SHOW

Once Upon a Time in White River

Commemorating Sixteen Days of Activism Against Women and Child Abuse

A South American poet and political commentator made it explicitly clear that he wants nothing to do with lyricism that has nothing to do with liberation. He was to a certain extent right – often lyricism for the sake of rhyming sucks. It sucks because artists spend countless hours yepping about themselves and how they are the dopest in the business. Well, I have been to plenty sessions but I can’t tell if there is what we call a dope poet. What I know is a poet whose is spot-on. Maybe we can call them a spot-on poet.

Spot-on means the bard touches on issues we all relate to. They produce material about situations we can all relate to – love, death, funerals, loss, pain, happiness, lust, weddings, trauma etc. They write about emotion and not daffodils which are an existing subject.

Maybe I’m trying to sound all-knowing but it’s my take – my opinion which I am entitled to, which if someone wanted to rob me of this right and you were aware of it you should give your life to protect it.

Well, the reason I am so chaffed is because I am still in a post-orgasmic stage of one of the best poetry, music and drama sessions I have ever attended. Our 16 Days of Activism against Women and Child Abuse jol at White River Civic Centre which brought together talents from Xpressions Sessions (Kriel), Bana Ba Bongi (Shatale), hip hop and rap crews from Madjembeni and some poets from other parts of the province. We had the best music, drama and poetry session under one roof – and did everybody pull up their socks?

The thing about fusing genres to make a potpourri of a festival is that nobody wants to be left behind. You don’t get actors wanting the show to be remembered for its poetry, poets don’t want the show to be remembered for the drama and musicians don’t want it to be remembered for poetry and drama. Right there you have a recipe for subtle competition. However on the day that we committed to Chant Down Fear and give voices to our woman it was to a larger extent collaborative. If you can’t beat them, join them, they say. If you can’t play a guitar or drums, sing or recite to them, if you can’t sing or recite, play an instrument, just don’t stand there and look at us as if we are in a zoo.

I don’t want to mention names of performers on this post because I might not remember others and that might be fertile ground for animosity. However I will touch broadly on what transpired and what had me inspired to rush home, draft this post regardless of being bushed and blog it within 24 hours.

The themes touched on the day involved woman and child abuse, though I must admit there was actually little heard on the abuse of the child. A sister touched on identity – the so-called cross-cultural frustration of Coloureds. The Coloured issue is a human rights issue – it’s a pencil-test issue. An issue that will refuse to disappear from our consciousness as long as we focus on differences and not similarities. Her style, which was both at-your-face and an

indictment on society’s obsession with defining something they are not was crude and telling.

Well, it was at this session that what was saddening on my part was to have a show in White River and not have a single artist who performed in isiSwati. All the isiSwati artists invited to grace the event and be part of a horde of artists united in their defence of women and children’s rights failed to pitch – except of course for Comrade Sifiso. But now, when you have been in this game as long as some of us you know that it’s not the poet that makes the poetry session, it’s the poetry – which was in abundance in various languages.

What was refreshing was the liberty people expressed to speak – in the language of their ancestors and dreams. They spoke in Sepulana, Sepedi, Tsotsitaal (not Scamtho), Afrikaans and English. Like I said earlier what was missing was isiSwati and for god’s sake this is isiSwati territory. Either they are not writing anything that has anything to do with liberation, they are obsessing with the Metro Awards which are coming soon to this town or they just don’t give a damn about women and child abuse. To have the whole ethnic group not giving a damn is scary. It makes one wonder why we had this session in White River when we could have had it in Kriel or Bushbuckridge where almost all the artists who performed came from.

It makes one wonder about the future of the oppressed people of Swaziland? Who will liberate them if not by their kinsmen and women in Mpumalanga? If one can not commit to a simple cause that does not carry a prison sentence as a battle against patriarchy and its manifestations one wonders how many are willing to put their lives on the line on a cause that might require martyrdom.

Okay, enough of asking question and now it’s time for what happened. Bana Ba Bongi, that troupe of inspired children I love so much didn’t disappoint. They prepared a show specifically for the event and did they act like there was no tomorrow. No prizes for guessing that when the curtain fell they got a standing ovation – not because they are young and need motivation, but simply because they kicked butt.

We had an inspiration talk from GRIP, the project that has committed all its resources to the fight against rape and women abuse in the Lowveld. Sister Nomshado, one of two people I will mention by name gave a thought-provoking address about abuse. It was refreshing to note that she focused a large section of her address to the people who matter – the kids. She spoke in a language they found penetrating and frank.

Then there was motivational speaker and ex-activist (by her own confession) Matshilo Motsei. Known for penning the controversial book on Jacob Zuma’s trial (The Kanga and the Kangaroo Court) she rendered an item about the shifting power dynamics. As if prophesying, she said society is getting used to the fact that men are gradually losing their dominance and paving a way for a layer of power-women.

Well, at the end of all the celebrations it was time to exchange numbers and network. We would have loved a braai, but there’s always a next time. Some of the poets who graced the event will be revealed – warts and all in the upcoming Bantu Letters poetry anthology – coming in March. Malibongwe!

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REVIEW

Ethekwini Will Never be the same Again – thanks to Bana ba Bongi

So, the last time I blogged about the drama troupe I have so much confidence in, Bana Ba Bongi was before they sojourned to Ethekwini for their overdue initiation into the world of thespians at The Playhouse. In Sepedi they say, ‘le kobja le sale meetse, ge le ka oma le ya hlaba’. Well, this is one of those proverbs without an English translation – however if I have to try it says that clay can be molded into anything only while wet.

So, with these kids that’s exactly what community builders and committed teachers Nkoto Malebye and Zakhona Mogane are doing – catching them young like sardines. The brains of these kids are still at that stage where anything can be inculcated and made to stick. That’s the same age Hitler Youth were introduced to a doctrine of hate.

The first time I saw Baba ba Bongi stage a show was their inaugural performance infront of their parents and invited guests at Narishe Primary School. You could see that they were still pretty rough in the edges while the hunger for knowledge was disarming. However roughness is romantic when it’s on a diamond. It means that the value of the stone is still locked – is it 9, 18 or more carats? Or maybe it’s the elusive blue diamond.

So, I am reliably informed that the kids went to Ethekwini and had a ball. The last time I had a conversation with Nkoto I gathered that while it should be an educational trip for the young thespians it should also open the world for them. They need to have fun. They need to know that there’s a body of salty water called sea which does not swallow people as legend has it. They need to interact with like-minded people in the industry. They need to be told by someone they respect – probably someone they might have seen on television such as Nthati Moshesh or Sello Maake ka Ncube that they have potential.

Well, that’s a story for another day. That’s still to happen I reckon. They’ll still meet lots of them in the future. However I am told that they went to Ethekwini, had two performances, went out, attended shows, went to the art gallery, went to the Bat Centre, Moses Mabhida Stadium, the beach and various other spots in Ethekwini that a tourist from inland would like to visit.

They went there and had fun. The snapshots, which we are taking a please of sharing with you show a bunch of naïve children smiling at every frame. Happiness was indeed the theme. You felt you could freeze their little smiles and their optimism forever.

Now back home they shared with their parents what they showed the world. It was my second time seeing these confident kids perform and I was humbled. I wasn’t humbled because they are local kids. I was humbled because I have seen people perform and bowl the world – however I have never seen people this young do it with so much commitment that the following day I told Nkoto and Zakhona that I pray that the pedophiles in our community do not derail them.

I believe these kids deserve all the love, care, attention and altruistic spirit they can get from their teachers and society at large. They need to look at older males and see their brothers, uncles and fathers and not perverts out to give them babies and HIV.

I felt sad because there is no place called careful where we could just take these young talents and groom them far from prying lusty eyes.

That aside, I could put my dime that while millions will be called and a few chosen; if these kids continue at this pace millions might be called and millions chosen. They deserve all the success in the world. The world is their oyster – Shakespeare would have said.

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ARTS

Nkoto Malebye - Growing Branches with juicy fruitage

Mudaland funk music group Kwani Experience front lady Nkoto Malebye extending her branches by grooming a youth drama outfit to take over the world. The children, whose ages range between six and thirteen staged their premiere stage play at Narishe Primary School, a school whose staff component went through her grandmother's hands as a principal in another school.

The musical, which is divided into sub-genres of poetry, public speaking, dance and praise takes the children through self-inspiration that Nkoto says should groom them into responsible and proud African children. There are strong elements of Black Consciousness in the self-motivation that preludes the play. And the children looked very jovial and inspired at the premiere.

Nkoto is a graduate of the prestigious National School of the Arts (NSA) and a sought-after actor at the Market Theatre where she has starred in various plays, most notably Soweto Story alongside Aubrey Pooe. It was directed by veteran Malcolm Purkey who Nkoto says mentored her a lot as he advised her to find an agent who would scout auditions for her instead of her hoping to be unearthed in a disorganised fashion.

“I named this group Bana Ba Bongi (Children of Bongi) after my grandmother and mother who were both teachers and community builders. I feel that it’s my way of continuing that legacy”, she told the tens of first time patrons gathered before the inaugural gig. She has been funding the group from her pocket since it started and hopes to secure a sustainable funding model, even if it means a benefactor businessman or non-governmental funder.

Bana Ba Bongi were outstanding in their execution of the musical given that this is a sub-genre which is more difficult in the performance arts. It's not as straight forward as memorising your lines and rendering them infront of another character but often demands music skills. Assistant trainer Zakhona Mogane of Arts Explosion fame promised the parents attending that they should feel confident about their children not risking going astray.

“We put emphasis on teaching these kids about a religious lifestyle, about pride in themselves and respecting parents and society at large”, she said, adding that it is not only performance but life-skills as well which gets inculcated.

Patrons who attended the premiere included cosmetics entrepreneur Valerie Coglin who said she was impressed by the work that Nkoto and her troupe were doing. She added that there needs to be more emphasis on using the arts to transfer indigenous knowledge to the children as the future was with them.

Nkoto requested organisations and businesspeople committed to the arts to help by chirping in with funds to sustain the activities of the group. “Next month we must take them to Durban to perform and we would appreciate any help we can get”, she said.

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