Narratives Of Culture, Identity And Community – e-Book

Description

A Sepedi maxim says: Mmangwana o tshwara thipa ka bogaleng. Loosely translated it means that a mother holds a knife at its sharpened end. …. This book depicts a boy who loves his mother unconditionally. The mother is a pillar of strength and epitome of intelligence. She is given credit for raising the boy single-handedly. … the mother takes up the role of a father and mother to instil humility and respect in her son. Masoga is reminded that if you are a coward, no tears will be shed by your family. The mother raised a man that she would be proud to call her son. Masoga lived up to his mother’s expectations: A great man who is grounded in the African way of life and who respects his ancestral calling.

• Dr Norma Masuku, isiZulu Senior Lecturer at the University of South Africa, folklorist and African feminist.

The coalescence of culture, identity, family, community and politics defi nes underlying themes of this narrative. …. The author has greatly mastered the art of storytelling in writing. Start with the fi rst three pages and take it easy on the next three or four pages but continue reading. Otherwise, how are you going to discover that magical unfolding of events that follow, … one that will truly just blow your mind and heart. A reader might shed one or two tears here and there but what tear is there that wellchoreographed humour cannot deter and soothe. … the magic is in this book.

• Dr Nomsa Mdlalose, Freedom Park Storyteller.

This is, to put it simply, a story about storytelling! Masoga’s belief in the transformative power of stories is complete and total, a belief deeply rooted in the worldview of his Sepedi-speaking, African/South African people. The epic, stream-of-consciousness narrative is compelling for many reasons: its source is the African indigenous knowledge systems and the core story revolves around the omniscient narrator or persona’s desire to celebrate his mother who embodies in many ways the essence of his being or being-ness and by extension the kindred spirit that binds this and many African
societies together. …

• Dr Olufemi J Abodunrin, Department of Languages, University of Limpopo