September was cultural heritage month in South Africa and the jazz festival is one of the traditional highlights, paying homage to a genre that found its place in the townships in pre-independence era to momentarily escape the brutality of apartheid.
In its 25th year, the Joy of Jazz festival in South Africa perfected its sound, stage and lineup to an audience that keeps asking for more. Sandton’s Convention Centre played host to 50 world-class artistes from 10 different countries performing across five stages from September 28.
I attended the performances at Mbira Stage, one of five stages across the Convention Centre which also had a set up for deejays (or what was called electronic music).
I was looking forward to the tribute to Oliver Mtukudzi, the late jazz legend. The performance was led by the Oliver Mtukudzi Tribute band featuring Samantha Mtukudzi, Yvonne Chaka Chaka, Madhuva Madima and Mbeu.
The African queens were in their element, celebrating a friend, and fellow performer, evoking Bra Hugh Masekela on the stage in a powerful performance for the night.
One could have sworn that Mtukudzi was reincarnated through Mbeu’s powerful vocals coming across in Todi, Ndakuvara and alongside Mama Yvonne on Neria and Madhuva on Hear Me Lord.
Ihashi Elimhlophe’s act was as visually captivating as it was lyrical. His performance, a blend of traditional and contemporary sounds backed by his Zulu dancers, provided for a cultural symphony at its best.
Ihashi who performs with his wife Ebony Ngcobo and his family celebrated 45 years of stage performance earlier this year.
Thandiswa Mazwai and Mafikizolo closed the evening way after 1am at the Mbira stage with legendary stuff of the night. Mafikizolo, was the soundtrack of my postgraduate years and brought back memories and new sounds.
Other legends performing at the Jazz festival were Victor Masondo with the Chamber Orchestra of Johannesburg, Jesicca Pina from Portugal and the distinctive Keiko Matsui from Japan sharing an act with Nokukhanya Dlamini from Msanzi.
While music is one of South Africa’s most defining cultural identities, the late Nelson Mandela continues to be one of the country’s greatest icons.
The Mandela Foundation, the non-profit organisation he founded remains committed to the work of memory, dialogue and legacy.
This year, the 22nd Nelson Mandela Annual Lecture, hosted by the University of the Witwatersrand was delivered by Nobel Laureate Abdulrazak Gurnah.
The lecture’s theme, Realising Our Shared Humanity, opened with a recorded speech by Mama Graca Machel.
Gurnah lent his memory to his first recollection of South Africa as a nation, then a much younger schoolboy in the 1960s reflecting on Zanzibar’s elections and the promise of decolonisation and the surprise of electoral violence witnessed at the time.
He spoke of the mistrust of political actors then (and even now), but celebrated continental political actors such as Kwame Nkurumah, Abdel Nasser, Neru and Marshal Tito.
Then there was the Sharpeville massacre – and on the flip side, the same year Chief Albert Luthuli won the Nobel peace prize, the first African to win the prize.
Played over the lecture was Mungu Ibariki Africa (God Bless Africa) adopted by Tanganyika as its national anthem in 1961. The song, a literal translation of Nkosi Sikeleli Africa, was co-created by Enoch Sontonga and used by the Africa National Congress (ANC) for many years.
He also recalled the boycott of South African goods by Tanzania in deference of apartheid and the establishment of the ANC offices in Mnazi Mmoja, in Dar es Salaam which Madiba would visit in the early 60s.
Being in South Africa at the tail end of its heritage month had me reflect on the meaning of culture. More so, at a time when Kenya’s Ministry of Culture and Heritage recently announced that it had set aside Sh100 million towards seeking a unifying symbol of national pride that reflects the country’s diverse cultural heritage.
According to Principal Secretary Ummi Bashir’s promise last year, this dress should be unveiled this October. Never mind that Utamaduni day has since been changed to Mazingira Day.
The concept of one Kenyan dress or even a symbol representative of 47 different communities is certainly wishful thinking or in the words of cultural scholar Dr Joyce Nyairo, the perfect example of a metonym.
Few nations like Scotland have one national dress, which is borrowed from one community to represent the whole. Most African nations take pride in the celebration of various communities coming together to display their culture and heritage.
In South Africa, the Xhosa, Zulu, Tsonga, Ndebele all adorn different outfits which not only distinguishes where they come from, but also their age sets and status in life.
Culture is more than dress; it is our mannerisms, our ideas, our customs, religion, rituals and language. To celebrate culture would not elevate one community above another but rather seek to find that which makes us unique as Mbeere’s, Turkana’s, Pokomos or Nyala’s.
Rather than invest so much money on a subject that previously bore no fruit, we need to rethink our spaces and put money to educating our children on our history, diversity and the things that now make up our popular culture.
The long white skirts and aprons worn by the Xhosa women, the animal skins of the Zulu men and the ibheshu covering their backsides, the colourful xibelani of the Tsonga and the beadwork of the Ndebele all contribute to the country’s culture.
On a more contemporary note, the Springbok jersey unites people at home and abroad, as does their love for their football team. That is culture.
Kenyans have taken a liking to Nigerian garb at traditional events, with men donning the dashiki long shirts and matching pants and women borrowing their designs complete with imitations of their coral beads.
Yet, we barely scratch the surface of traditional attire from West Africa. The buba and zani (wrapper) worn by the Hausa women, the isiagu shirts with intricate patterns (most common being the lion head to symbolise power and authority) worn by the Igbos and the coral beads for their women are well celebrated.
The Yoruba with their iro and bubba (skirt and wrapper) for the women and agbada for the men or the colourful Efik community all come together to symbolise the various cultures.
I don’t remember there being a clamour to maintain a national look as each community stands proud displaying the richness of home.
This article was originally published by a www.businessdailyafrica.com . Read the Original article here. .