Short Stories during South Africa’s Apartheid Period (1): Njabulo Ndebele

Black Writers in the Wake of 1976 Soweto Uprising Njabulo S. Ndebele : Pay more attention to individual psychology and the influences of tradition. Educated in Cambridge U. Two stories. Mbulelo Mzamane : street writers, for whom fictional energy is sparked by contact and conflict of the most abrasive kind. e.g. “The Day of the Riot” (Coetzee) (See a quote for reference)quote

Coetzee on the two kinds of writers  “Their [street writers]English is lavish, careless, without nuance; in Mzamane's case it bears the marks of a second language. Their stories are probably more in tune with the mood of the townships today--angry, impatient, violent--than are the stories in Fools (by Ndebele), with their focus on inner states, on innocence and guilt, on self-discovery, on social tensions as experienced within the individual psyche.”

White Writers  J. M. Coetzee e.g. Foe: allegory, historical revision or metafiction. --Nobel Prize, 2003  Nadine Gordimer – realistic stories of racial conflicts and relations. Nobel prize 1991; Booker Prize

Colored (Mixed Blood)  Bessie Head – child of an "illicit" union between a Scottish woman and a black man  Question of Power: Exploration of the mind and life in a mental hospital. B essie Head

Njabulo Ndebele  Ndebele's writings -- constitutes “a return to more traditional concerns with narrative complexity and literary quality."  Fools: The township life seen through the eyes of a young and sensitive protagonist. With Father as a teacher, mother a nurse (e.g. “The Prophetess”; “The Violin” )

Ndebele on Children  "South African literature has generally handled the images of childhood as social criticism: 1.an infant abandoned by its mother. 2.Friends going against each other. the entrance of the young in national politics  education affected; (I.e. Soweto uprising) Reconstruction should begin with the recovery of childhood and innocence. (source: ulm.de/~rturrell/antho4html/Ndebele.html ) ulm.de/~rturrell/antho4html/Ndebele.html

The Two Stories  Setting: –“Prophetess” -- in Charterston –“Music of the Violin” --the Johannesburg township of Soweto  South African theme: the influence of Bantu Education Act; children’s anger  Relevance: What education means. –“Prophetess”: superstition and healing power –“Music of the Violin”: parental expectation, the influence of Western culture

“Prophetess” 1.On what is the boy’s attention focused when he visits the prophetess? Are they signs of her spirituality? dog; darkness, vine, his own sensations, memory, doek (African headscarf, 11); camphor (12); her coughing; 2. The people on the bus – How do they relate to each other? And to the prophetess? How are they different from each other? the other womenthe big woman with washing on her lap the man with a balaclava (Woollen hat 套頭 排汗保暖帽 ); the young man at the back the young man with immaculate dress

“Prophetess” 3. Compared with the people’s discussion, how does the boy relate to the prophetess? What breaks the spell the prophetess has on him? What does the ending mean? Re: A story of initiation. The boy gains self- confidence. The other issues: Sangoma + Christianity; home vs. danger on the street.

The Township People on the Bus— Contradictory Views  The big woman’s question: have you seen it?  Believers (chorus): The prophetess’ trap works  But they haven’t seen it.  Worse, some of them (the man with balaclava and the young man at the back) mean to misunderstand the big woman or make sexist jokes out of it.  The immaculately dressed man: –"We laugh at everything; just stopping short of seriousness. It is any wonder that the white man is still sitting on us?” –No proof. “It's all superstition. And so much about this prophetess also. Some of us are tired of her stories.“  The man with balaclava – gives warning.

The Boy  Fearful and sensitive: – afraid of both the dog and the prophetess (of her lightening and curse, that the dog knows he runs away); –The vines—like a spell to keep him there. –The doek – the only thing visible in darkness. – her coughing – would something come out?  she seems out of breath.  signs of comfort and his reflection: –p. 8 the dog’s passing by him; –p. 8 “Was it an effort to save candles?” –P. 12 camphor (  like his mother); “Lord, Lord, Lord” (16) –Pp The crocheted mats (signs of All Saints Church 聖公 會 )

The Prophetess -- as “Sangoma” (a South African Shaman)  Mixture of religious signs: – Christian: pp cross on her wall and green cape and chalices; – folk religion: p. 14 a mask with canine teeth pointing upwards; a tattoo on her forehead

The Prophetess – Her Lessons  P. 14 Speak clearly what you mean; use words well;  P. 14 Be obedient to your mother; learn and serve  P “Always listen to new things. Then try to create too. Just as I have learnt never to page through the dead leaves of hymn books.”  P. 15 the hymn about survival

The Prophetess – Her Lessons (2)  p. 16 (prayer  candle extinguished  laughter  the mask smiles and Jesus’s yellow heart meaning? )  P. 16 Water  feel the newness of flower  P. 17 Her hands –like mountains  We are made of all that is in the world.   combination of Christianity and African naturalism and invocation of the spirits.

The Boy’s Growth  The contrast between Biza’s ‘liquid’ (19) and the water the boy has.  Bumps into a bike.  He gets another bottle and fills it with water  heals the mother.

 Coetzee, J.M. ”Fools and other stories.” The New Republic, Dec 22, 1986 v195 p36(3)