koma

How to say it

Meaning

the spirit of a deceased person, an ancestral spirit.

Good to know

used in traditional beliefs about ancestors; the word also exists as a loanword for the punctuation mark comma, a separate unrelated sense.

Examples

• Waliamini koma za mababu zinawalinda.They believed the spirits of their ancestors protected them.
• Kila mwaka walitoa sadaka kwa koma za wazee.Every year they made offerings to the spirits of the elders.
• Je, unaamini koma huja kuwatembelea walio hai?Do you believe ancestral spirits come to visit the living?
• Mzee alizungumza na koma ya baba yake kwenye ndoto.The old man spoke with his father's spirit in a dream.

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