Joe Mafela’s mastery of multilingualism
JOE Mafela’s astonishing multilingualism was a trait that allowed him to firmly embed himself in the lives of all South Africans – regardless of ethnicity.
These were the endearing views of South African producer and director Roberta Durrant, who spoke to The Star after yesterday’s memorial service for iconic “Bra Joe” Mafaela at the Joburg Theatre in Braamfontein.
Durrant – who founded the production company Penguin Films – said that when they cast Mafela for the unforgettable role of Sdumo in the hit TV series Sgudi ‘Snaysi (1986), she was unaware that the actor spoke so many languages.
“But that skill became immediately evident once we started rehearsing for the show,” she said.
Durrant added that Mafela’s multilingualism – he had the ability to fluently speak all of the country’s 11 official languages – became important when her company was approached by the Matla Trust to produce the sitcom Khululeka (1994), intended to educate first-time voters.
The Matla Trust was a trust set up for democracy education by Nelson Mandela.
“The Matla Trust specifically asked for the series to be built around Joe, because he had already reached so many people with his language skills at the time of production.
“I honestly believe that reaching people was Joe’s purpose in life, and I think he believed that as well, because he was such a spiritual person,” Durrant said.
“He came to this Earth for a very specific purpose, which was to inject some TV humour in a very difficult period in our country (in the 1980s), and during our transition to democracy.”
Mafela’s eldest son Jimmy told The Mercury that his father instilled in them the virtues of multilingualism, saying that he believed that knowing other people’s languages was a way to understand different cultures.
He joked that he was the only one of Mafela’s four children who spoke to his father in Tshivenda.
Jimmy, a music producer, has worked with renowned dance musician Black Coffee and kwaito star, Professor.
“I credit my father for leaving me with a deep love for the arts – especially my first love, music,” Jimmy added.
Mafela’s neighbour in Soweto, Dr Sonwabile Ndamase, told mourners that even though his family lived next door to the Mafelas, he only realised much later on in life that their neighbours actually spoke Venda.
“The Mafela family spoke isiZulu, Sesotho, Setswana and all other languages, but we never heard Baba Joe say, ‘Ndaa’!” Ndamase said.
“Ndaa” is a respectful greeting term used by Venda men.