After democracy in South Africa, many young people (particularly black) felt the need to be as culturally expressive and represenatative as they could be. This was probably due to the fact that now as black South African's we had the platform to be as culturally expressive as we could be. Yes, the black of South Africa were culturally expressive before but I do think it was a bit more genuine than how the young people of South Africa choose to do it after democracy. Suthukazi Arosi, Busi Mhlongo, Brenda Fassie and Miriam Makeba are to name a few,the people who I believe were not just icons of music and performance but icons of the culture of South African people.
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| The young and beautiful Miriam Makeba dressed in traditional attire. |
https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgBd6bPUqnO-gflMkqX46af842WiGDPi9hHrtMb183-geQqoEzYZ2V0MvZVlX8r9DHdS3BvgQntAG87FRV3IKRGfdCfUgXug7ghtaAuTTDU7wTiI-brUvStJ3pVag0xVza8J-uibISX6x4/s400/Makeba.jpg
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| The late Busi Mhlongo. |
http://whatsonsa.co.za/news/images/stories/Festivals/Playhouse%20SA%20Womens%20Art/Busi%20Mhlongo.JPG
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| Suthukazi Arosi |
https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikuCOxf9dBaGuD2urTXduE1GIrvC3dp0WoRPQdZkJBDuJIX98HSAqW7FP0UmVq_SPepfDM3M2GTWntElcRoIxY12iwHtY3XsLEk9St3nu6rPYu4Mtk7JBq2k-x8mzhIz5OuRb-mvTC1Af-/s1600/suthu1.jpg
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| The late Brenda Fassie |
https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimQj6tr9sY0Io1ca0-CzTOJzhD51v4XzhJ7sR6DXPEvl-q5MsuK-oTGD4_b38yycAHQgpAUzqo2Sa0WL_VUF0Lv7jbYAeiiTzGHG8721BfchNqkO6jgY-Vv02ToY6rS-c3lzI3eIlHAs4_/s1600/brenda-fassie.jpg
After these beautiful iconic women, came a generation that wanted to be heard in a different way, they were'nt trying to let the world know of the suffering that was taking place in South Africa like those who cam before them wer doing for the past 50 years, they were celebrating their ethnicity and being proud of it because they now could. Thandiswa Mazwai and more recently Simphiwe Dana , Camagwini and Lira are to name a few, examples of these young people. You may be wondering what this has to do with the practice of ukuhlonipha (giving respect).I believe the practice of ukuhlonipha (giving respect) evolved and become the look for "soulful and deep" people. Even though they are not the same (in that "soulful" people do show their arms and they walk barefooted), they have many clear similarities. Growing up I came across many of these young people. It looked cool but as I grew to see more extreme cases, I began to question their reasons behind the way they choose to look and live all of a sudden. Let me make an example, for the first + - 19 years of an individuals life, you go to a model C school, live in suburbia, dress like a "normal" kid and then one day, you decide to stop wearing shoes, stop sleeping on your bed and opt for the floor on a grass mat and shave all your hair off in an effort to "find yourself". It is not wrong to grow up and make realisations about yourself, however, how genuine you are and the reasons as to why you are doing something should always be clear not only to others but to yourself.
After these beautiful iconic women, came a generation that wanted to be heard in a different way, they were'nt trying to let the world know of the suffering that was taking place in South Africa like those who cam before them wer doing for the past 50 years, they were celebrating their ethnicity and being proud of it because they now could. Thandiswa Mazwai and more recently Simphiwe Dana , Camagwini and Lira are to name a few, examples of these young people. You may be wondering what this has to do with the practice of ukuhlonipha (giving respect).I believe the practice of ukuhlonipha (giving respect) evolved and become the look for "soulful and deep" people. Even though they are not the same (in that "soulful" people do show their arms and they walk barefooted), they have many clear similarities. Growing up I came across many of these young people. It looked cool but as I grew to see more extreme cases, I began to question their reasons behind the way they choose to look and live all of a sudden. Let me make an example, for the first + - 19 years of an individuals life, you go to a model C school, live in suburbia, dress like a "normal" kid and then one day, you decide to stop wearing shoes, stop sleeping on your bed and opt for the floor on a grass mat and shave all your hair off in an effort to "find yourself". It is not wrong to grow up and make realisations about yourself, however, how genuine you are and the reasons as to why you are doing something should always be clear not only to others but to yourself.
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| All of the above are of the beautiful and extremely culturally inclined musician Thandiswa Mazwai. |
Image sourced from Google Images. Keyword : Thandiswa Mazwai
http://www.africanvoices.co.za/culture/BongoMaffin.jpg
http://www.bbc.co.uk/africabeyond/media/17783/12534_Thandiswa-Mazwai-101.jpg
http://preditor.mio.co.za/assets/articles/images/resized/09235_resized_thandiswa1.png
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| The graceful Simphiwe Dana. |
http://www.jamati.com/online/wp-content/uploads/2007/12/simphiwedana1.jpg
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/05/Simphiwe_Dana_Wien2007aa.jpg
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| New comer, Camagwini. |
Image sourced from Google images. Keyword :Camagwini
https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiC_-UGlNiuZRI2ws40RtgHG_MQ-OJBGeg6L60LSAmMK2qSjr2LH4ArFOBdQiVTwOvq9YEGPOS0iC0KBX4xsCuZJJqlvR4G_pnkQ4K8bsj3cJC4pMV1bTF5Ixh45z_OMoLCNpYuul8TJvi1/s320/camagwini.jpg
It was normal for many young people to be feeling this way, I mean many of them had been the first bunch of black South Africans to be allowed to go to Model C schools and live in the city, so confusion was inevitable, but the rate that this movement spread was quite alarming. I'm not saying it was wrong, but the reasons as to why most individuals did it was to be perceived as being a "deep person who knows where they come from", I believe that was wrong as in many cases it was not true.
It's great to be show pride in one's culture, but to go to extremes of not wearing shoes and sleeping on the floor next to your bed just because you feel that that will make you feel closer to your ancestors who are the reason you are alive, is wrong and completely misunderstood.
I hope since then the young people of South Africa have matured and have come to find a perfect (ok, not perfect but clear) understanding of how to bridge a gap between the two world's. We are not a confused generation, but we are a generation with a lot to work with, which I believe is such a blessing.
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