African Folklore: An Encyclopedia - Marshalls University

African Americans 729
Worker poets active in the period just prior to independence drew on traditional modes of
expression and performance, and following independence Xhosa iimbongi have
performed publicly at the opening of parliament in praise of President Nelson Mandela,
the British Queen, and the Pope.
References
Brown, Duncan. 1996. South African Oral Performance Poetry of the 1980’s: Mzwakhe Mbuli and
Alfred Qabula. In New Writing from Southern Africa: Authors Who Have Become Prominent
since 1980, ed. Emmanuel Ngara. Cape Town: David Philip.
Mafeje, Archie. 1967. The Role of the Bard in Contemporary African Community, Journal of
African Languages 6:193–223.
Ndawo, H.M. 1939. Ixiduko zama-Hlubi. Lovedale, Colo: Lovedale Press.
Opland, Jeff. 1983. Xhosa Oral Poetry: Aspects of a Black South African Tradition. Cambridge,
England: Cambridge University Press.
——. 1998. Xhosa Poets and Poetry. Cape Town: David Philip.
Rubusana, W.B. 1911. Zemk’inkomo magwalandini. 2d ed. London: Author.
JEFF OPLAND
See also Griots and Griottes, Southern African Oral Traditions
PRAISE POETRY: XHOSA PRAISE POETRY FOR PRESIDENT
MANDELA
South Africa’s presidential inauguration on May 10, 1994, was an impressive occasion. It
took place after years of the infamous apartheid system, which was finally dismantled in
1994. Deliberations between the National Party, under the leadership of former President
F.W.de Klerk, and the African National Congress (ANC) led by President Nelson
Mandela, began in 1990, when Mandela was released from prison. A peaceful settlement
was finally reached in 1994.
It is against this historical backdrop that contemporary Xhosa oral poetry is performed.
The Xhosa are the second largest ethnic group in South Africa, and they live mainly on
the eastern shores of South Africa. They have an extensive body of spoken arts, including
folktales, proverbs, and praise poetry. Over the years, there have been many
performances of poetry praising Nelson Mandela. The poetry performed in honor of him
at his inauguration as president of South Africa is of particular importance.
Dignitaries from all over the world were present in order to witness this momentous
event. Thousands upon thousands of people gathered at the Union Buildings in Pretoria to
take part in the festivities and to see President Mandela taking his presidential oath.
Special places were reserved on the podium for the president’s two iimbongi (oral poets).
Archie Mafeje defines the imbongi (as “[a] praise poet who frequented the chief’s
great place and traveled with him in traditional Nguni society. His distinctive feature is
that he can recite poems without having prepared them beforehand” (1967, 193).
Although this definition may have sufficed in the past, it is no longer accurate. The
presence of an imbongi at occasions such as the presidential inauguration or the opening
of parliament show that the imbongi are no longer simply limited to praising chiefs. They