What does shenzi mean in Swahili?

Answer 1

-shenzi is a noun or adjective root meaning uncivilized, ucultured, uncouth, or even filthy (mshenzi, as noun or adjective, means an uncivilized or uncouth person).

Its invariable use today is as an insult; in the 19th Century Arab and Swahili traders described themselves as Wangwana (civilized people) and upcountry Africans as Washenzi. In the Congo the dialect of Swahili used there is still called Kingwana, Although Swahili (Kingwana) is the native language of virtually all eastern Congolese, few of them are familiar with the word "Swahili."