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


Source text in English

Translation by ongaka (#17017)

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.
Hatma ilikuwa ya nani ambaye alitupa nyanya ambalo lilianzisha mapinduzi ya La Tomatina? Ukweli ni kuwa hakuna anayejua. Labda ilikuwa uasi dhidi ya Franco, ama sherehe ya maonyesho iliyoshindwa kudhibitiwa. Kulingana na maelezo maarufu zaidi ya hadithi hiyo, wakati wa sherehe ya Los Gigantes mwaka wa 1945 ( Jagina la karatasi linalopitishwa kwenye gwaride), wenyeji walikuwa wanaangalia ili waanzishe rabsha ndiposa waweze kusikizwa. Ilitendeka pale ambapo rukwama ya mboga iliyopatikana pale na wakaanza kutupa nyanya zilizoiva. Watazamaji ambao hawakuwa na hatia pia wakatupa nyanya hadi pahali hapo pakawa pahali pakubwa pa kunyemelewa na kurushiwa matunda. Iliwabidi wachunguzi kuwalipa wachuuza nyanya, lakini hiyo haikusimamisha marudio ya visa vya vita vya nyanya - na hapo pakatokea uzawa wa tamaduni mpya.

Kutoka na uoga wa visa hivi kuzidi, wenye mamlaka walitunga, wakatulia halafu wakarudisha marufuku kadhaa wakati wa miaka ya hamsini. Mwaka wa 1951, wenyeji ambao walivunja sheria walifungwa jela hadi kukawa na vilio vya umma ambavya vilisababishwa kuwachiliwa kwao. Mojawapo ya kiburi kuu kwa marufuku ya nyanya ilitendeka mwaka wa 1957 wakati waunga mkono walifanya mazishi kamili ya nyanya kikejeli pamoja na sanduku la maiti na maandamano. Baada ya mwaka wa 1957, Serikali ya mji iliamua kuafikiana na kipigo walichokipata, ikaweka sheria chache na kukubali tamaduni hiyo yenye kukosa mantiki.

Ingawaje nyanya huchukua sehemu kuu, wiki nzima ya sherehe huelekezwa kwenye tukio la mwisho. Ni sherehe ya watakatifu wa Bunol Patron, Bikira Maria na mtakatifu Louis Bertrand, pamoja na gwaride kwenye mitaa, muziki, na milipuko ya Baruti kwenye mitindo ya kiispania. Ilikuwa na nguvu wakati wa rabsha, wali wa kivalencia unaliwa usiku wa kuamkia vita hivyo, inayoonyesha vyakula vinavyotoka Valencia pamoja na: Wali, vyakula vya bahari, kiungo cha saffron na mafuta ya mizeituni.

Leo hii, sherehe hii ina kipimo fulani katika mwelekeo wake, waanzilishi wameenda ndani kabisa katika kutafuta nyanya ambazo haziwezi lika kutumika katika tukio hilo la kila mwaka. Sherehe zinaanza saa nne, wakati washiriki wanapishana ili kuchukua kitafunio aina ya "Ham" juu kwenye mti unaoteleza. Watazamaji huwamwagia wang'ang'anaji hawa maji wakiimba na kucheza kwenye mitaa. Wakati kengele za kanisa hugongwa mchana, malori yaliojazwa nyanya huingia mjini, huku watu wakishangilia " Nyanya, nyanya!" sauti zikizidi kuongezeka.

Halafu, kwa kutumia bunduki ya maji, tukio kuu huanza. Hiyo ni mwangaza wa kijani kibichi ikiashiria kupasua na kurusha nyanya pande zote dhidi ya washiriki wenzako. Warushaji nyanya wa masafa marefu, wauwaji wa kushtukia, na milipuko mbalimbali ya umbali wa kati.
Kwa kutumia mbinu yako yoyote, wakati mtamaliza, utaonekana na kujihisi tofauti. Baada ya kama saa moja, walipuzi wa mabomu wa nyanya zilizolowa wanawachwa kuchezea kwenye bahari ya mitaa telezi densi ya salsa pamoja na chochote kidogo kifananacho nyanya kitakachopatikana. Mlipuko wa pili unaashiria hitimisho la vita.


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