Cultural Conversation

I had an interesting "cultural conversation" with wife E this week. An acquaintance had lost her mother. "She has lost a mother," said E. Then: "No. I am thinking like a Xhosa. But I am a Xhosa! She has lost her mother." In European culture, a mother is mine -- and likewise a father, son, or daughter. When I first started meeting with E, I was confused when she said: "I have a sister and two brothers, but there are more." Then she described her "mothers". OBSERVATION: Sometimes one makes the distinction in Xhosa between Mama and Mamnci, where Mamnci is not one's biological mother.