infusion of folklore into the south african jazz

Southern African Journal for Folklore Studies Vol. 22 (2) December 2012

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Infusion of Folklore into the South African jazz: an analysis Mokgale Makgopa School of Human and Social Sciences University of Venda [email protected] Madimabe Mapaya School of Human and Social Sciences University of Venda [email protected] Tsoaledi Thobejane School of Human and Social Sciences University of Venda [email protected] Abstract

More than anything, music is a cultural phenomenon. At this level, music should be regarded as folklore. However, in recent history, music has been pushed ‘up’ to occupy some high grounds in order to serve the elites. Thus, music has gained residency in churches and in palaces, especially in Europe. These symbols of elitism have now been replaced by commerce, which is more global. Nonetheless, music continues to serve the rich and the powerful. Traditional music on the other hand has remained somewhat true to its originsas music of the peasants. Fast forward to today, there seems to occur a return of the elite music to the source or its organic origin. This phenomenon is evidenced in the apparent consciousness that intentionally infuses folklore into genres of music previously associated with the elite groups. This paper reviews the infusion of folklore into South African jazz.

1. Introduction

Two concepts, namely folklore and South African jazz etch the title of this article. It is, therefore, prudent to proffer definitions out-rightly for each one of them. Firstly, in defining the concept folklore, terms such as customs, verbal transmission, culture, oral beliefs and traditions feature prominently. Loosely, however, folklore refers to the knowledge of a people; it is orally transmitted from one generation to the next. Structurally, the word ‘folklore’ consists of two parts; the folk and the lore (see Dundes, 1965). The term folk is an old Anglo-Saxon word meaning ‘the people’; and lore, also Anglo-Saxon in origin, means something that is taught or learned. In fact, the word folklore, itself, was coined in 1846, as a convenient term for the belief structures reckoned to underlie what was then known as antiquitiesthe field of study now called archaeology (Black Cat Folklore, 2007). For a more elaborate definition, we consider the American Folklore Society’s that sees folklore as:


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[the] traditional art, literature, knowledge, and practice that is disseminated largely through oral communication and behavioral example. Every group with a sense of its own identity shares, as a central part of that identity, folk traditions–the things that people traditionally believe (planting practices, family traditions, and other elements of worldview), do (dance, make music, sew clothing), know (how to build an irrigation dam, how to nurse an ailment, how to prepare barbecue), make (architecture, art, craft), and say (personal experience stories, riddles, song lyrics). As these examples indicate, in most instances there is no hard-and-fast separation of these categories, whether in everyday life or in folklorists’ work.

Continentally, the South African Folklore Society (SAFOS) uses the term folklore in its broadest and multidimensional senses; encompassing fields, which impinge on folk culture, such as mythology, and all customs, rituals and structures of human society. Its origins can be traced back to oral transmission. From an African perspective, though, we should perhaps, consider Makgamatha’s (1993:28) definition, that refers to folklore as “people’s customs – any of those beliefs, customs and Oral literary forms ‘common to man’ passed from generation to the other by word of mouth”. While this is a poignant definition, we could afford to pay little attention to the ‘word of mouth’ ideation, since the folk, especially in today’s epistemology, may also be literate. Nevertheless, when the concept folklore is unpacked, it becomes clear that cultural beliefs form part of its meaning. Ultimately, folklore is simply the learning of (ordinary) people’s knowledge and the common belief structures prevalent within a given society. Secondly, assuming that the definition of jazz is readily available and plausible, African jazz, or South African jazz, to be specific, is a combination of the American conception (of jazz) with the musical elements of Africa. Ntemi Piliso, the leader of a South African super groups called The African Jazz Pioneers, explains (in Ansell, 2005: 71) that ‘African jazz’ was at first the emulation of American big band jazz, but soon incorporated more African elements. Coombes (2004) opines that marabi, a popular music genre of the 1940s and ’50s, is one of the earlier manifestations of South African jazz. In addition to it being a ‘hip’ nomenclature of the era, the term jazz was, in the context of apartheid-oppressed South Africa, an échappé mechanism that found solace in the socio-economic progress of the African American experienceimagined or real. In other words, the use of the term invariably implied that one is tuned to progressive socio-political thinking of the time. As Malinga, one of the South African jazz stalwarts, puts it, jazz was hip in the 1940s and 1950s. It is this affinity with the Black American socio-political progress that some popular bands opted to attach the phrase jazz band to their moniker even when the music played was hardly jazz. Today, however, most of the artists we write about would refute the categorisation of their music as jazz or any other genre, despite the insistent on such pigeonholing by the media and scholars. After all, Chris McGregor, one of the pioneering South African jazz musicians, is quoted in Baneshik, (1964) stating that the musical tradition of the African could be said to be leading directly into what could qualify as jazz. In addition, Malinga (ibid) defines South African jazz as music that is composed and performed with strong adaptation to the linguistic tendencies of vernacular South African languages and based on common place


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(to South African) harmonic structures and rhythms. From these two definitions or points of view, we may conclude that South African jazz is close to South African folklore. And by its broad nature, folklore, in this context, mixes easily with other musical elements to bring into bear that which characterises the genre.

2. Methodology

A sample of music recordings representative of the Northern Sotho ethnolinguistic group often lumped, or loosely categorised as South African jazz was collected and analysed. Analysis of this data involved the employment of both the musicological and the linguistic approachesa modality that becomes most appropriate since language and music are about expression; and both reside in the same brain faculty (Georgetown University Medical Center, 2007). Put differently, analysis was aimed at accounting for both the linguistic and the musical aspects of South African jazz as a music genre. Accordingly, literature on language-music, language-culture and folklore in general formed the initial data which was later used to corroborate the lore as it obtains among the folk, in this case the Northern Sotho speaking ‘jazz’ musicians. This approach was adopted with the full appreciation of the strength of an approach that starts from the lore and then consulting desktop data later. For exigency, the opposite direction seemed more practical for the purpose of this article.

3. Discussion

Other than organic means, folklore finds its way into South African jazz through many ways. The most obvious is the employment of the Northern Sotho language in compositions and/or the subscription to the belief system that gives currency to the idea that talent and indeed compositions are bestowed by, or come from badimo (ancestors). From a musicological point of view, the influence of language on music has been one area that is thoroughly researched: In his book Music as Discourse, for instance, Kofi Agawu (2009:15-39) presents an analysis of studies concerning the association of language and music. He concisely arrives at what he calls the ‘ten propositions’ about language and music (Agawu, 2009:20). Aggregating results of such studies, we may aver that at some basic level, language dictates how music, African music in particular, is phrased and how the beat could be perceived and/or even executed. For fear of venturing into extensive musicological discourse, we rather draw from surface concepts to illustrate that more than language, the injection of folkloric elements into a musical practice is in itself a declaration of associations and a reaffirmation of cultural affinitiesthus a confirmation of one’s identity. Suffice to say, such folkloric elements would come from the performative hemisphere of African cultural practices (in this case Northern Sotho practices). Here we speak of language in motion as in idiomatic expressions, poetry and of indigenous music performative procedures. These include 1) the use of folktale jingles (folktale songs), 2) kiba, or some of its elements, 3) the harnessing of communal celebratory atmosphere, and 4) the use of culture-sensed language devices such as idiom and proverbs. South African jazz musicians borrow all


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these elements as they try to reconnect themselves with their Africanness, or to play on the nostalgic emotions of the audiences.

4. Infusion of childhood themes

Childhood musical themes feature prominently as compositional materials for most South African musicians. In fact, other musical genres such as kwaito rely heavily on gimmicks that are lifted from children’s playground, childhood themes or some similar inventions. But this is a strategy that was used even before the kwaito era. For instance, the song Potilo by the group of the 1980s known as Splash is actually a Tshivenda counting song. South African jazz musicians also find this approach working. Vusi Mahlasela, for instance, has enjoyed some success owing to the presence of a childhood song Silang Mabele in his 1999 album of the same title. Further examples of this strategy would include Judith Sephuma employment of themes such as piki piki mabelane as a refrain of a song titled I Remember from the album A cry,A smile, A dance (2001) and Selaelo Selota’s use of thlogo magetla also as a refrain in the song Grandma’s song from the album Stories Lives and Told (2005). Of all Mapaya’s recorded songs, Ngwana ‘llang ga ke morate (2005) is the most frequently played on Thobela fm (one of the Sotho South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) radio stations). For a jazzier example, we may list Zim Nqawana’s Qula Kwedinia song associated with stick fighting of abakwetha (Xhosa initiates) from his album Zimology (1997). According to Vuyo Pokwana (telephonic interview, 2012), the entirety of Nqawana’s musical exposition is largely anchored on the ceremony called umgubhothe coming out (graduation ceremony). Whereas Makeba’s musical conquest could be capped by her 1963 invitation to address the sitting of the United Nations Special Committee on apartheid (Allen, 2008), it was the subliminal Xhosa culture permeating her music that intrigued the music world. The music world could only marvel at the clicks in the lyrics of one indigenous Xhosa song titled Qongqothwane:

Qongqothwane Lyrics Igqirha lendlela nguqongqothwane Igqirha lendlela kuthwa nguqongqothwane Ebeqabel egqithapha uqongqothwane Ebeqabel egqithapha uqongqothwane (The doctor of the road is the beetle) (The doctor of the road is said to be the beetle) (He has passed by up the steep hill, the beetle) (English translation posted by Helmut Loti)

As it can be seen, the clicks (in bold) appear fourteen times in the short four-line stanza, resulting in those who cannot reproduce the Xhosa click to rename it the click song. Qongqothwane is one of the legendary Xhosa children songs known to almost all Xhosa


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children rural or urban. Being a children’s song, it is normally used as a tongue twister while at the same time using animal characterisation to teach a particular lesson. But Makeba’s version is appreciated by adult audiences alike. Its appeal maybe located in the fact that it allows adults, in a subliminal way, to just be! The argument advanced in this article is that African musicians are carriers of folklore; and this may be attributable to the strength of African spirituality, which undergirds most African performance, or through cognitive modes such as the use of vernacular text, including their unique nuances. Infusion of kiba Kiba (a.k.a. dinaka) is a predominantly male song/dance genre, which, in essence, is the representation of the Northern Sotho sonic complex. In other words, the music/dance systems of the Northern Sotho people draw from kiba for their philosophy, procedure and for sonic integrity. The same could be said about tshikona for Vhavenda or indlamu for amaZulu. It is for this reason that prominent musicians (Northern Sotho musicians in this case), in asserting their ethnomusicality, resort to kiba as a definitive musical expression that undergirds their ethnomusical identity. Normally different musicians extract certain elements to use in their composition. In some instances several elements are used in one album or across the album tracks (song on a CD). For instance, in his song Khando from the album Woman got the right to be, Caiphus Semenya uses the 6/8 mitre (an organisational structure of 6 pulses per unit) in order to recreate what Nzewi (1994) refers to as megarhythms or a groove typical of kiba. Even though the song is straight-jacketed by the inorganic computer programming, the lyrics help in buttressing the idea of kiba. Using a live band, Jonas Gwangwa, in his song Africa lefase la badimo from the album A Temporary Inconvenience, gets even closer to the feel of kiba. Also interesting is the deployment of kiba as a means of connecting the living and badimo. This act reflects a higher sensitivity of the oneness of the living, the living dead, and the land. At this level, Gwangwa operates squarely in the realm of what Mphahlele coins as Afrikan Humanism (see Rafapa, 2010). Among the younger and university graduated generation of musicians, Judith Sephuma figuratively sings of‘Naka di a lela (dinaka performances are underway). Employing the 6/8 metre, Sephuma invokes the dinaka-inspired megarhythm to deliver a much more form of contemporary musicality. The use of the Northern Sotho language in the song further enhances the dinaka feel. Despite his educated sensibilities, Selaelo selota succeeds in capturing the unmistakable Northern Sotho signing phraseology. The opening phrase of the song Sekgalabjana from his Lapeng laka album is hauntingly Northern Sotho in character. The irregular manner of singing is perhaps reminiscent of dipela (a genre that expresses dinaka through singing rather than the blowing of the actual reed pipes) style of singing. Finally, the use of one of the classic song/dances Konriti, which is also covered by Mapaya in his album Come undone, are just a few examples of efforts by musicians of the Northern Sotho origin to harness the power of kiba in their different repertoires. Besides the ill-gotten conception called free kiba— a concept detested by many informed musicians of Northern Sotho


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persuasion— Galane has hinged his whole music endeavours on the idea of kiba. This observation is evidenced in performance where he often gives a brief description of drum roles within the kiba drum section.

5. Recreation of communal modes of celebrating

The term motse is used to refer to an African village. In terms of African culture and tradition, motse is a communal unit ─ a village, which is expected to moan and celebrate as one. Celebrating in solidarity is something, which members of an African village are supposed to be socialised. African village-style-celebration would naturally feature the blowing of diphalafala and matsie (kudu and antelope horns) followed by mašata, (disorganised sounds) coming from members of the village, go letša mekgolokwanne (ululating), go reta (praise-poetry singing), go letša melodi (whistling), and performance of certain rituals including go phasa (ancestral veneration). In the track motse/mokgolokwane, which is, in fact, a medley of two songs, Galane succeedes in recreating this African celebratory atmosphere. In the song, an African woman could be heard declaring that tše ke [dilo] tša badimo tše! (These are for the ancestors). Again we notice the connection of kiba with ancestral veneration. In any indigenous African function or event, badimo ba somiwa (ancestors are the first to be informed) a ritual which is normally carried out early in the morning prior to the event. In sum, Jonas Gwangwa and musicians such as Tlokwe Sehume or Sello Galane are attempting to recreate the jovial mood of an African village in their performance.

6. Use of culture-sensed language devices

In certain spheres of the African culture, especially where literacy levels are inconsequential, figurative language becomes an indispensible component of folklore under the sub-category oral folklore or oral literature. Idioms and metaphors, which are constituents of stylized or didactic prose, are used by Africans to teach the young about morals and values of particular communities. Specifically, didactic or stylized prose focuses on adults, and its content pertains to the different challenges life presents. Married women, for instance, may be discouraged from divorcing, advised on how to look after their family and/or how to do some chores within the village. On the other hand, this kind of prose could be used for chastising married men who indulge in undesirable acts. Men and the entirety of leadership, both communal and royal, are not immune to sarcasm and criticism, especially if such is carried by splendid prose. If fact, when such prose is put to music, it artistically rendered expression immune to prosecution. The use of Idioms Because of their power of expression, idioms are used in text-based music of all cultures. A mere look into the many titles of jazz standards and Rock music reveal heavy usage of idiomatic expression. The same trend can be observed within the general gamut of what is referred to as pop-music. Galane, in his album Free Kiba (year), uses this language device effectively in titling some of his compositions; a medley, Fegolla se Boralasa


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borala/Sebodu sa bommašela is one clear example.

fegolla se borala mampšha re lapa melala (Please give us the long-awaited news)

Normally, the idiom is used when there is either a delay in reporting long-awaited news, story or message. The expression is made vivid by the image of salivating dogs, just about to be fed. The efficaciousness of the idiomatic expressions are culture bound. In other words, the interpretation of their patterns and meanings rely on ones insight into particular cultural sensibilities. In the same song, to give another example, there is a refrain sung by women that goes:

A ye ye, a bo re babe! (Alas! let it [the African beer] spice/touch our tongues)

No mention of bjalwa (Africa beer) is made in the phrase itself. One only needs to be part of the culture to connect the context and action in order to arrive at this connection. The second part of the medley enlists a traditional song titled Sebodu sa bommašel.Whereas sa bommašila could be an adverbial phrase referring to Sebodu, the entire phrase could be used as an adverb to the subject that by be fixed, For instance, Motlašo ke sebodu sabommašela: Song refrain.

Sebodu wee sa bommashela (Mmašela’s lazy one)

Sebodu sa bommašela depicts the seriousness of laziness: Sebodu refers to someone who is lazy. It is believed that one cannot find the lowest form of laziness than in Mmašela’s ‘world’. For one’s degree of laziness to be equated to the laziness in Mmašela’s domain, means the point of laziness is severe. The song in its traditional sense is used to discourage laziness, especially among the young. Another example could come from Selota’s song titled Mmakoma. In this song the refrain sung by women, in part, says:

Maropeng ke mpara wena o tshaba sekhethe (Maropeng is an idiot, he is afraid of the skirt)

Here, Maropeng is mockingly considered a moron because he is afraid of dating or forging relationships with women. Once again, one has to be on the culture’s inside track to fully understand, appreciate and enjoy the full meaning of these and other language expressions in song. Arguably, a mere insertion of an idiom into, say, a jazz piece of music, will inevitably colour it with the original culture of the idiom ─ such is the power of idioms.


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The use of Direto (praise-poetry) Go reta (to sing praise poetry) is one linguistic device used extensively by Africans; they use it in celebrations, funerals, graduation from different socialization institutions, and in many other spheres of life. Sereto (praise-poetry) marks the climatic points within performance of mmino wa setšo (indigenous African music). And sereto is perhaps the most discernible language devise used by musicians to assert their identity. Writing in City Press newspaper on Sunday the 7 April, Dinga Sikwebu, in his article jazz goes on a poetic exploration (2002), opens his piece by observing that:

Over the past two years, no less than six South African jazz albums have tunes where riffs interact with poetic lines. First, it was Zim Ngqawana and McCoy's Mrubata's Hoelyk'it. Then last year we saw Gloria Bosman, Jimmy Dludlu, Geoff Mapaya and Joe Nina's Lakim band dishing out music CDs that experimented with the use of poetry...mixing song and recital is not something new. ``In black Africa, music is always accompanied by other forms of art,'' says guitarist Mapaya, who introduces himself through praise-singing in his latest album, Black Maria. (http://152.111.1.87/argief/berigte/citypress/2002/04/07/29/2.html)

Re a lotšha! pšha-ptšha diatla, referred to in the above quote is a Mapaya’s sereto used in the exposition of his Black Maria album is relayed in full by Makgopa in his (2011) article, Reclaiming Space through Folklore and Oral Performance: The Vanished African Self and Cultural Identity. Setting poetry to music is one other African contribution to contemporary music practices of the world. With these few examples, it should be born in mind that the practice is indeed prevalent in South Africa. Other excellent examples include lifela of Basotho or maskandi music of amaZulu.

7. Repatriation philosophy

Another devise that musicians use to ‘folklorise’ their music is to invoke deep-rooted thought patterns with which audiences would easily sympathise. One such deep-rooted mentality involves repatriation. Following industrialisation in South Africa over a hundred years ago, most Africans were uprooted from their areas of origin in order to conscript into the bulldozing environment of employment. The new conditions were not ideal for African families, where a man is separated from his family support. In this situation, Africans would use the idea of repatriation to cement the idea of ‘home’ ─ a place where, after all the hardships, one would retreat to– a spiritual sanctuary. A musician who portrays the sense of longing for home, receive immediate sympathy from those who may be feeling the same. Often, musicians who invoke this affective aspect or fond memories (of home), go beyond using the home village name to also infuse musical and other elements that aid the reminiscence of the home environment. A case in point would be Jonas Gwangwa’s song GaMashashane or Jusing Sephuma’s overtly titled song Gae. In Gae Sephuma nostalgically sings about several villages she calls home, particularly GaMaleboho, which she claims is the love of her heart.


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8. Conclusion

South African jazz musicians could be seen as extensions of the folk because as their music is shaped by the common lore of their respective communities. Heightened levels of sensitivity are observable among many Black South African jazz musicians, many of whom acknowledge the role of badimo, amadlozi or izinyanya (ancestors) in their music making expositions. These musicians often show gratitude towards badimo who are believed to have given them the talent and compositions that come to them in dreams. Arguably, deploying certain folkloric elements in the music-making processes and economy presents a way through which the transmission and the diffusion of orality and cultural exuberance could be resuscitated, promoted, preserved and ported to different worlds. The emulation of folkloric musical procedure, recreation of communal modes of celebrating and the use of language devices constitute just a few vehicles through which African regeneration could come about. To fully understand this and other phenomena, this paper, has presented an analysis of the infusion of folklore into the South African jazz enterprise, using these and other factors.

9. References

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Of Musical Arts In South Africa, 5, P.89–90. Baneshik, P. 1964. Now-A Jazz Form Distinctively South African. Rand Daily Mail, 22

January. Black Cat Folklore 2007. What Is Folklore? [Online] Available At:

Http://People.Bath.Ac.Uk/Liskmj/Folklore/Folklore.Htm [Accessed 06 June 2012].

Mapaya, G. 2001. Black Maria. Johannesburg: Universa Lmusic. CDSRBL 287 (146). Sephuma, J. 2008. Change Is Here. Johannesburg: Giant Steps. CDSTEP125. Coombes, A.E. 2004. Visual Culture And Public Memory In A Democratic South Africa.

Johannesburg, South Africa: Wits University Press. Dandes, A. 1965. The Study Of Folklore In Literature And Culture: Identification And

Interpretation. The Journal Of American Folklore, 78(308), Pp.136-42. Georgetown University Medical Center 2007. Music And Language Are Processed By The

Same Brain Systems. [Online] Available At: http://Www.Sciencedaily.Com-/Releases/2007/09/070927121101.Htm [Accessed 09 September 2011].

Sephuma, J. 2001. Naka Id A Lela. Johannesburg: Giant Steps. CD7976102. Nzewi, M. 1994. The African Principle Of Megarhythm. Muziek Grenzeloos, Pp.177-80. Rafapa, L. 2010. Es'Kia Mphahlele's Afrikan Humanism. Rivonia: Stainberg & Associates. Selota, S. 2008. Lapeng Laka. Johannesburg: Giant Steps. EAN:6007124554130. Sikwebu, D. 2002. Jazz Goes On A Poetic Exploration. [Online] Available At:

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Mahlasela, V. 1997. Silang Mabele. Johannesburg: BMG. Gwangwa, J. 2009. Sounds From Exile. New York: Epic. CDEPC8182. Mapaya, G. 2005. Statement. Johannesburg: Mmiroa Production. CDRBL340. Selota, S. 2005. Stories Lived And Told. Johannesburg: Rhino; Virgin Classics. CDCLR 2000. Makeba, M. 2002. The World 0f Miriam Makeba. Stafford: Collectables. CD3067770. Welcome To SAFOS Home N.D. SAFOS Home Page. [Online] Available At:

http://Safos.Org.Za/ [Accessed 08 June 2012]. Semenya, C. 1996. Woman Got A Right To BE. Johannesberg: Colombia SA. CDCOL8009 . Semenya, C. 2009. Woman Got The Right To Be. Johannesburg: Heita. CD7975957. Nqawana, Z. 1997. Zimology. Johannesburg: Sheer Sounds. SSCD 038.

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