The year was 1955.
Besides the signing of the historic Freedom Charter at Kliptown, heated political rallies against the military-backed removals and isolated gang wars, apartheid entered its seventh calculated term – both of endearment and hostility. Endearment for those who shared and defended the ethos and filiality of the volk and hostility for the ”gevaars”, ”swart, rooms, joods†et al.
The Miriam Makeba of 1955 was a petite 23- year-old, whose clear eyes came at you when her nightingale-like voice filled the hall of Orlando East’s Donaldson Centre. She sang lead for the Cuban Brothers. Then her debut at Sophiatown’s Odin Cinema in 1956, where the vivacious lass with the soft seductive shoulders sang, with the Manhattan’ Brothers, Soon, soon one morning, Kilimanjaro and lnthoyami.
Her sexual gyrations had the patrons stompin’ and ravin’. The place was aflame and ushers like Boy Selengkie, Bra Esau, Bra Kwembu and Peggy Belau had to use their muscles to keep the majietas off the stage. ”Real shandess en Kofifi, my ma hoor my! ” as we said in the old Sophiatown days. Makeba was the ousie/cheerie/weebeet van die stek who every klevaa wanted to ”run” or ”deal”. Because when she sang and moved, it was not to please the mythical Nordic god after whom the Odin Cinema was named but the sterkmanne van die toun.
Boetie American and the late Doktaa Cree alias Bra Menjaw, were crazy about her. Boetie lost out and got Kitty- or Katz, as blues queen Dolly Rathebe was affably named. Musicians like Mackay Davashe and Morolong Moeketsi were angry that aah laaitie soos ou Hugh Masekela could catch Makeba’s fancy ”Real shandees, my ma hoor my!” ·
Journalist Bloke Modisane was crazy over the songbird and so was Can Themba, who wrote a steamy article about her, finally acting alongside Makeba in Lionel Rogosin’s Come Back Africa, filmed at Trevor Huddleston’s St Cyprian School in Sophiatown. Miriam Makeba and the likes (rather the shapes) of Dolly Rathebe, Mabel Mafuya, Pat Gcwabe, Vera the Ghost and numerous other gorjaas motaras constantly walked and performed at a risk. Every fly-outie wanted to be seen with them. They were veritable gems in the Stetson, Knox and Woodrow fedoras of situation-moeges or klevaas alike.
But Makeba wasn’t all song and body. She had a mind of her own and spoke out without the traditional timidity and diffidence outies or ntates of that day demanded from the woman. Although in Dark City, Alexandra township, she was forced by thugs to repeat the seductive Savuka song several times over, Miriam was respected by the strongmen of the ghetto for her defiance and independence. She was, and still is, ”aah reelly, reelly dolly ousie….. aah hlombomdala magreezah van Toeka …†– Don Mattera
My ma hoor my!
This article originally appeared in the Weekly Mail.
