The Tongue Is Fire: South African Storytellers and Apartheid

477 Pages·1996·23.48 MB·English

by  Harold Scheub

The Tongue Is Fire
Theshadowsofmemory.Xhosawomenatdusk.
The Tongue Is Fire
South African Storytellers
and Apartheid
Harold Scheub
The University of Wisconsin Press
TheUniversityofWisconsinPress
1930MonroeStreet
Madison,Wisconsin 53711
3HenriettaStreet
LondonWC2E8LU,England
www.wisc.edu\wisconsinpress
Copyright© 1996
TheBoardofRegentsoftheUniversityofWisconsinSystem
Allrightsreserved
2 4 6 7 5 3
PrintedintheUnitedStatesofAmerica
"Chakijana,theTrickster"isreprintedfromHaroldScheub,TheAfricanStoryteller(1990)
bypermissionofKendallfHuntPublishingCompany.
LibraryofCongressCataloging-in-PublicationData
Scheub,Harold.
Thetongueisfire :SouthAfricanstorytellersandapartheid/
HaroldScheub.
476p. em.
Includesbibliographicalreferencesandindex.
ISBN0-299-15090-9(cloth:aIlepaper).
ISBN0-299-15094~1 (pbk.:alk.paper).
1.Storytelling-SouthAfrica. 2.Oraltradition--SouthAfrica.
3.Folklore-Politicalaspects-SouthAfrica. 4.Apartheid-SouthAfrica.
5..SouthAfrica- Sociallifeandcustoms. I.Title.
GR359.S34 1996
398'.0968-dc20 96-17774
I rememberagirlfrom Soweto, ayounghighschoolgirl, an African,
determinedlymarchingin thaturbanghetto inJune of1976, withagroup of
fellow students,acombination in heroffear and bravado, ofdaring todo
somethingthatshe thoughtherparents shouldhavedone, takingheryoung life
andfiercely thrusting itforward, hercoinfor thefuture.
Didshesurvivethehorrors ofthat yearofyouthfuldeath in South Africa?I
was presentataglorious questfor freedom.
I knewherbriefly. We spokeasI stoodwatchingonashabbystreetin
Soweto, fifteen milesoutsideJohannesburg. Her namewas Thembeka, shewasa
Zulu, fifteen yearsold, andI had metherbrieflyatahomein Soweto theweek
before, atapoetryperformance: poetrywas oneoftheweapons in thestruggle
againstapartheid. Now shewas in the streets, herlifeherweapon, determined,
as shehad toldme, tomakealand worth thefulfillment ofherlife. Without
suchaland, shesaid, life wasemptyand not worth theeffort.
How couldsuchayoungandfragile person makesuchawesomedecisions at
suchatime in herlife? In this dreadful place that racehatredhadcreated, this
Soweto, homeofthree million Africans livingin squaloranddespair, this
fragile tendril roseand, for asplendid moment, madethe worldshine.
Who was she? What happened toherduring thosedread months when over
five hundredyoungteenagers woulddie, destroyed bythe bulletsofthe
stormtroopers ofapartheid? Where is shenow?
That imageaffectedmydestinyas surelyas theeventsof1976affected this
splendidyounggirl, who mayneverhavegrown into womanhood, whose body
mayhavebeen oneofthosefallen children the world sawon thefront pagesof
its newspapersat the time.
This volumeis dedicated toher, toThembeka, andalloftheotherThembekas
who struggledfor freedom during threehundredandfifty years ofefforts to
enslave them.

Yes, this isGod's place,butGodisnot here right now.
He shallarriveinhis owntime,
Idon't knowwhenbecausehe tells no one that.
He mayarrive today, ortomorrow....
Iwatchover the homesteadwhenGodis not here.
-from"TheEndlessMountain,"
byNongenileMasithathuZenani

Contents
Illustrations xiii
Preface xv
Note xxvii
Introduction: SomeMoments, Figures, and
Themes in South AfricanHistory 3
PROLOGUE
FOUNDERS OF THE INHERITANCE:
"LETME GO BACK"
Introduction 21
Ndumiso Bilotomane,Origins ofthe Xhosa 31
The DevelopmentoftheKingdom 31
The StateoftheKingdom 43
PART 1 CULTNATING THE PAST:
"THIS IS GOD'S PLACE"
Introduction . 51
NongenileMasithathuZenani,"The Necessary
Clown" . 61
NongenileMasithathuZenani,#The Endless
Mountain" 78
Hayibo, Mityi's Stepbrother 78
Mityi, theNeglected 97
Mityi, theCreator 119
~~~~~ ~
PART2 AMBIGUOUS PROMISE: "IT KEEPS ON
HAPPENING, IT KEEPS ON HAPPENING"
Introduction 149
N0ElaniGxavu,Malikophus Daughter 163
EnulyNtsobane, The DeadlyPumpkin 187
PART3 THE THREATENED DREAM:
"THE LANDWAS SEIZED"
Introduction 205
MdukiswaTyabashe, SoTall HeTouched theHeavens 223
ix