University/Organization
Department of English Studies
University of South Africa
Pretoria, South Africa
Title
Circumcision and Celebratory Orality among Some Black South African Cultural Groups
Synopsis:
There is no adequate research on African poetic self-praise learnt at initiation. I intend to fill this gap by probing how this aspect of folklore survives beyond the arcane circumcision period. I confine myself to the traditional role of self-praise during initiation completion celebrations. I focus in my research of such a celebratory practice on the Northern Ndebele cultural group concentrated in the Vaaltyn-Moshate area of the town of Mokopane, in the Limpopo Province of South Africa.