Doctoral Degrees (African Languages)

Permanent URI for this collectionhttps://hdl.handle.net/10413/8280

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Social commitment in some Zulu literary works published during the apartheid era.
(2002) Mathonsi, Nhlanhla Naphtal.; Canonici, Noemio Noverino.
This study, Social commitment in some Zulu literary works published during the apartheid era, was motivated by what was perceived as arrogant and superficial observations by a number of especially foreign-based critics, that all the literature in South Africa African-languages published during the apartheid period was children stuff, not worth the paper it was written on, and that it did not show any effort at commitment to, or at reflecting on the weighty social problems that civil society in South Africa had to bear. In response to such criticism, the study highlights aspects of social commitment in selected literary works, and it also sketches the committed approach as part of the African literary outlook. It traces commitment in oral traditional literature, where it appears that the great preoccupation of the oral society was that none of the achievements of the human spirit get lost. The proverbs clearly reflect on, and offer directives for, day-to-day problems, while myths represent reflections on the fate of man and the world. Folktales use common problems in life and family as the basis for the conflictual situations to be resolved. Izibongo (praise poems) declaim the heroic deeds of our leaders, trace our history, and demonstrate that, even in moments of glory, the needs of the people must be taken care of on pain of being negatively labelled with invectives that will reverberate through the centuries. In a brief survey on the early 20th century stages of South African literature in African languages (Zulu, Xhosa, S. Sotho) it was noted that our pioneer writers made a gigantic effort to experiment with genres, forms and contents, and, in the process, to reflect on the anxieties caused by the often bewildering encounter of Mrica with the west. Our early writers excel in creating poetry that amalgamates tradition and modernization, but in the narrative genres they seem to be able to be more genial and creative when they deal with historical material, possibly because they feel more at home with an inspiration that imitates the glorious praise poetry and are thus able to deal with the present in terms of past events, without upsetting critics or education authorities. Then the decades of the expected maturity arrived -from the 1960s to the 1990s, but the seeds of vibrant originality sown during the previous period were cruelly trampled over and squashed, possibly by both the apartheid-appointed censors and by the fear that they would object to any 'committed' writing and destine it for the dustbin. Fear, self-imposed censorship, and possibly more than a little laziness hampered vigorous developments of literatures that had appeared very promising at their emergence. Listed here are a number of works in Xhosa, Southern Sotho, Zulu and Shona. The contributions of English and Afrikaans works to South African literary development are also outlined. The fact that most works were meant for schools caused a further restraint on originality and creativity, although it should have spurred the authors on to do their very best, because through the schools they were moulding the future of the nation. But a number of authors were valiantly able to overcome the general self-defeating frustrations and to rise to the challenge of producing excellent material, outstanding in both form and content. Some such works are examined and exemplified in the thesis. One of I.S. Kubheka's novels, Ulaka LwabaNguni, is analysed to show the depth of the conflict between Africa and the west, between country and city life, between western schooled and traditionally educated people. The new ways could become a monster that swallows everything and everybody, specially if one is unable to keep the animal on the chain of ubuntu that allows only as much westernization of the mind as can go hand in hand with the greatest traditional values. Then follows the analysis of three historically based plays and one novel. History offers the opportunity of speaking about the present by describing the past. Msimang and Zondi do exactly this, and offer visions of today's social problems that become clearer when placed on the lips of people such as Mkabayi, Shaka, Cetshwayo, Bhambatha. Each of these works is a clarion call to wake up and be counted, because the new Africa is rising, both soulful and promising, full of expectations if one is able to overcome present day restrictions. The author of this research fervently hopes that this work will produce better understanding among the South African races, and give birth to an era of multilingualism and multiculturalism, where the differences are treatgd115 gifts rather than obstacles. The country is great, and its populations present an extraordinary wealth of life and experience, especially when all is viewed through the prism of the colours of the rainbow, generously reflected in the new South African flag.
Tricksters and trickery in Zulu folktales.
(1995) Canonici, Noemio Noverino.; Argyle, W. John.; De Kadt, Elizabeth.
Tricksters and Trickery in Zulu Folktales is a research on one of the central themes in African, and particularly Nguni/Zulu folklore, in which the trickster figure plays a pivotal role. The Zulu form part of the Nguni group of the Kintu speaking populations in sub-Saharan Africa. Their oral traditions are based on those of the whole sub-continent, but also constitute significant innovations due to the Nguni's contacts with the Khoisan peoples and to the history that has shaped their reasoning processes. Folktales are an artistic reflection of the people's culture, history, way of life, attitudes to persons and events, springing from the observation of nature and of animal and human, behaviour, in order to create a "culture of the feelings" on which adult decisions are based. The present research is based on the concept of a semiotic communication system whereby folktale "texts" are considered as metaphors, to be de-coded from the literary, cultural and behavioural points of view. The system is employed to produce comic entertainement, as well as for education. A careful examination of the sources reveals the central role that observation of the open book of natural phenomena, and especially the observation of animal life, plays in the formulation of thought patterns and of the imagery bank on which all artistic expression is based, be it in the form of proverbs, or tales, or poetry. Animal observation shows that the small species need to act with some form of cunning in the struggle for survival. The employment of tricks in the tales can be either successful or unsuccessful, and this constitutes the fundamental division of the characters who are constantly associated with trickery. They apply deceiving patterns based on false contracts that create an illusion enabling the trickster to use substitution techniques. The same trick pattern is however widely employed, either successfully or unsuccessfully, by a score of other characters who are only "occasional tricksters", such as human beings, in order to overcome the challenge posed by external, often superior, forces, or simply in order to shape events to their own advantage. The original mould for the successful trickster figure in Kintu speaking Africa is the small Hare. The choice of this animal character points to the bewildered realization that small beings can only survive through guile in a hostile environment dominated by powerful killers. The Nguni/Zulu innovation consists of a composite character with a dual manifestation: Chakide, the slender mongoose, a small carnivorous animal, whose main folktale name is the diminutive Chakijana; and its counterpart Hlakanyana, a semi-human dwarf. The innovation contains a double value: the root ideophone hlaka points to an intelligent being, able to outwit his adversaries by "dissecting" all the elements of a situation in order to identify weaknesses that offer the possibility of defeating the enemy; and to "re-arrange" reality in a new way. This shows the ambivalent function of trickery as a force for both demolition and reconstruction. Chakijana, the small slender mongoose, is like the pan-African Hare in most respects, but with the added feature of being carnivorous, therefore a merciless killer. He makes use of all its powers to either escape larger animals, or to conquer other animals for food in order to survive. Hlakanyana, being semi-human, can interact with both humans and animals; Chakijana is mostly active in an animal setting. The unsuccessful trickster figure in Kintu speaking Africa is Hyena, an evil and powerful killer and scavenger, associated in popular belief with witches by reason of his nocturnal habits and grave digging activities. The Nguni/Zulu innovation is Izimu, a fictional semi-human being, traditionally interpreted as a cannibal, a merciless and dark man eater. Izimu is another composite figure, prevalently corresponding to Hyena, from which he draws most of his fictional characteristics. The figure further assimilates features of half-human, half-animal man-eating monsters known in the folklore of many African cultures, as well as the ogre figure prevalent in European tales. The anthropophagous aspect, taken as its prevalent characteristic by earlier researchers, is a rather secondary feature. The innovation from a purely animal figure (Hyena) to a semi-human one allows this character to interact mostly with human beings, thus expressing deeply felt human concerns and fears. Trickery is the hallmark of comedy, the art of looking at life from an upside-down point of view, to portray not the norm but the unexpected. Thus the metaphors contained in trickster folktales, as expressions of comedy, are rather difficult to decode. The ambivalence, so common in many manifestations of African culture, becomes prevalent in these tales. Human tricksters, who try to imitate the trick sequence, are successful if their aims can be justified in terms of culture and tradition; but are unsuccessful if their aims are disruptive of social harmony. Ambivalence is also predominant in "modern" trickster folktales, and in some manifestations of the trickster themes in recent literature. The trickster tradition is an important aspect of the traditions of the Zulu people, permeating social, educational and literary aspects of life and culture. The Nguni/Zulu innovations of Hlakanyana/Chakijana and of Izimu point to the dynamic and inner stability of the culture, a precious heritage and a force on which to build a great future.

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Browsing Doctoral Degrees (African Languages) by Author "Canonici, Noemio Noverino."