Dust of the Zulu : Ngoma aesthetics after Apartheid

In Dust of the Zulu Louise Meintjes traces the political and aesthetic significance of ngoma, a competitive form of dance and music that emerged out of the legacies of colonialism and apartheid in South Africa. Contextualizing ngoma within South Africa's history of violence, migrant labor, the HIV epidemic, and the world music market, Meintjes follows a community ngoma team and its professional subgroup during the twenty years after apartheid's end. She intricately ties aesthetics to politics, embodiment to the voice, and masculine anger to eloquence and virtuosity, relating the visceral experience of ngoma performances as they embody the expanse of South African history. Meintjes also shows how ngoma helps build community, cultivate responsible manhood, and provide its participants with a means to reconcile South Africa's past with its postapartheid future. Dust of the Zulu includes over one hundred photographs of ngoma performances, the majority taken by award-winning photojournalist TJ Lemon. Cover 1 Contents 8 Preface 10 Acknowledgments 12 Introduction: The Politics of Participation in Ngoma Song and Dance 16 1. Turning to be Kissed: Praise, Flirtation, and the Work of Men 43 2. The Unwavering Voice: Affect, Eloquence, and the Moral Anger of Men 77 3. Feet of the Centipede: Military Aesthetics and the Politics of Reconciliation 109 4. To Quell the Dancer’s Dust: Singing Violence during South Africa’s Transition 139 5. The Crossing: World Music and Ngoma at Home 166 6. Dancing Around Disease: Silence, Ambiguity, and Brotherhood 197 7. The Digital Homestead: Having a Voice and the Sound of Marginalization 225 8. Brokering the Body: Culture, Heritage, and the Pleasure of Participation 255 Closing: Ngoma’s Masculinity, South Africa’s Struggle 281 Notes 288 References 322 Index 344 A 344 B 345 C 345 D 345 E 346 F 346 G 346 H 346 I 347 J 347 K 347 L 348 M 348 N 349 O 350 P 350 R 350 S 350 T 351 U 351 V 352 W 352 Y 352 Z 352 Louise Meintjes traces the history and the political and aesthetic significance of ngoma, a competitive form of dance and music that emerged out of the legacies of colonialism and apartheid in South Africa, showing how it embodies Zulu masculinity and the expanse of South Africa's violent history.