!’ ‘Bayete! Bayete!’ These are the cries that welcomed Queen Elizabeth II, then Princess Elizabeth, and the rest of the Royal Family wherever they met their loyal African subjects.
a1968 D.C. Themba in E. Patel World of Can Themba (1985) 149The sun was softly flushing the western sky with its gold when I closed the meeting with the words, ‘Pula! Pula!’ (Rain! Rain!).
1979 S. Afr. Panorama Aug. 20The Basotho salutations — ‘Khotso’ (Peace) and ‘Pula’ (Rain) — linger in one’s memory long after one has returned home.
1979 Fair Lady 12 Sept. 23I heard for the first time..the meaningful traditional greeting ‘pula’ (rain) and the ululations, that strange yodel-call of the African women.
1990 Frontline Feb. 12When Tlhabane finally took the floor, there was silence. As he talked, there were replies of ‘Pula, pula,’ which means literally ‘rain’ but figuratively ‘prosperity’.
1991 M. Kantey All Tickets 10We cranked white water from the African desert. There (sc. in Botswana) the water was a blessing — Pula, they said as a greeting, meaning ‘let it rain’.
B. noun
1. A cry of ‘pula’.
1887 J.W. Matthews Incwadi Yami 286Basutos, be united to your chief...Let the Fathers and the Sisters pray for..rain, which is so much wanted. Pula.’ In response to the royal speech a tremendous ‘Pula’ burst forth from all.
2. As a common noun.
1982 C. Van Wyk in Chapman & Dangor Voices from Within 199Tonight it rains. Hitting hard against the rooftops. Thundering at the windowpanes...But it rains until it stops. Pula! Pula! Pula!
Rain.
a greeting or salute; an invocation or blessing.
A cry of ‘pula’.
As a common noun.
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18271991

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