Soma
Resources => Other Cultures [Public] => Topic started by: daphne on May 18, 2008, 01:21:28 AM
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There really isn't one culture in South Africa.. it is so very diverse. I will begin by posting a blurb from the internet, and then will also add to the thread my own experiences with the different cultures that make up South Africa.
"African" culture today is a real mix in the cities, although simmering underneath it all, the rawness and wildness and alienness of Africa to my western mind, shows itself. In the rural areas, it's like another era. One really never knows how much of the "culture" of today is due to the repressive years of Apartheid and colonization, and how much of it is due to a difference cultivated over divergent world views.
Africa is neither "western" nor 'eastern", when I think of it truly, it can seem rather alien.
"Wildlife, wild times and a culture in repair.
South Africa is an exhilarating and complex country. With its post-apartheid identity still in the process of definition, there is undoubtedly an abundance of energy and a sense of progress about the place. Travellers are returning to a remarkable land that has been off the trail for way too long.
The infrastructure is constantly improving, the climate is kind and there are few better places to see Africa's wildlife. But if you want to understand South Africa, you'll have to deal with the full spectrum; poverty, the AIDS pandemic and violence remain a problem."
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South Africa and its Culture
Culture in South Africa is about as diverse as it can come. South Africa is a multiracial society and defining distinct subgroups by skin colour only will potentially get you into trouble. Those of Afrikaner and British descent won't be too happy to be confused with one another, and there are several major and many minor groupings in the traditional black cultures.
The mingling and melding in South Africa's urban areas, along with the suppression of traditional cultures during the apartheid years, means that the old ways of life are fading, but traditional black cultures are still strong in much of the countryside. Across the different groups, marriage customs and taboos differ, but most traditional cultures are based on beliefs in a masculine deity, ancestral spirits and supernatural forces. In general, polygamy is permitted and a lobolo (dowry) is usually paid. Cattle play an important part in many cultures, as symbols of wealth and as sacrificial animals.
The art of South Africa's indigenous populations can be one of the only ways to connect with lost cultures. Rock and cave paintings by the San, some of which date back 26,000 years, are a case in point. In other cases, such as the elaborate 'coded' beadwork of the Zulus, traditional art has been adapted to survive in different circumstances. Zulu is one of the strongest surviving black cultures and massed Zulu singing at Inkatha Freedom Party demonstrations is a powerful expression of this ancient culture. The Xhosa also have a strong presence; they are known as the red people because of the red-dyed clothing worn by most adults. The Ndebele are a related group, who live in the north-western corner of what is now Mpumalanga in strikingly painted houses.
The Afrikaners' distinct culture has developed in a deliberate isolation, which saw them wandering around with cows and the Bible while 19th-century Europe experimented with democracy and liberalism. Today's rural communities still revolve around the conservative Dutch Reformed Churches, but 'Afrikaner redneck' is far from a tautology.
Aside from the Afrikaners, the majority of European South Africans are of British extraction. The British are generally more urbanised and have tended to dominate the business and financial sectors. The Afrikaners (more or less rightly) feel that they are more committed to South Africa, and have a charming term for the man with one foot in South Africa and one in Britain: soutpiel or salt dick (and his penis dangling in the ocean). There is also a large and influential Jewish population and a significant Indian minority.
The British can take most of the blame for the food dished up in South Africa, although the situation is improving dramatically. Steak or boerewors sausage, overboiled vegies and chips are the norm, and where the food gets more adventurous it often turns out pretty scary. Vegetarians will not have a good culinary time. African dishes are not commonly served in restaurants, although you can get a cheap rice and stew belly-filler from street stalls in most towns. Beer and brandy are the popular swills, and South Africa's excellent wines are becoming more and more popular.
Although South Africa is home to a great diversity of cultures, most were suppressed during the apartheid years when day-to-day practice of traditional and contemporary cultures was ignored, trivialised or detroyed. In a society where you could be jailed for owning a politically incorrect painting, serious art was forced underground and blandness ruled in the galleries and theatres. The most striking example of this was the bulldozing of both District Six, a vibrant multicultural area in Cape Town, and Johannesburg's Sophiatown, where internationally famous musicians learned their craft in an area once described as 'a skeleton with a permanent grin'. Groups such as Ladysmith Black Mambazo have managed to bring South Africans sounds to a wide Western audience, both during and after apartheid.
One of the most exciting aspects of the new South Africa is that the country is in the process of reinventing itself and, with such a large proportion of the population marginalised from the economic mainstream, this is occurring without much input from professional image makers. Hopeful signs include gallery retrospectives of black artists, both contemporary and traditional, and musicians from around Africa performing in major festivals. The new South Africa culture is being created on the streets of the townships and cities.
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One of the things that most "touristy" blurbs seldom (if ever) mention, is the new "race group" of the Coloureds. This is a huge population group that has grown out of the pot that is Southern Africa. They are probably the real "rainbow nation".
Not accepted by the whites, and not accepted by the Blacks, and lacking an "identity", they have had to find their own way, many getting lost in the process. It is, however, an interesting culture in that it shows perhaps how a 'culture' forms its own when "assimilation" is not that easy. Looking at that, can show the process in the happening. More often we see cultures that have already formed.
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Ladysmith Black Mambazo (http://restlesssoma.com.au/soma/index.php?topic=2982.0)
(http://www.mcd.ie/photosmcd/ladysmithblackmambazo011120014.jpg)
(http://cache.viewimages.com/xc/74262320.jpg?v=1&c=ViewImages&k=2&d=17A4AD9FDB9CF1935A6DEC864C2BC5D9DD2EA0F3966BFA93284831B75F48EF45)
(http://www.deseretnews.com/photos/midres/5210347.jpg)
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We've been having a spate of zenophobia here for the past week - ugly violence.
South Africa is home to many "illegal aliens", even to some "legal" aliens; but they are nevertheless seen as "aliens". There is a strong ethnic undercurrent here, even though at many times, people can unite together. One of the things that unites them, is zenophobia, and often they will stop fighting amongst each other and turn on the stranger in their midst. It is hard to understand, and yet one sees it all over Africa, not just here.
The biggest problem we have with it is with the locals and the Zimbabweans. This past week it errupted and the locals went on a rampage. Recently, the 'aliens' have been fighting back, for their lives. We have a huge influx of Zimbabweans here, due to the situation in Zimbabwe. It strikes me as strange that so many fled this country in it's apartheid era, to other countries in Africa, and yet when the reverse is happening, they are not welcoming to those who seek refuge status.
The recent violence has made our government have to start taking steps as to what to do. They are rather like ostriches, which heads in the sand. There is no crisis anywhere, no aids, no hunger...
There are good parts to the culture here too. Just that currently it is hard to see it. The land is awesome; open, wild, and with pockets of serenity. I suppose in a way that mirrors the people and culture too.
Many have said that the local population is losing contct with it's culture. That is something the different cultures all agree on and they are trying to bring back some connection to a cultural heritage. The cities and towns are so very different to the rural areas - remarkable so. The disconnection from culture cause not only loss of identity, but also losses in many other ways. A new culture is trying to evolve, but without strong roots... who knows what it'll be.
Looking around, as I do everyday, I remind myself that I am "living through history".
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We have a huge influx of Zimbabweans here, due to the situation in Zimbabwe.
Inflation rate -several 1000 percent per year.
Elections - close to a farse.
As I have said many times the last years, ever since they killed the white mens dogs and took their property under the disguise of some good cause, Zimbabwe is one of the worst place to live worldwide. Mugabe is a disaster for his own country and he is a stereotype dictator. Rules by violence, fear and terror. Unfortunately this is a part of Africa that has so much other countries with sever social disorders, conflicts and corruption. Darfur, Sudan, Somalia,Kenya ...
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Music and dance - from the traditional to the modern
(http://i52.photobucket.com/albums/g20/mysticaldaf/dance1.jpg)
(http://i52.photobucket.com/albums/g20/mysticaldaf/lesedi2.jpg)
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(http://i52.photobucket.com/albums/g20/mysticaldaf/mafikizolo.jpg)
(http://i52.photobucket.com/albums/g20/mysticaldaf/zuludance.jpg)
(http://i52.photobucket.com/albums/g20/mysticaldaf/Zulureeddance.jpg)
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Inflation rate -several 1000 percent per year.
Elections - close to a farse.
As I have said many times the last years, ever since they killed the white mens dogs and took their property under the disguise of some good cause, Zimbabwe is one of the worst place to live worldwide. Mugabe is a disaster for his own country and he is a stereotype dictator. Rules by violence, fear and terror. Unfortunately this is a part of Africa that has so much other countries with sever social disorders, conflicts and corruption. Darfur, Sudan, Somalia,Kenya ...
Our government is finally acknowledging that zenophobia is a real occurance. They are actually "embarrased" that in South Africa, the potential 'leader' (as they see it) of the rest of Africa in multi-cultural integration, that what is happening can no longer be denied. The HRC is calling for an investigation into the underlying reasons for zenophobia, and saying that education may not be sufficient.
The strange thing about it all is that it has also swept up against other ethnic tribes who are actually within the borders of South Africa, not only those from other countries in Africa.
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side by side
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(http://i52.photobucket.com/albums/g20/mysticaldaf/soweto.jpg)
(http://i52.photobucket.com/albums/g20/mysticaldaf/stockexchange.jpg)
(http://i52.photobucket.com/albums/g20/mysticaldaf/spaza.jpg)
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separate but equal
(http://i52.photobucket.com/albums/g20/mysticaldaf/downtownJhb.jpg)
(http://i52.photobucket.com/albums/g20/mysticaldaf/informal.jpg)
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Credo Mutwa is a rather controversal figure in South Africa. The highest ranking sangoma in South Africa - a sanusi - he is also a prophet, mystic, poet, sculptur, author, and though an activist, totally apolitical. He is a Zulu medicine-man, and custodian of tribal lore and customs. No one is really quite sure if he is for 'real' or a charlatan. He has as many followers as he has detractors, but that is not unusual amongst sangomas here.
He has written African tales which have their roots in oral, traditional Zulu culture. Two well known collections of these stories are Indaba My Children (1966) and My People: writings of a Zulu Witchdoctor (1969).
(http://i52.photobucket.com/albums/g20/mysticaldaf/credomutwa.jpg)
The Origins of the Gods - Credo Vusamazulu Mutwa
"In many western countries, when an old person dies it is simply the death of an old human being who has gone through life and whose days on earth now come to an end. But in Africa, the death of an elder- an old man or an old woman, becomes a supreme disaster because in the mind of that elder often carries knowledge passed down from parent to child. Knowledge that is not only valuable to Africa and her children, but to human kind as a whole. No matter where you go in Africa, no matter how deep into the interior of the dark continent you tread, you will find very ancient stories which are incredibly similar.You will find African tribes and races who will tell you that they are descendants from gods who came out of the skies thousands of years ago. Some however say that theses gods came to them from the sea in magical boats made out of reeds or wood or copper or even gold. In some cases these gods and goddesses are described as beautiful human beings whose skins were either bright blue or green or even silver. But most of the time you will find it being said these great gods, especially the ones that came out of the sky were non human, scaly creatures, which lived most of the time in mud or in water. Creatures of an extremely frightening and hideously ugly appearance. Some say that these creatures were like crocodiles, with crocodile like teeth and jaws, but with very large round heads. Some say that these creatures are very tall beings with snake like heads, set on long thin necks, very long arms and very long legs. There are those that tell us that these gods who came from the skies travelled through the lend in magical boats made of bright metal, silver, copper or gold. Boats which had the ability to sail over water or even to fly through the sky like birds.
It is further said that some of these sky gods carried their souls in little bags which hung from their belts. These souls being in the form spheres of crystals clear material. Spheres which could float about in the air, and which emitted a dazzling light. A light which could illuminate an entire village at night. We are told that some very brave African chiefs used to hold these great gods hostage simply by snatching their little shiny soul globes away from them and hiding them in holes deep in the ground.
Throughout Africa we are told that these mysterious beings taught human beings many things. They taught human beings how to have laws, knowledge of herbal medicine, knowledge of arts and knowledge of the mysteries of creation and the cosmos as a whole. We are told that some of these gods had the ability to change their shapes at will. They had the ability to assume the shape and the appearance of any creature that there is on earth whenever they had good reason to do so. A sky god could even turn itself into a rhinoceros and elephant or even a stork, a sky god could even turn turn itself into a rock or even a tree.
We are told that some of the gods used to travel through the sky in swings made out of brightly coloured lengths of rope. The Wutwa people of the forests of the Congo told me about one such god, who swung through the sky on a swing whose ends were attached to the clouds in the sky and who could go anywhere, no matter how far away, and come back before sunset on his magical swing.
In Africa these mysterious gods are known by various names, in West Africa, in the land of the Bumbara people these amphibian or reptilian sky gods are known as Zishwezi. The word zishwezi means either the swimmers or the divers or the gliders. It was said that these sky gods could dive from above the clouds down to the top of a mountain whenever they felt like it, they could also take deep dives into the bottom of the ocean and from there fetch magical objects and then bring them to the shore, placing them at the feet of the astonished black people.
In West Africa again, these creatures are called the Asa, which means the mighty ones of magic. It is from this word asa, a word that speaks great magical power that comes the name Asanti, which means a king, but literally means, the child of asaand as you know Asanti gave birth to the word, Ashanti.
In the land of the Dogon people we find the famous Nommo, a race of reptilian or amphibian beings who were said to have come from the Sirius star to give knowledge and religion to the black people of Dogon. Incidentally, scientists have never explained the meaning of Dogon; it means God Almighty and the Dogon people know themselves as the children of the God Almighty.
There are tribes in various parts of Africa which regard themselves as God’s chosen people. These tribes call themselves by a name which means god. In South Africa there is a tribe that calls itself the Tonga,and another very large group which calls itself the Tsonga. And in Zimbabwe there are two tribes ,one of which is called the Batonga, and another that is called the Tongaila. The name Tonga, Tsonga or Donga means people of god and you will find these people living in some of the holiest and most spiritual places in Africa. For example, the Matonga people of Northern Zululand live in the area of the sacred St Lucia Lake which is believed by the Zulu people and other tribes in Natal to be the place where, hundreds of years ago, the great earth mother arrived in a boat of reeds, accompanied by her son and his two wives.
And she came to give laws, culture, religion as well as healing arts, and other mysteries to human beings. It is said that the great earth mother was a huge woman, very, very fat with bright green skin and so was her son and his two wives. There once existed in Zimbabwe a very sacred place called Kariba Gorge, which is now covered by a huge lake as a result of the damming of the Zambezi River at this place. In Kariba Gorge there lived two remarkable tribes, the Batonga, which means people of God, and the more remarkable tribe whose name is the Tongaila. Tonga as you know means God, but the word Ila also means god, thus the Tongaila people are called the people of the God Ila- the wise old god, who according to some stories created the earth and everything in it. The Tonga and the Tongaila used to tell me that not only are the chosen people sent by God to guard the Kariba Gorge, but they are also in yearly touch with the great gods who come from the stars, whom they call the Bananaila, the children of Ila. Now let us go to West Africa for a while, in the land of the Dogon, there, one is told that when the Nommo arrived from the sky in their fantastic sky ship, there were several of them, thirteen or fourteen of them. And they created a lake around their sky ship and every morning they used to swim from their sky ship to the shores of the lake and there preach to the people who assembled in large numbers around the lake. It is said that before the Nommo departed, returning with a great noise back to their home star, they first chose one of their number, killed it and cut its body up into little pieces and then gave these pieces to the assembled people to eat in the first sacrificial ritual of its kind on earth. When the people had eaten the sacred flesh of the star creature and drunk its blood mixed with water, the Nommo took the lower jaw of their creature and by some incredible fact of magic brought the whole creature back to life again. We are told that this is the way that the Nommo taught our people that there is no death and that behind every death there shall be a resurrection.
And also that an individual must sometimes sacrifice himself or herself for the good of the community. It is the Nommo, we are told that taught the people of Africa about the mysteries of reincarnation, about the belief that, that which goes away, gone off on the wings of death, will always come back again on the fragrant wings of life. In the land of Nigeria, we hear of how the great mother goddess, Mawi gave birth to human beings after having created the world, and that after a number of centuries, people on earth became filled with selfishness and other forms of negative behaviour and the great mother who was now in the land of the gods, sent down her daughter, Gabato, to earth to once more place human beings upon the path of righteous. It is said hat Gabato arrived on earth in the mouth of a great serpent with all the colours of the rainbow, And this serpent, crawled all over the earth, and such was its size and so great was its weight that wherever it went it created gorges and valleys and canyons. What I found was very astonishing, was that in many countries of the world, amongst the aborigines of Australia, and amongst the native people of the Americas, as in Africa, you find belief in the rainbow serpent. And you also find belief in the feathered serpent.
In the Americas, in South and Central America mostly, the feathered serpent is called Quetzalcoatl, and amongst my people, the Zulus, we find belief in a serpent called Yndlondlo. The Yndlondlo is said to be a huge mamba or a huge python, whose neck is covered in greyish blue feathers, like the feathers of a blue crane, and at the top of the serpents head grow three feathers. One green one, one red one and a white one which look like huge ostrich tail feathers. The Yndlondlo, like the (South) American Quetzalcoatl, is associated with God the Son.
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The Ancestors - unKulunkulu
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The hut of the Ancestors are thought to live in the spirit world of unkulunkulu (the greatest of the great) and are regarded as intermediaries between the living and the spirit world. As a consequence, they are praised and offerings are made to them.
Should something untoward occur, the sangoma (spiritual healer) is consulted to determine whether the event has been caused by witchcraft (in which case there is a witch-hunt) or failure to appease the spirits. In the latter case, a sacrifice is made whilst complaining at the apparent attitude of the spirit.
Spirits are thought to exist also in animals and in the forest and in caves. A female spirit - inkosazana - is thought to make maize grow and is fêted in the spring.
It is believed that all ancestors must be kept in the memory of the family otherwise, if forgotten, they may seek to be remembered by visiting trouble on them.
The Inyanga
(http://i52.photobucket.com/albums/g20/mysticaldaf/inyanga.jpg)
Incorrectly thought of as the witch doctor, the inyanga is the doctor of the tribe - more correctly, the naturopath. Each inyanga trains his son and the information is thus passed on from generation to generation.
Both plant and animal parts are used in the remedies and Zulu people will travel long distance to see an inyanga - in fact 80% of the Zulu population still consult inyangas. Remedies for unsatisfactory love lives and such things as protection against lightning are also dispensed.
The Sangoma
(http://i52.photobucket.com/albums/g20/mysticaldaf/sangoma1.jpg)
Whereas the Inyanga treats physical disease, the Sangoma is concerned with the psychic world but may use similar media. The sangoma is charged with ascertaining the cause of bad events, of protecting the clan against evil spirits and of exposing antisocial individuals.
In former times the training took approximately twenty five years. Today, as a rule, the training period covers a span of five to seven years - in cities, frequently only several months. The sangoma may otherwise lead a normal life and perhaps have a second 'job'.
The Zulus believe their daily lives are guided by the spirits of their ancestors, or Amadlozi, and make sacrifices to them to ensure that they look favorably upon them.
Ancestors are only seen in dreams, and a diviner or sangoma alone has special powers to communicate with them. People consult a sangoma if a simple sacrifice has failed to bring about the desired results.
Diviners are called to their profession by their ancestors, and at first are apprenticed to a teacher and trained to contact the ancestral spirits as a source of inspiration. This enables them to diagnose misfortune and illness. They also locate lost or stolen objects and tell fortunes through a medium of bone-throwing.
In this profession women outnumber the men, who have adopted a distinctive beaded attire of their female counterparts - the long wigs threaded with white beads and crossed breast bands of animal skin. Topping their headdresses are inflated bladders of animals which have been sacrificed to ancestors in order to augment the wearers 'power of sight' into the spiritual world. This regalia sets the diviners apart from ordinary members of society and proclaims their supernatural powers.
The belief that they alone are able to mediate between people and their ancestral spirits gives them considerable influence.
The beads on a sangoma's headdress are said to be strung in loops so that the spirits they call have somewhere to sit as they speak into their ears.
A sangoma often works in conjunction with a herbalist or traditional medicinal healer known as an iNyanga.
(http://i52.photobucket.com/albums/g20/mysticaldaf/lesedi10.jpg)
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.....but equal
heh.
8)
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heh.
8)
;)
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God Bless Africa (Nkosi Sikeleli Africa)- Children of Africa (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H8iZ8jIqrQo&feature=related)
Original Lovedale English Translation
Lord, bless Africa;
May her horn rise high up;
Hear Thou our prayers And bless us.
Chorus
Descend, O Spirit,
Descend, O Holy Spirit.
Bless our chiefs
May they remember their Creator.
Fear Him and revere Him,
That He may bless them.
Bless the public men,
Bless also the youth
That they may carry the land with patience
and that Thou mayst bless them.
Bless the wives
And also all young women;
Lift up all the young girls
And bless them.
Bless the ministers
of all the churches of this land;
Endue them with Thy Spirit
And bless them.
Bless agriculture and stock raising
Banish all famine and diseases;
Fill the land with good health
And bless it.
Bless our efforts
of union and self-uplift,
Of education and mutual understanding
And bless them.
Lord, bless Africa
Blot out all its wickedness
And its transgressions and sins,
And bless it.
Classic Xhosa Version
The first verse and chorus of this version are the original words composed by Sontonga in 1897. The remaining verses were added in 1927 by Samuel E Mqhayi.
Nkosi, sikelel' iAfrika;
Malupakam'upondo lwayo;
Yiva imitandazo yetu
Usisikelele.
Chorus
Yihla Moya, Yihla Moya,
Yihla Moya Oyingcwele
Sikelela iNkosi zetu;
Zimkumbule umDali wazo;
Zimoyike zezimhlonele,
Azisikelele.
Sikelel' amadod' esizwe,
Sikelela kwa nomlisela
Ulitwal'ilizwe ngomonde,
Uwusikelele.
Sikelel'amakosikazi;
Nawo onk'amanenekazi;
Pakamisa wonk'umtinjana
Uwusikelele.
Sikelela abafundisi
Bemvaba zonke zelilizwe;
Ubatwese ngoMoya Wako
Ubasikelele.
Sikelel'ulimo nemfuyo;
Gxota zonk'indlala nezifo;
Zalisa ilizwe ngempilo
Ulisikelele
Sikelel'amalinge etu
Awomanyano nokuzaka,
Awemfundo nemvisiswano
Uwasikelele.
Nkosi Sikelel' iAfrika;
Cima bonk' ubugwenxa bayo
Nezigqito, nezono zayo
Uyisikelele.
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History
Nkosi Sikelel' iAfrika was composed in 1897 by Enoch Sontonga, a teacher at a Methodist mission school in Johannesburg. It was one of many songs he composed, and he was apparently a keen singer who composed the songs for his pupils.
The words of the first stanza were originally written in Xhosa as a hymn. In 1927 seven additional Xhosa stanzas were later added by Samuel Mqhayi, a poet.
Most of Sontonga's songs were sad, witnessing the suffering of African people in Johannesburg, but they were popular and after his death in 1905 choirs used to borrow them from his wife.
Solomon Plaatje, one of South Africa's greatest writers and a founding member of the ANC, was the first to have the song recorded. This was in London in 1923. A Sesotho version was published in 1942 by Moses Mphahlele.
The Rev J L Dube's Ohlange Zulu Choir popularised Nkosi Sikelel' iAfrika at concerts in Johannesburg, and it became a popular church hymn that was also adopted as the anthem at political meetings.
For decades Nkosi Sikelel' iAfrika was regarded as the national anthem of South Afrika by the oppressed and it was always sung as an act of defiance against the apartheid regime. A proclamation issued by the State President on 20 April 1994 stipulated that both Nkosi Sikelel' iAfrika and Die Stem (the Call of South Africa) would be the national anthems of South Africa. In 1996 a shortened, combined version of the two anthems was released as the new National Anthem.
There are no standard versions or translations of Nkosi Sikelel' iAfrika so the words vary from place to place and from occasion to occasion. Generally the first stanza is sung in Xhosa or Zulu, followed by the Sesotho version.
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Going through the culture of South Africa for this thread is kindof like a recap for me. I have always loved Africa, the land and the people.. This year I suddenly found myself intensely disliking Africa, almost to the extreme of hating it here. - not the land, but the people. It came in part because my kids left, feeling that there was no future for them here. Perhaps there isn't, perhaps there could have been. So I am looking again to Africa, to find what it was that connected me to Africa in the first place, and to release any animosity I now feel towards it.
Africa is like a slumbering giant. Beneath the veneer of westernization, lurks the ancient primal energy of the Cradle of Mankind. The Ancestors are very much alive here, and they are waking from their deep sleep. What will happen when they meet the modern world.. well.. thats Africa!
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Daphne, Ive always been so curious of your tales of Africa.. Im pleased you are sharing some here. :)
My step sister is married to a man who came to the US from South Africa not very long ago. He has been gracious to my curious nature and told of his homeland.
My ss went to meet his family recently and brought home her own tales of a different land.. One thing she mentioned that stuck with her.. when walking with his friend/family Omega (her husband) would think nothing of holding another man's hand as a gesture of love and respect.
Here in the US that wouldnt be viewed the same.. which I find sad, yet very fitting.
Teresa (my ss) and Omega just had a little boy, they named him Mika. Ive not yet had a chance to meet the new little one and ask if the name has significance.
Its been interesting to watch my father interact with Omega. He was born and raised here in Maine with a strong dislike for other races.. pure ignorance really, I bet he had never even seen another culture until well past highschool. A dislike my grandparents taught.. like a recipe.
Growing up I remember my mother snapping my father when he would speak poorly of others due to their skin color.. she was far different and not from Maine.
My father would cringe when it was mentioned that my step sister was dating Omega and now that he has met him and welcomed him into our family.. the interaction has been beautiful on many levels.
:)
Thank you for sharing! :-*
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xenophobia .
Fear and contempt of strangers or foreign peoples.
xenophobia (zē•nō•fō•bē• ),
n an irrational fear of foreigners or strangers
xenophobia (zen´ fō´bē ),
n an anx-iety disorder characterized by a pervasive, irrational fear or uneasiness in the presence of strangers, especially foreigners, or in new surroundings
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Hi Jen - Omega? That is an unusual name, doesn't sound very "african".. does he have another name?
Males holding another male's hand is not frowned upon, though today, my son and his (black) friends wouldn't be seen dead holding hands!! :D His friends are rather "yuppie" or.. "buppie" as they are called here in suburbia! Interestingly, his one friend a couple of years ago, just before his matriculation exams, had to return to his "homeland" - he is Xhosa - for his initiation. He had turned 18 and it was time. I don't know much about what happened (other than what is generally known), but he did tell his friends (including my son) about it. Apparently it wasn't very pleasant. But then that is the face of modern Africa too. Many families, however 'western' they may be in many ways, still adhere to quite a lot of tradition and traditional ways. It reminds the youth of their roots, and in a country where roots were torn asunder, it is one way of forging an identity.
Another tradition very much alive even in the cities, is the lobola - that is the payment - was in cattle, today often in money - the groom and his family pay for the bride, to her family. The bride leaves her birth family and becomes a member of her new husbands family.
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Some local advertising...
"Have you paid lobola?" Despite its high profile internationally, lobolo (aka magadi and other terms) is one of the least understood traditions here at home.
Is it a commodification of women, a burden on men, an act of gender disharmony, a power play, an exchange of gifts among families, a tax on love?
It is practiced differently in different ethnic and racial groups, in urban and rural areas, in different provinces, but one thing is for certain: lobolo is an essential part of South Africa's cultural heritage, inseparable from marriage. Isn't it?
Hence the development and introduction of the Lobola Contract was born in new South Africa for the new generation who prefers not to use scrap papers or loose papers, exchange of note books and or a mere good faith but to conclude their marriages through the Contract for Lobola that legally confirms their marriage without visiting the offices of the commissioner.
Lobola Institute offers: Lobola Contract for single wife - R250.00
Benefits include:
* Provision for return of Lobola money
* Legal Confirmation of the marriage on the day of lobola delivery
* Spouse cannot enter into another marriage without written consent by another spouse
* Allows a second, third and unlimited wives as you both wish.
Click here to email us. Remember to supply us with full details of the prospective spouses and their I/d numbers
Lobola Contract for multi-Wives: from R350.00 to R650.00 for five or more
Benefits include:
* Allows a second, third and unlimited marriages and discourage divorces
* 1st wife freely signs the contract to allow a second wife marriage
* Polygamy discourage illegal extra-marital affairs
* Spouses enjoys the security of their partner
Click here to email us. Remember to supply us with full details of the prospective spouses and their I/d numbers, including the 1st wife.
We also offer Private Consultation on problem solving like:
* 2nd wife marriage
* Damage, maintenance
* Report on pregnancy before marriage
* Prevention on child access and
* Return of lobolo money
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Our potential next president.. ;)
Jacob Zuma in for a bridal shower
Bongani Mthethwa and Subashni Naidoo. Published:Feb 16, 2008
Related Content
# The Zuma wife count
The country’s most prominent polygamist, Jacob Zuma, is set to add another bride to his harem — and probably wife number six after that.
Just weeks after tying the knot with Nompumelelo Ntuli in a ceremony attended by about 400 guests, plans are under way for the 65-year-old to take on his fifth wife .
It was established this week that the unemployed Zuma — who is currently in Mauritius to prepare for a legal challenge — has already paid lobolo for Thobeka Mabhija, described as a Durban socialite.
Following Zuma’s election as ANC president, the 35-year-old Mabhija was said to have spread the word in Durban circles that she was going to be the country’s next first lady. She later denied saying this.
When contacted for comment about her upcoming wedding, Mahbija demanded angrily: “How did you know about it?” She said she preferred her personal life to remain private.
But, when asked how she felt about being in line to become first lady, Mabhija said she would cross that bridge “when I become Mrs Zuma”.
She may, though, have to consider that at least one other potential Mrs Zuma is waiting in the wings.
If she actually ties the knot, Zuma would match Zulu King Goodwill Zwelithini, who has six wives.
The Sunday Times tracked down Zuma’s sixth prospective wife after receiving the following tipoff via e-mail: “I am getting angry that u keep leaving out my cousin Bongi Ngema 4rm Umlazi with a boy Sinqumo aged3. She was also lotsholwad (meaning lobolo has been paid for her hand) and is going 2 marry Jacob Zuma.”
The Sunday Times has ascertained that the e-mail was accurate: Zuma, the father of at least 18 children, has Bongi Ngema from Umlazi lined up for another trip down the aisle.
Zuma’s younger brother, Michael Zuma, 59, confirmed that there was a relationship between the ANC president and Ngema, with whom he has a three-year-old son.
Michael told the Sunday Times that he was quite surprised that the lobolo negotiations involving Mabhija had overtaken those held with Ngema’s family.
But, he said, the talks with the Ngema family had fizzled out after the death of her father about two years ago.
Ngema this week declined to discuss her relationship with Zuma .
It has been established that over the years Zuma has relied on the generosity of friends - including ANC stalwart Phyllis Naidoo who confirmed paying lobolo for Zuma’s first wife, Sizakele and various businessmen supporters like Don Mkhwanazi, Vivian Reddy and Abdul Malek, to pick up the tab for his wedding bills.
Zuma also paid lobolo for Swazi Princess Sebentile Dlamini, 38, the granddaughter of King Sobhuza III, in 2002 but nothing has come out of it.
She was reportedly so disappointed at hearing that Zuma had married Mantuli that she had to be taken to hospital to be treated for depression and felt that she was being humiliated in public.
The traditionalist Zuma apparently has had to contend with bickering between Mantuli and Mabhija over who should become the first lady should he land the top job.
And as if that is not enough, his bevy of wives and wives- to- be is not sitting too well with some of his children.
Michael Zuma said he was unaware of a dispute among Zuma’s wives about who should become the first lady.
“There could be a dispute among the women which I’m not aware of but this issue has never been discussed in the family,” he said.
Zuma’s sons Edward and Khula also said t he y w ere not aware of any dispute about who should become the first lady.
A Durban businessman who is close to Zuma said that although there had earlier been tensions over the ANC president’s recent marriage before it took place, he believed that Zuma had managed to deal with this.
He had been told that Zuma would decide who would be the first lady from among his wives, and not the women.
Mantuli has previously declined to comment on any ambitions to be the first lady, saying it would be Zuma’s decision to make.
Zuma’s first wife, Sizakele Khumalo, who he met in 1959, is on the record as saying she would love to become first lady.
Zuma’s multiple relationships however ha ve caused discord with his children. Some of Zuma’s children boycotted his January wedding because they were upset about their father’s marriage to Mantuli — as Nompumelelo is affectionately known.
Attempts to find out why some of them did not attend the wedding were unsuccessful. Zuma’s eldest daughter Duduzile, simply switched off her phone when asked to comment on the reason some of them did not attend the recent wedding at Nkandla, Zuma’s traditional homestead in rural KwaZulu Natal.
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Being a "new" society, there is often conflict between common law and traditional law, marriage is one of the instances. There is continual attempt to integrate and allow for 'choice' within the system, and allow for cultural and ethnic sensibilities.
4.1 Since colonial times, Christian marriage has been taken as a sign not only of religious commitment but also as an indication that the spouses decided to follow a westernized way of life. This assumption had a direct bearing on what law was chosen to govern the marital relationship: the form of marriage was deemed to indicate the spouses' intention that their rights and duties inter se and their relations with their children should be governed by common law.
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Initiation
Before a Xhosa boy can become a man, he has to go through the initiation ceremony of the Khwetha, or circumcision lodge. If the boy didn’t do this, he would still be considered a boy and no girl would consider marrying him.
During the time of the initiation, they live in special huts, secluded from the rest of the tribe and especially from any females. They undergo training and endurance tests, which require great discipline. Sometimes these tests require so much privation that they even result in death. All aspects of the initiation are kept very secret.
The boys daub themselves all over with white sandstone and sometimes they wrap themselves in a reed skirt and a reed cone headdress with a fringe-like mask. They perform ritual dances wherein they imitate animals, usually a bull, drumming their heels into the ground and leaping into the air.
Finally when the day of the circumcision comes they burn all the items that they have used in the rituals including the huts. After the circumcision they are required to bury their foreskin and are driven to the river while being beaten by the initiators. Finally all the white sandstone is washed from their bodies and with it the last vestiges of their youth. They return to their villages and are daubed with red ochre which is not removed for another three months. They are men at last!
A very moving account of his own initiation is given by President Mandela is his book ‘A Long Walk to Freedom’
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The biggest problem here with initiation is that it is usually undertaken by elders of that particular community, whuch may consist of a small village, really small village. There is legislation underway to have "initiators" and "initiation schools" registered - which really means to have the traditional 'initiator' or traditional 'healer' registered. This serves a number of purposes.
One of the main reasons is the deaths that can occur during initiation. Another is to ensure hygenic situation, especially with the current HIV/Aids pandemic here in South Africa.
One of the main reasons is that although many people make use of 'western' medical care, many more go to traditional healers, including urbanized and those on various medical aid schemes. As such, while they pay for medical insurance, they also pay for going to traditional healing. With registered healers, those belonging to medical aid schemes are able to have the scheme pay for their medical 'treatment'. Traditional healers are very much recognized as a part of the culture, and going to one is seen as no different than going to a doctor for anti-biotics, or a psychologist for therapy. In accepting traditional healers as part and parcel of 'normal life, the movement afoot is to have it regulated. There are different 'lineages' of traditional healing amongst the different ethnic tribes.
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North West to act tough on illegal initiation schools
29 December 2007
The North West provincial government will continue to act decisively against illegal initiation schools as well as any unlawful activities in initiation schools. This follows the closure of an initiation school in Bodibe village near Lichtenburg where six initiates were rushed to Thusong hospital after suffering from initiation wounds.
Government wishes to reiterate that it recognises traditional initiation as part of the culture, custom and tradition of many communities within the province. Government has no intentions of interfering with traditional practices and customs. However, it has a responsibility to ensure a balance between respect for culture and customs as well as the need to protect the health and human rights of the young boys who are taken to these schools.
The North West Provincial Government wishes to congratulate the South African Police Service for the firm and decisive manner in which they are dealing with unlawful activities relating to initiation schools. Government strongly condemns the commercialisation of traditional initiation schools as well as failure by some of the organisers to respect the agreement between the provincial government and traditional leaders on the regulation of initiation schools.
Government is particularly worried about the commercialisation of this cultural practice which has given rise to abductions and forced admissions into initiation schools. The provincial government is concerned that this once proud traditional practice has now turned into pain for many young boys and their families.
In the light of the recent mushrooming of fly-by-night initiation schools, the need to act resolutely has become even more urgent. The provincial government believes that it has a responsibility to curb unnecessary deaths and the abuse of tradition by unscrupulous individuals for financial greed.
Abductions and forced admissions to initiation schools, human rights violations, deaths and other forms of atrocities have become defining characteristics of some initiation schools. Government's view is that this cannot, and should not be allowed to continue. Government has a responsibility to ensure that the lives and health of initiates are not endangered.
Government believes that enlisting at an initiation school should be, and must be, a voluntary exercise, requiring the sanction of parents in the case of minors.
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Washday..
..town
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.. and country
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Lets get together..
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