Phillip Kakaza
It wasn’t too long ago that Zolani Mkhiva, an imbongi or praise singer, became Imbongi ye Sizwe -Ethe Poet of the Nation – when he took the podium and sang the praises of Nelson Mandela at his inauguration.
Four years later, after protracted negotiations with recording companies, he has graced the nation with his first CD, Halala South Africa (Sizwe Zako/EMI), which must also be the first CD recorded by a South African imbongi.
The album contains some of his early works, including Umbombayi, a famous and loved song in which he called for the abolition of the homelands. Halala Mandela, in praise of the president, catapulated him to stardom and is present in a completely new version with instrumental techno background and harmonic vocals by a choir. Most of the tracks are in his native Xhosa, but in Zithethili Zizwe he uses all the official languages of South Africa.
Mkhiva says the album is long overdue, but it took him four years to get it recorded: “The recording companies I approached did not understand the concept of praise singers.”
A praise singer, he says, is different from modern poets who communicate with their audience through writing and rarely perform their works live. “With praise poets, words come spontaneously as a message from the ancestors. It could be a message that you need to pass on to the young generation.”
He recalls an occasion when he was moved by ancestral spirits to recite a praise poem: “At school I was annoyed by a group of students who were imitating American rap songs. One day I spontaneously broke into song and praised great African leaders. The message was that they need to unlearn the Western culture.”
Mkhiva adds that part of the role of a praise poet is to be a go- between between the leadership and the masses. “This allows him a poetic licence and the freedom to criticise publicly. But when a poet criticises, he or she must do so constructively, and should provide solutions.”
Mkiva comes from a family of praise singers – his father and younger brother are praise singers too. The “idiomatic language of the praise singers runs in the bloodline” of his family, he says.
Mkiva comes from Boletwa in the Eastern Cape. As a nine-year-old herdboy, he would return from a day in the veld to sing, along with the other boys of his age, the praises of their father’s cattle. With stick fighting, praise singing was part of these herdboys’ daily routine. For most of them it was just a part of their games, but for Mkhiva it was a gift he had inherited from his ancestors.
“I always listened to my grandfather reciting praise songs for prominent village leaders and at traditional weddings. I was always inspired by his beautiful use of the Xhosa idioms, the rhythms and rhymes,” he says.
Mkhiva’s rise to become Imbongi ye Sizwe started while he was at school. His first official public appearance was when he performed at the Nelson Mandela Welcome Home Rally in the former Transkei in 1990.
Since then Mkhiva has performed at political rallies and at international concerts alongside Jabu Khanyile of Bayete and Malian superstar Salif Keita. He says he has built a close relationship with Keita. “Though a singer, Salif is also a praise singer. He gives advice to his community and that is evident in his songs,” says Mkiva.
Mkhiva, a BA graduate from the University of the Western Cape, says performances do not come along every day, so he works as a communications consultant at Spoornet and mostly performs as a praise singer during weekends.
This year he will publish a poetry book, Izibongo Zenkokheli, which will be used in high schools. He is also working on another book which explains the duties of an imbongi.