Southern African Journal for Folklore Studies Vol.

22 (2) December 2012

Infusion of Folklore into the South African jazz: an analysis

Mokgale Makgopa
School of Human and Social Sciences
University of Venda
mokgale.makgopa@univen.ac.za
Madimabe Mapaya
School of Human and Social Sciences
University of Venda
geoff.mapaya@univen.ac.za
Tsoaledi Thobejane
School of Human and Social Sciences
University of Venda
Daniel.thobejane@univen.ac.za
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These symbols of elitism have now been replaced by commerce, which is more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 Societys 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 traditionsthe 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 Makgamathas (1993:28) definition, that refers to folklore as
peoples 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 todays 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) peoples 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 chapp 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 ones 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 childrens 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 Selotas
use of thlogo magetla also as a refrain in the song Grandmas song from the album Stories
Lives and Told (2005). Of all Mapayas 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 Nqawanas
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 Nqawanas musical exposition is largely anchored on the ceremony called
umgubhothe coming out (graduation ceremony).
Whereas Makebas 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 childrens song, it is normally used as a tongue twister
while at the same time using animal characterisation to teach a particular lesson. But
Makebas 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 straightjacketed 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 ofNaka 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 maata,
(disorganised sounds) coming from members of the village, go leta mekgolokwanne
(ululating), go reta (praise-poetry singing), go leta 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 te ke [dilo] ta badimo te! (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 bommaela is one clear example.

fegolla se borala mampha 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 bommael.Whereas sa
bommaila 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, Motlao ke sebodu
sabommaela:
Song refrain.
Sebodu wee sa bommashela
(Mmaelas lazy one)
Sebodu sa bommaela 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 Mmaelas
world. For ones degree of laziness to be equated to the laziness in Mmaelas 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 Selotas 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 cultures 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 seto (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 lotha! pha-ptha diatla, referred to in the above quote is a Mapayas 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 Gwangwas song GaMashashane or Jusing Sephumas 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.
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