South African folk music and AIDS

Add links
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

South African folk music is a form of activism that raised awareness about the spread of HIV/AIDS serving as a means of protest during the 1990s and 2000s.[1] Across South Africa, people gathered to speak their minds on the crisis and folk music was one of the tools used to start discussions about HIV/AIDS. [1] From the 1990s to the early 2000's performance groups were founded across South Africa, which was known as the epicenter of the HIV/AIDS crisis. [1] Furthermore, there were about 7 million people that were HIV/AIDS positive and 3 million people that received treatment for their diagnosis throughout the country. [1]

Local reactions to the AIDS crisis[edit]

Khayelitsha Courthouse Protest 2002[edit]

The Khayelitsha Courthouse is located in Cape Town, South Africa, a region with one of the highest reported rates of HIV/AIDS cases. [1] In 2002, there was a court case that was discussing how two women were seeking justice from the Khayelitsha Courthouse when both of them were raped by local pastor Thema Dumisami Mathibela, a figure that was highly respected within the Cape Town community. [1] Some people gathered to protest and along with the protests and the demonstrators also collaborated with the Treatment Action Campaign. [1]

There were instances where patients who tested positive for HIV/AIDS were also survivors of rape and sexual assault. [1] People gathered to protest the need for safe sex practices and education about HIV/AIDS.[2] During the demonstrations, they let music groups and individuals perform and demonstrators distributed free condoms out to the crowds of people that had gathered. [2] The protests also included public health educators to promote safe sex practices and HIV/AIDS resources. [2] The songs that were performed during this demonstration were about safe sex practices and the experiences of living with HIV/AIDS and some of the songs had even included messages about wearing condoms.[2] However, controversy surrounding these demonstrations and protest songs, primarily from the older adult population who resisted the HIV/AIDS awareness campaign. [2] In some parts of the country, there was denialism about HIV/AIDS. [3] While some people were supportive of bringing awareness there were some that weren't. [3]Some people weren't supportive of the awareness campaigns because of the ambiguity of treatment methods that could be used to help treat HIV/AIDS. [4] During the 1990s and early 2000s, some people believed that HIV/AIDS could be treated as communicable diseases with traditional therapy would, but, there were some people in the awareness campaigns who believed that biomedical therapy would be more effective. [4]

The Songs of Madosini[edit]

The songs of Madosini were performed by the artist Latozi Mphalemi who went by Madosini while she performed. [5] The songs that she performed were part of the folk music genre but she incorporated European instruments into her music. [5] The music investigated the heritage of the Mpondomise people, a tribe that resided in parts of South Africa. [5] Also, some of these songs focused on social justice movements. [5]

The songs of Madosini and some other folk music pieces sometimes discussed the Apartheid movement. [5] This post Apartheid period happened starting in 1994 and was known as the African Renaissance. [6] Madosini's songs emerged when cases of HIV/AIDS were on the rise in South Africa after Apartheid and some of the songs had talked about preserving the Xhosa people's identity. [6] One of the songs that were performed discussing HIV/AIDS was called Yaka Yaka, which talked about subjects including, but not limited to identity.[7]

Performance groups involved[edit]

The Siphithemba Choir Group[edit]

The Siphithemba Choir Group is a group that was founded in 1997 in Durban, South Africa by the McCord Mission Hospital.[8] Their name, particularly the root word -ithemba translates to the word hope in English and its meaning originates from the Xhosa tribe.[9]

For some background about the practice, the McCord Hospital was founded by Dr. James McCord who was a missionary of the American Congregational Church in 1909.[10] The choral group was later involved in providing a mental health resource for HIV/AIDS patients at the McCord Mission Hospital when about 70% of the patients receiving care were HIV/AIDS positive. [10]

Siphithemba's music focused on folk music originating from the Zulu tribe that resided in South Africa during the colonial era as well as gospel music with an emphasis on Christian beliefs. [11] The type of folk music genre that they had done the most in their performances was called Maskanda which was a type of folk music that was performed by the Zulu tribe. [12] The Siphithemba Choir even rearranged some of the songs done by the artist Enoch Sontonga and even composed some of their own music and their songs had specialized in a call and response format where soloists and performers were allowed to improvise on some pieces of the music. [12] The Siphithemba Choir had performed at the Zimbalwi Lodge, which is located in Durban on July 29th, 2007 where the McCord Mission Hospital had organized a cocktail party and invited the group to come and perform for them. [12] They had decided to perform at this location because there were was an influential HIV/AIDS research expert who was a professor at Harvard University named Bruce Walker. [10] The Siphithemba Choir performed two Zulu tribe songs called Isiyalo and Ikhalaphi, which translate to Advice and From Whence the Cry in English. [12]

Music style and group controversies[edit]

Whenever the music group had performed in South Africa they used the drums in their music pieces. [10] However, when the choir was invited to perform at the Conference for Retroviruses and Oppourtunistic Infections in Boston, the event would not allow them to perform with their drums.[8] This controversy led to interviews with the McCord Hospital. [12] The Siphithemba Choir decided to incorporate drums into some of their pieces because it allowed for a more spiritual aspect of their music. [12] However, to some people the drum was believed to have represent a form of grassroots education, where some believed that it went against the religious values of the McCord Mission Hospital. [12]

The Thembeka Choir Group[edit]

The Thembeka Choir, founded in the early 2000s, performed in Durban. All its singers were diagnosed with HIV/AIDS, and they participated in fundraising and community events to raise awareness about the epidemic. [13] The choir had also focused on some pieces of gospel music and they also incorporated dancing and drums, which were traditional to the Zulu tribe.[14] Thembeka ended up touring all across the globe and contributed to fundraisers that helped South African hospitals treat people with HIV/AIDS. [14]

Before the group was founded some of the choir members were raised in Ulmazi right when Apartheid and segregation had ended. [13] Throughout some of the members childhood, they grew up singing and performing with each other and even recieved opportunities to perform at the Durban Hospital AIDS clinic. [13] At the clinics, the choir members were involved in working with HIV/AIDS patients ranging from bead working to support group circles where experiences were shared. [13] The group was formed when HIV/AIDS cases were on the rise after Apartheid was abolished. [15] The year 1982 is when some of the first cases of HIV/AIDS were reported in South Africa and that number continued to climb even into the early 1990s and 2000s. [15]

Some of the songs that they had performed had an emphasis on religious beliefs that were indirectly linked to discussions about HIV/AIDS. [13] Some of their songs had religious references to Christian figures such as Jesus Christ. [13] Choir members had even written some of their own music for the group that would later be performed at events. [13]

Music style and group controversies[edit]

The Thembeka Choir did however face backlash as this group focused on bringing awareness to HIV/AIDS through moral and ethical perspectives. [13] Just before the 1990s, Apartheid had ended in South Africa.[8] The choir's music was judged based on the way that their pieces were performed and there were a few instances where the Thembeka Choir was told that they weren't allowed to bring their instruments onto the stage. [14] When the choir performed in United States, they weren't allowed to use any of their instruments such as their drums. [14] Also, they weren't permitted to do their choreography during their numbers. [14]

The Sinikithemba Peer Support Group[edit]

The Sinikithemba Peer Support Group was founded in 1997 by the McCord Mission Hospital. [8][9] During the support group sessions, the singers and hospital staff would lead patients through prayers and other exercises. [8] At the McCord Mission hospital they gave this treatment options to patients before and after they were diagnosed with HIV/AIDS. [9] They also provided hospice care to patients and sometimes included the patient's family members during the support group sessions. [8] This group later became a choir and was known as the Sinikithemba Choir. [8]

Music style and group controversies[edit]

During the 1990s and early 2000s, there were some people that lost their jobs whenever their HIV/AIDS test results were made public in their place of work and sometimes, the group was seen as controversial for advocating for HIV/AIDS to be included back into the work industry. [10] On top of leading patients through prayers, the other exercises included many types of artwork such as bead making, which was incorporated into a finances unit that the support group had conducted. [16] These pieces of art were sometimes sold to give patients some sort of sustainable income. [16]

Notable people[edit]

Phumulani Kunene[edit]

Phumulani Kunene was the director of the Siphithemba Choir and along with another the conductor Xolani Zulu, Kuene decided to incorporate dance into the numbers that they wanted to perform. [16][12] During the performances Kunene let audience members join them on stage and dance along with the choir. [10] Rehearsals would be led by him and the conductor in Durban, where the choir would listen to a CD player and start rehearsing the songs that they wanted to perform. [16]

Mrs. Nonhlanhla Mhlongo[edit]

Mrs. Nonhlanhla Mhlongo is a medical social worker for the McCord mission Hospital that helped treat patients with HIV/AIDS and she eventually founded the Sinikithemba support group, which eventually became known as the Sinikithemba Choir. [8] Mrs. Mhlongo studied at the University of Zululand from 1975-1980 where she received training to become a social worker.[10] In college, she participated in the Black Conciousness Movement and after college she was hired by the McCord Mission Hospital.[10] Her mission while working for the hospital was to create the Sinikithemba peer support group and she eventually founded the Sinikithemba Choir. [8]

Latozi Mphalemi (Madosini)[edit]

Latozi Mphalemi or Madosini, which was her performance name, was an Mpondomise musician that participated in composing music that was later released to the public and used in some films and documentaries. [5] One of the documentaries that used her music was the 2004 film called Yesterday, in which the plot discusses HIV/AIDS. She is known for other documentaries and films that she helped compose music for up until her death including but not limited to Good Madam (2021) and Goodbye Bafana (2007). [17] Her songs included musicians that knew how to play tribal music with European instruments. [5] Also, some of her songs emphasized traditional South African culture. [5]

External Links[edit]

  1. https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0419279/soundtrack/
  2. https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0419279/
  3. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cbygUawPHmQ

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h Walker, Gavin Robert (April 3, 2018). "Walker, Gavin Robert. "'Our Songs Were Our Stones': Song and Struggle in the Treatment Action Campaign." Journal of Contemporary African Studies, vol. 36, no. 2, 3 Apr. 2018, pp. 175–190". Journal of Contemporary African Studies. 36 (2): 175–190. doi:10.1080/02589001.2018.1464130 – via ESBCO Host.
  2. ^ a b c d e McNeill, Frasier G. (October 31, 2011). AIDS, Politics, and Music in South Africa (1st ed.). Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press. pp. 1–25, 74–113. ISBN 9781139115735.
  3. ^ a b Nattrass, Nicoli (2012). The AIDS Conspiracy: Science Fights Back. New York City, New York: Columbia University Press. pp. 105–134. doi:10.7312/natt14912. ISBN 978-0-231-52025-6. JSTOR 10.7312/natt14912.
  4. ^ a b Golooba-Mutebi, Frederick; Tollman, Stephen M. (August 2007). "Confronting HIV/AIDS in a South African village: The impact of health-seeking behaviour 1". Scandinavian Journal of Public Health. 35 (69): 175–180. doi:10.1080/14034950701355437. ISSN 1403-4948. PMC 2830113. PMID 17676520.
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h Huyssen, Hans (2014). "The Songs of Madosini – Musical Differences in a Composite Design". Journal of the Musical Arts in Africa. 11 (1): 89–97. doi:10.2989/18121004.2014.995439. ISSN 1812-1004 – via EBSCO Host.
  6. ^ a b Joseph, Dawn; Petersen, A. (2008-01-01). Recognizing and celebrating Xhosa traditional music in South Africa. Deakin University. ISBN 978-0-9803116-5-5.
  7. ^ Monaheng, Tseliso (August 18, 2023). "The Best South African Jazz of 2023 So Far". PAM - Pan African Music. Retrieved 2024-05-31.
  8. ^ a b c d e f g h i Okigbo, Austin C. (April 2011). "Performing Blackness in a South African HIV/AIDS Choir". Du Bois Review: Social Science Research on Race. 8 (1): 241–251. doi:10.1017/S1742058X11000221. ISSN 1742-0598 – via Du Bois Review.
  9. ^ a b c Louw, Edwin Leonard (March 2013). The establishment and role of HOPE Cape Town in the fighting of HIV and AIDS in Cape Town, South Africa : a case study (Thesis thesis). Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University. hdl:10019.1/80161. Retrieved May 19, 2024.
  10. ^ a b c d e f g h Okigbo, Austin C.; Ezumah, Bellarmine A. (October 6, 2015). ""Media Health Images of Africa and the politics of representation: A South African AIDS choir counter-narrative."". Journal of Asian and African Studies. 52 (5): 705–721. doi:10.1177/0021909615608208 – via EBSCO Host.
  11. ^ Olsen, Kathryn (October 3, 2014). Music and Social Change in South Africa: Maskanda Past and Present (1st ed.). Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: Temple University Press (published October 3, 2011). pp. 1–19. ISBN 9781439911389.
  12. ^ a b c d e f g h Okigbo, Austin (2014). "Contesting Cultural Meaning in a Post-Apartheid South African HIV/AIDS Music Event". African Music. 9 (4): 54–70. doi:10.21504/amj.v9i4.1886. JSTOR 24877353 – via JSTOR.
  13. ^ a b c d e f g h Black, Steven (September 13, 2019). Speech and Song at the Margins of Global Health : Zulu Tradition, HIV Stigma, and AIDS Activism in South Africa (1st ed.). New Brunswick, New Jersey: Rutgers University Press. pp. 143–166. ISBN 9780813597720.
  14. ^ a b c d e Briggs, Charles L. (2024). Incommunicable: Toward Communicative Justice in Health and Medicine. Duke University Press. doi:10.2307/jj.12011266. ISBN 978-1-4780-2578-8.
  15. ^ a b Van der Vliet, Virginia (2004). "South Africa Divided Against AIDS: A Crisis of Leadership". AIDS and South Africa: The Social Expression of a Pandemic: 48–49. doi:10.1057/9780230523517_4. ISBN 978-1-4039-3256-3.
  16. ^ a b c d Okigbo, Austin C. (August 3, 2016). Music, Culture, and the Politics of Health : Ethnography of a South African AIDS Choir (1st ed.). Lanham, Maryland: Lexington Books/Fortress Academic. pp. 26–50. ISBN 9781498510110.
  17. ^ "Madosini | Music Department, Soundtrack". IMDb. Retrieved 2024-05-31.
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=South_African_folk_music_and_AIDS&oldid=1226524680"