Dr Sipho Sithole
Academic and author Dr Sipho Sithole follows a long line of South African creative minds finding themselves in lecture halls in the United States. Zakes Mda, Joel Cabrita, Nadine Gordimer, Es’kia Mphahlele and Lindani Mbunyuza-Memani are among them.
Last year, passport and isiZulu heritage intact, Dr Sithole entered Howard University, in Washington DC as an isiZulu lecturer in the Department of World Languages and Cultures.
Growing up, Dr Sithole always questioned his identity and positioning in society not only as a black person, but as an African. A township boy from Umlazi, KwaZulu Natal, often teased as ibhari yasemakhaya or “farmboy”, Dr Sithole went on to craft an illustrious career as a scholar, civil activist and corporate leader including board directorship. His passion for music and culture also saw him establish Native Rhythms – an integrated entertainment company, hosting musicians like Zuluboy and acapella group The Soil.
Apart from holding a PhD in Anthropology, he is also the author of several publications, including the Humanities and Social Sciences (HSS) Awards 2024 nominated seminal book Maye Maye: The history and heritage of the Kwa Mai Mai Market, published by Jacana Media in 2023.
To learn about the Zulu culture, one can always read books or even watch Mzansi Magic’s Shaka iLembe. However, nothing beats the lessons and cultural nuances from one born into the culture. Now teaching isi-Zulu and culture to non-language speakers in the USA, I caught up with this son of Africa to learn more about his journey.
You are a man of many abilities and wear a few hats, briefly take us back to what sparked your interest in learning more about African culture and heritage?
Dr Sithole: Like many, when I was in higher primary, I read a lot of books on Zulu history, about uShaka, uDingane, and many other Zulu kings. But it was when I got an opportunity to study abroad, in the United States in 1989, that I started to interrogate my own identity as someone from Africa.
This was against the background that African-Americans wanted to see Africa in us; instead, they saw us as just as Western as they were. I started to read a lot of texts/books on Africa written by African scholars and philosophers. Online I watched a lot of their debates and insights at conferences about the African origins of civilisations. I came across the writing of Cheik Anta Diop, Josef Ben-Yochanan, as well as the writing of Walter Rodney, a Guyanese scholar, Ivan Van Sertima, and many others. These texts helped a lot to understand my positionality.
Now with more understanding of self and African culture, tell us more about your lecturer role at Howard University.
Dr Sithole: My appointment at Howard University aligns with my scholarship which is to continue to influence discourse about our Africanness, our culture and heritage which is really about dispelling the myth and negative perceptions about us and about Africa. Who better to tell the story than through lived experience and proper context?
I have just designed a new humanities course (taught in English) on the sacred and secular systems of the Zulu people, where we will interrogate the intersectionality between religion and culture. Engaging directly with American students in the classroom about our own culture and tradition is something I truly enjoy.
Speaking of dispelling myths about the Motherland, how have you dealt with such persistent stereotypes in your line of work?
Dr Sithole: In the Fall Semester (August 2024), I had the opportunity to teach Introduction to Contemporary Africa; a course seeking to illuminate issues impacting contemporary African societies and the profound potential and challenges communities face in this vast and diverse region.
Interdisciplinary in scope, this course provides a comprehensive and systematic survey of Africa’s geography, history, culture, religion, language, politics, economic development and international relations. The first lesson on this course addresses the myth and negative stereotypes about Africa.
So essentially, your work at this international university is part of the decolonisation project and promoting African culture?
Dr Sithole: Most definitely, as a decolonial scholar, through my writings and as a music composer and producer, I have always made sure the message is about correcting the narrative about who we are as Africans.
How are American and international students receiving your classes on Zulu culture?
Dr Sithole: My Zulu Language and Culture course has become very popular. My students are even inviting their friends on campus to come and sit through lessons. Most of the students have even signed up for my new course.
You also bring students to South Africa to engage with the land and the people, what has been the feedback from students who have travelled here?
Dr Sithole: I have seen students breaking into tears when they suddenly realise what it means to be truly African and how they have been deprived to be who they really are. I have taken my students to my village home – took them into our ancestral hut (kwaGogo) where I have burned incense and announced their presence to my ancestors.
They have seen both the rural and urban side of South Africa, particularly Zululand that has eventually changed their perspective about our country. Most of them want to go back to South Africa, if not permanently settle there.
In conclusion, you were recently a guest lecturer at Georgetown University Law Centre; briefly share with us what your topic centred on.
Dr Sithole: My lecture was focused on intangible cultural heritage and the importance of safeguarding the sacred and secular practices of indigenous communities. I made inferences to sacred cultures that are under threat because of outside influences, particularly those tribes that still live comfortably in the forest, most notably the Hadzabe tribe in Tanzania.
Because I spoke to law students at the university, I also tested some of the past and recent occurrences around the legal framework or protection thereof, particularly the conflict between the ANC (African National Congress) and IFP (Inkatha Freedom Party) about what the ANC considered ‘cultural weapons’ demanding Zulus not to continue to carry spears, knobkerries, and shields.
Quite a fascinating topic, did you also refer to any current cultural issues in South Africa in your lecture?
Dr Sithole: Interestingly, the recent event of same-sex couples wearing traditional Zulu regalia and the outcry about certain sections of the Zulu community about the protection of the intangible cultural heritage is a case in point regarding … to what extent indigenous communities allow for what they consider to be sacred to them, to use in the fashion that it was or continues to be.
Dr Sithole’s work at Howard University continues his interests in African culture, language marginality and decoloniality. As such, his cultural activism within academia becomes significantly impactful both socially and personally.
The joy an educator experiences when a once-anxious student becomes confident and engaged is immeasurable. Dr Sithole finds this transformation particularly rewarding, as his students’ growing appreciation and understanding of Zulu culture is a step further to demystifying the riding-elephants-to-school stereotypes.