Qala - to begin

-qala
start, begin, commence, initiate, launch


qala
(imperitave noun/order)
start!


For some reason this example has me in stitches:

Kuthiwa ingxabano yaqala ngmaholide kaKhisimusi.
They say the quarrel started during the Christmas holidays.

- isiZulu Oxford Living Dictionary

There is also a noun form:
ukuqala (n.15)
beginning; start
the first one

and then a different (but related meaning)
umqala (n.3/4)
neck or stem

vocabulary from isiZulu.net