The maze-like South African township

Résumé du document

At a time when black South Africans did not have enough time and money to enjoy leisure pursuits, music and dancing appeared to be their only glimmer of hope. In the townships and slum yards, music developed and became synonymous with life and entertainment. A very good example is the presence of music in the numerous novels that use the township as their main characters. In Mine Boy, the narrator describes a Malay Camp using music to emphasize the atmosphere reigning there: "And from somewhere, the low monotonous wail of a broken-down piano, thumping out an unchanging rhythm, and the sound of thudding feet dancing to it." (MB, 77) The slum yard of the Malay Camp is described through music. In other words, thanks to this definition of Malay Camp we can picture more than a simple slum yard. This place is not a place like the others; it is a place full of music, full of life and also full of emotions. It tells the reader a lot about the link that exists between the narrator and the place.

Extraits

[...] Leah can be compared to a bohemian. Indeed, the term “bohemian” which was first used in the nineteenth century, described the unconventional lifestyles of poor, marginalized artists. A bohemian, just like Leah, had unorthodox political and social viewpoints and lived apart from conventional society. Leah's behaviour highlights the same reluctance to conform to the rules of a society that does not accept her as a South African citizen. Even though she has not chosen to live on the margin of society, it is because she has been marginalized by segregation that she voices her anger, and makes a living out of selling home-brewed African beer and so-called white liquor, in order to protest against what she believes is unfair. [...]

[...] Richer than all things. The warmth of life, of throbbing. Of hearts pounding. Of silence and of sound. Of movement and lack of movement. A warm, thick, dark blanket of life. That was Malay Camp. Something nameless and living. A stream of dark life. 77-78) As we can see in this quotation, the main character uses words that bear a very positive connotation in order to turn Malay Camp into a place where life is pleasant and where life is present. [...]

[...] Like a smooth brown fresh flower. There was youth and strength in the grace of her body. Smooth, strong Brown beauty. 22) From the moment he meets her, Xuma will not be able to love another woman, but Eliza rejects him because she wants who can read books and dresses like the white folks and speaks the language of the whites and wear the little bit of cloth they call a tie.” 31) Even when Xuma starts going out with Maisy, Eliza keeps haunting him: he knew now that at the back of his mind had been the knowledge that it was Maisy and not Eliza who was giving him this happiness. [...]

[...] Music and dancing are a glimmer hope in the dark existence of these young people, and help them socialise and create relationships through human contacts in a convivial atmosphere. This is the role played by music and dancing in the townships. These urban places help black South Africans remain human beings in a society that tries to dehumanize them through segregation. Street theatre as a means to express oppression During the segregation era the white South African government separated people from different isolating black South Africans in what was called townships.” Townships were specific areas where black people were forced to live because of racial segregation. [...]

[...] Instead of using Malay Camp as a stepping-stone to evolve into a proud and strong woman like her aunt Leah, she prefers to run away, and to begin her life anew. The township is teaching its inhabitants the importance of solidarity and community. Only those who can understand these social values can use the township as a stepping-stone to their future dreams. David B. COPLAN, In Township Tonight! South Africa's Black City Music and Theatre (Braamfontein: Ravan Press (Pty) Limited, 1985), p.92. [...]