South Africa: Is the “Reed Dance” a celebration or exploitation? (op-ed)
Last week I wrote about how the term “cultural
appropriation” lacked depth in the United States. Now, I want to look at a situation in South
Africa, where an act of “cultural appreciation” was deemed counterproductive to
the evolving culture. Here, the depth is
in the details.
Recently,
in South Africa’s East Cape Region, a male choirmaster led, what he called, a “cultural
tribute” to South Africa’s second largest Ethnic group - the Xhosa. The tribute involved teenage girls wearing a
traditional “inkciyo”, a small apron, that exposed the breasts and buttocks of
the teenage girls.
The
teenage girls conducted, what’s called, The Reed Dance. This semi-nude dance is performed each year
in Swaziland, which is its own sovereign state within South Africa. (In other words, what happens in Swaziland
should stay in Swaziland.)
In
2016 a Guardian headline asked if Swaziland’s Reed Dance was a cultural
celebration or a sleazy royal ritual?
The report stated the annual Umhlanga - Reed Dance - Festival was a cultural
tradition that celebrated virginity and chastity. The event “attracts” tens of thousands of
women, and on the last day of the festival, the young women parade bare chested
at the royal village. Traditionally, the
king chose one of the woman as a wife, but, now, the festival is about
preserving “cultural heritage”.
However,
human rights organizations assert this “cultural ceremony” is actually enforced
by the state. A 29-year-old, woman
school teacher, said, “They say we’re not forced, but we are. Families who don’t send their daughters are
fined.” She also stated she attended the
festival during her youth and enjoyed it, but as she got older she grew
uncomfortable with certain things. “The
girls sleep in small classrooms or tents without proper sanitation. Also, there are many rules you have to adhere
to when you attend … This is the 21st century. We shouldn’t be forced to wear certain
clothes.”
Apparently,
the East Cape region’s Reed Dance was digitally recorded. The semi-nude images
created a demand for the choirmaster to be fired. (It’s still unclear whether
the parents of the students gave their approval.) The choirmaster responded to the
backlash. He said, “We are proud of our
Xhosa tradition, and we are proud of Xhosa women and girls.”
But
Angie Motshekga, minister of basic education, denounced the choirmaster and
said, “There is absolutely nothing wrong with being proud of your culture and
heritage, but there was absolutely no need for these children to perform
completely naked. That goes against the
values of our culture.”
What
values did the choirmaster’s “cultural tribute” go against?
Last
week the Ministry of Basic Education published a report on how history is
taught in South African schools. This
report was ordered by Angie Motshekga three years ago. The report stated before Nelson Mandela
became president in 1994 the historical emphasis was on “great white men” but
after Mandela the emphasis simply switched to “great black men”, and little
attention has been paid to gender issues.”
The
culture clash here is between cultivating the empowerment and dignity of women and
preserving pride in some tradition that is demeaning to women by 21st
century standards.
The
angriest response to the choirmaster’s defense of The Reed Dance came from a
reader of The Daily Dispatch’s website.
This person wrote, “All this needs to stop. When people blindly follow ‘culture’ they do
not even know the origins or reasons for the culture. The origins are usually exploitative. How is this not pedophilia masquerading as
culture, and why is it a man saying that he is proud of Xhosa women and girls
as if they were his objects? A
choirmaster gets schoolgirls to strip.
Why is he not in jail?”
Now,
the depth and the devil are in the details.
First published in the New Pittsburgh Courier 6/13/18
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