I came across this word when someone described that they were buying a bunch of fruits.
N ye zaban tusugu san
‘I bought a bunch of Zaban’
However I could not find the word in any dictionary.
Interesting!
Could it be something like zaban tu sugu, where tú is the word for a 'tuft, ‘clump’? It could be the collective noun that is used to count or refer to a “bundle” or “bunch” of zaban, for instance? A little bit like a “bushel of apples”, etc.
In Bamadaba, for instance, tú is said to be used for “all dense vegetation: tall grass, millet, thicket, forest.” (And nsaban/zaban are vine fruit that are found in the bush.
In this case, súgu could be the word for “type” or “kind”, maybe?
Maybe check with your friend and try to figure out other examples with the same word/expression?
I am pretty sure that’s it.