In the Shadow of (Mis)Understanding South African Dance by Some Tourists

This article will explore the (mis)understanding of African dance by some tourists. Visitors to South Africa often look for “traditional African dancing,” and discredit the African contemporary dance forms. To understand this misperception, the author will draw from different social theories including those proposed by authors such as Hegel and Maine. Rooted in Maine’s theory, the article will explain how the Western world still perceives Africa as a traditional society whose traditions are static, unchanging, and in need of protection from Western influence. In line with what Hegel said, the generalisation of the continent of Africa as the “Dark Continent” that does not produce knowledge or has no history still influences today’s perception of culture in its countries. This article states that there is a great need for education and a shift in people’s mentality regarding how Africa and Africans are viewed and thus how its cultural components such as dance are perceived.

Children and Childhood in Shona Proverbs

Childhood is not a neatly definable concept as it differs among cultures. Among the Shona, a child and childhood are defined in terms of age, marital status, behaviour and also relations to other members in society. The Shona, like other ethnic groups, have a plethora of ways through which their worldview is fashioned and conveyed, and these include songs, folktales, riddles and proverbs, among others. In this article, Shona proverbs are analysed in terms of how they present Shona people’s perception and conceptualisation of childhood. Afrocentricity is used to analyse the content of proverbs selected from the anthologies Tsumo Chimbo neMadimikira (Zvarevashe 1984) and Tsumo-Shumo (Hamutyinei and Planger 1987). Among its findings, the article observes that Shona childhood falls into two main categories: early childhood and mid-cum-adult childhood. Children are perceived as an integral component of any Shona marriage, and society is ambivalent regarding who is more important between the boy and girl child. Also, early childhood is perceived as a very precarious and critical stage that can either make or break a child, thus warranting responsible shepherding from parents and society. Child behaviour is also believed to be largely modelled after that of parents and so it is important that parents behave responsibly so as to positively influence their children. It also emerges that it is quite common for children to disappoint their parents, but that should not lead the parents into despair. While all stages show that childhood is considered a position laden with responsibilities, which should be carried out for the good of all, the mid-cum-adult childhood stage is viewed as one where one should start moving towards or even exercise total independence and self-reliance. Overall, it emerges that the Shona people’s perception and conceptualisation of children and childhood have a lot of positives that can be drawn from for the good of today’s humanity.

Folklorisation and the Emergent Moral Degeneration: A Functionalist Approach

Living in an egalitarian society has resulted in the corrosion of the moral base among certain sectors in the community. Some people misconstrue egalitarianism as an authorisation to act as they see fit. Young people, in particular, are gradually losing touch with reality in relation to acceptable behavioral norms in the South African society. Based on the functionalist theory of balancing the social equilibrium among people, the article delineates moral standards as the most fundamental and general principles of behaviour and reflects on how the society expects one to act in certain situations. The article, therefore, explores the primary concepts within functionalism and attempts to outline that the society is a system of interconnected parts that work together in harmony to maintain a state of stability and social cohesion. The article will use the folktale “uDyakalashe noMvolofu” (“The Jackal and the Wolf”) to reflect on the expected societal norms. It demonstrates that folktales, which used to transfer values, morals and shape the conduct of people in the olden days are still appropriate in reshaping the outlook and perceptions of today’s generation. As such, the shrewd nature of folklore in the moral regeneration of the current generation of young people is exposed. While there are many folktales in this category, “uDyakalashe noMvolofu” (“The Jackal and the Wolf”) provides the theme relevant for the analysis of the topic to highlight that moral standards generate moral principles and moral judgments.

Decolonisation and the African Dilemma Tale: A Feast of African Superheroes, Magicians and Beautiful Princesses

The African consciousness has been wholly subsumed by Western ideology and resurfaces only in misrecognition and habitual disavowal. Valorising everything European, a history of haplessly succumbing to the seductions of Western rationality and perspectives has led to the denial and erasure of self and culture. In its place, the morbid African has been birthed, confronting his othering in self-defeating acquiescence and accepting his servile status as natural and ordained. Indeed, there is no ready panacea for centuries of exploitation and domination. This article suggests that one way to counter these ideological formations is to provide pathways to recognise the self. There can be no better way of doing this than to rekindle the myth, folklore and aphorisms long extinguished on the altar of Western education. Consequently, this study explores African dilemma tales as counter hegemonic narratives that may shape our consciousness, remind us of cultural wisdom effaced by colonial authority, and afford us the opportunity to celebrate our own African superheroes, magicians and extraordinarily beautiful princesses. The tales are drawn from the Ovimbundu from Angola, the Bura in Nigeria, the Bete of the Ivory Coast, the Vai and Hausa from Liberia, the Mano and Gio from Liberia, the Krachi from Togo and the Mossi of the Upper Volta, with an intertextual reference to other tribes on the continent. Using the lens of postcolonialism (eclectically drawn from Looma, Wiredu, Said, Heleta, Fanon and Ng?g? wa Thiong’o, amongst others), this article enthuses over African dilemma tales and motivates a trenchant case for its transformational and pedagogical value in our curriculum.

Hermeneutic Analysis: Making Sense of Symbolic Expressions in Izibongo of King Shaka

A substantial number of scholars have previously documented African praise poems, including those that relate to the Zulu kings and queens. To a large extent, these recordings only focus on the content and structural approach to this genre of orality, with little attention paid to contextual meaning. As such, issues of metaphoric expressions are perpetually ignored, which by their very definition contain the underlying meaning and purpose for the crafting of such poetry. Therefore, this article addresses the problem of hidden meaning in Zulu kings’ praise poems that many writers on the subject have missed. As it has long been established that praise poetry, from a Zulu perspective, was/is a story about the life and times of a particular king, a hermeneutic paradigm was used to conduct an inquiry into the most prominent king in the history of the Zulus—King Shaka, the founder the great Zulu nation. The study reveals that reference to this kind of poetry as “praise” itself is problematic, since the craft was used as an evaluation of the king. It both praised and critiqued the king’s reign. With regard to King Shaka, the study reveals that Shaka was a revolutionary and a freedom fighter, contrary to the popularly held view that he was a brutal despot who went around killing innocent people to satisfy his own ego.

Resuscitating the African Oral Artistic Tradition: Towards a Re-enactment of Storytelling for Moral Rebirth among the Nigerian Youth

The study was conducted to examine the role of storytelling in the moral upbringing of the Nigerian youth. Storytelling is one of the important subgenres of the prose form of oral literature. Being a verbal art used in traditional African society for entertainment and didacticism, its usefulness in inculcating in children values, mores and cosmological beliefs of traditional African society cannot be downplayed. In recent times, however, the art seems to have suffered atrophy since it is rarely told by parents to their children. One factor responsible for this is the creeping pace of the poor economic climate currently ravaging many African countries. Suffice it to state that, a poor economy has continually forced many parents to scout for the fleeting means of survival which prevents them from spending quality time with their children. As it appears presently, storytelling seems to be threatened in Nigeria, and by extension the entire Africa, by the overbearing influence of the cyber age. Undoubtedly, the cyber culture heralds the age of technological revolution which manifests in the overwhelming use of the Internet and social media. However, the age has witnessed the evolution of several devices that ostensibly render the art of storytelling preposterous. Nevertheless, while social media is fast spreading a subversion of African traditions, it becomes increasingly important to counterbalance this trend with the art of storytelling. Consequently, this study was conducted with a view to reiterating the significance of storytelling as a veritable conduit for moral regeneration of youth and children in the quest for national development. Iwo and Evbologun, two traditionally oriented Yoruba and Bini communities acclaimed for their folkloristic enterprises, were chosen for the study. Given their cultural inclinations, the choice of these communities was informed by the need to re-evaluate the practice or otherwise of the storytelling art there. The study is anchored in structuralism to explain that cultural elements operate in an interrelated manner. Interestingly, it found that oral narrative (storytelling) is ostensibly declining among most Nigerians, though some people understand its usefulness and want it to be resuscitated.

Manche Masemola: Rebel or Revolutionary? Resistance and Subversion in the Manche Masemola Narrative

Manche Masemola’s narrative is predominantly a portrayal of a strong-willed character who faces brutal attacks for her commitment to her faith. She is described as a martyr, and eventually a saint. Her struggle to project her voice and willingness to make her own decisions are largely reported from one side, that is, from the perspective of the Church recounting how she defied her parents and community to accept the Christian religion. Commentators on this narrative miss Manche’s willingness to defy the same Church that was ready to promote her as a martyr. The purpose of this article is to argue that although Manche was described as an Anglican martyr, she was a revolutionary, and resisted the same Empire that hoped to colonise and Christianise her. She resisted colonial enslavement and continued to be initiated into koma, and refused to be baptised with Western clothing. Manche should be seen as a model for resistance against colonialism and female struggles against masculine dominance clothed in Christian education and conversion. The article uses archival records and secondary analysis to describe Manche’s pursuit to die for her commitment to her Sepedi culture. I will begin by examining Manche’s ritual journey to adulthood using koma, and conclude by discussing the pertinent question of why she was finally not baptised.

Indigenous Pottery Embedding Worldviews in Limpopo Province, South Africa

This article applies a culture-sensitive approach to an exploration of three topics related to African pottery: first, the core culture that constitutes a specific worldview, second, the socio-historical contexts of clay pots whose names are associated with verbal expressions that have been anthropologically analysed and found to be pertinent to communality, and, third, selected indigenous South African pottery mentioned in local Northern Sotho and Vhaven?a proverbs that convey local knowledge. Through interviewing potters and heritage practitioners and applying an emic view, I seek to contribute to a more accurate interpretation of African pottery meanings by emphasising the need for documentation processes to take into account indigenous languages in order to recognise the epistemological significance of indigenous pottery productions and their meanings in their respective cultures. I argue that the use of Western models to evaluate and understand local pottery meanings is problematic. A method needs to be developed to integrate African knowledge systems into mainstream knowledge production to address challenging aspects of theories currently used to describe and formulate pottery names and meanings.

Taboos and Ideological Values of Ndebele Society

This article critically examines taboos and the role they play in Ndebele society. Taboos represent that which is prohibited by a particular society. A taboo is a social sanction that inhibits society from adopting certain behavioural traits. Taboos come as a stern warning against unwanted behaviour and are an important part of any social identity. Adopting an identity implies accepting the taboos and the social norms associated with that identity. This article argues that taboos are legitimate sources of information and knowledge against the background of negative ideologies that have devalued African modes of knowing. Information for this article was gathered through interviews conducted with Ndebele speakers and through intuition, since the researcher is a native speaker of Ndebele. Several taboos will be discussed that pertain to environmental knowledge, general scientific education, environmental health, preservation and conservation and social behavioural patterns. The article upholds the need to put taboos at the centre of discourse on the ideological values of a particular society, as they create and validate the worldview of a particular society.

Existential Nihilism in Ignatius Mabasa’s Poetry: Implications for the Development of the Human Factor

This article finds its fountainhead in the trend in Ignatius Mabasa’s poetry to cast existential nihilism as a way of life. That is, despite the fact that the poetry grapples with big issues that breed social malaise, it lacks the necessary optimism that is indispensable to struggles to transcend life’s challenges. Hopelessness and despair have no place in Africa and literature has to recognise this fact. African people celebrate agency and revolution. Be that as it may, the poems explicated in this paper seem to be inspired by the Euro-modernist tradition which canonises meaninglessness or the absurdity of life. The centrepiece of this paper is that Mabasa abstracts his art and subsequently his audience from African existential philosophy, a philosophy premised on resistance and optimistic struggle. It is largely lachrymal art that negates struggle and transcendence. Contrary to optimism in the face of the inevitability of struggle, which is the hallmark of African philosophy of existence, Mabasa’s poetry tends to entrap rather than contribute to the development and liberation of African people. The artist is quintessentially a proponent of self-defeating literature. The paper is broadly steeped in Afrocentric theory and draws inspiration from Maulana Karenga’s thoughts on Black art.