Bahlabelelelani – Why Do They Sing?: Gender and Power in Contemporary Women’s Songs

Indigenous societies that are steeped in patriarchy have various channels through which they deal with abusive characteristics of relations in some of these communities. One such route is through songs, which sanction women to voice that which, bound by societal expectations, they would not normally be able to say. This book focuses on the nature of women’s contemporary songs in the rural community of Zwelibomvu, near Pinetown in KwaZulu-Natal. It aims to answer the question ‘Bahlabelelelani – Why do they sing?’, drawing on a variety of discourses of gender and power to examine the content and purposes of the songs. Restricted by the custom of hlonipha, women resort to allusive language, such as is found in ukushoza, a song genre that includes poetic elements and solo dance songs. Other contexts include women’s social events, such as ilima, which refers to the collective activity that takes place when a group of women come together to assist another woman to complete a task that is typically carried out by women. During umgcagco (traditional weddings) and umemulo (girls’ coming-of-age ceremonies), songs befitting the occasion are performed. And neighbouring communities come together at amacece to perform according to izigodi (districts), where local maskandi women groups may be found performing for a goat or cow stake. The songs, when read in conjunction with the interviews and focus group discussions, present a complex picture of women’s lives in contemporary rural KwaZulu-Natal, and they offer their own commentary on what it means to be a woman in this society.

About the Author :
Nompumelelo Zondi is an associate professor and head of the Department of African Languages at the University of Pretoria. As a way of challenging the hegemony of Eurocentric theories in addressing African problems, she is currently exploring techniques of shifting away from such approaches by researching approaches to address African problems using Afro-centric paradigms.

Review :
Seziyosengwa yinkehli! (There is power in a woman’s voice). This inspiring book by a woman writer gives other women a platform to tell their stories in the best African way possible – ngomculo (through music)."" — Boni Zungu, senior lecturer: African Languages, University of the Witwatersrand ""A fresh and intimate portrait of women’s songs in contemporary rural KwaZulu-Natal, Zondi’s work critically interrogates the multifaceted reasons why women sing. It recognises the complexity of oral performances that both challenge and reproduce the everyday norms of gender oppression and inequality. Bahlabelelelani is a valuable and much-needed addition to cultural studies of oral traditions and literary performance.’ — Emily Margaretten, author of Street Life under a Roof: Youth Homelessness in South Africa