Jenje Makwenda takes to the dance floor in celebration of womanhood
“THIS business of womanhood is a heavy burden,” whines novelist, playwright and filmmaker, Tsitsi Dangarembga, as she explores how women struggle to keep their heads up in the stormy waters of a patriarchal world.
Over eons of burdensome existence, women have managed to make their feelings understood, even to a somewhat impenetrable society. They have since realised that a story does not die because it is not told, but dies if it is told to deaf ears.
It is the heart that listens.
Indeed, it is taxing to be a woman when everything seems to be skewed in her disfavour. As a member of the fairer sex, she is alienated from her community, which expects her to lick its wounds, while spewing in her open palms.
Of all other forms of caging she has to endure, motherhood stands out clean. It is a kind of imprisonment that a woman finds herself trapped in as she juggles between societal expectation and individual satiation.
The tug of war between societal expectations and individual aspirations pits her at the deep end. Also, the whirlwind that swirls at the marital base as a culmination of patriarchal pressure rocks her.
Nonetheless, instead of sinking, as society expects, her motherly instincts refuse to be suffocated. She is all too aware that she will not only be letting herself down, but her sex and offspring as well.
As a product of the history of femininity, she knows society will never give her an ear if she shouts; and that screaming is an indication of defeat. So, she finds a vent out of her predicament through song.
She is all too aware that music is neither provocative nor defeatist, for it tells a tale in many ways through its evocation of the sensuous neurons. It appeals to the heart.
Since the beginning of time, women have managed to keep their heads above the rising tornadoes of their existence through music.
It is against this backdrop that the reading of Joyce Jenje Makwenda’s timeless book, “Women Musicians of Zimbabwe: A Celebration of Women’s Struggle for Voice and Artistic Expression: 1930s-2013”, becomes apt.
The book is not only evocative and refreshing, but it is also informative and historically appropriate since it captures more than 75 years of the musical expression of women’s travails.
Historically, it taps into folklore, which has always been used to express feelings, impart on societal mores and values from generation to generation, and instil a sense of responsibility.
The storyteller, who was usually a woman past childbearing age (Hove, 2002), effectively engrossed her young audience through song as a preclude and throughout the story.
Music was not only used as a parenting and educational tool, but it was “used to alleviate stress and make tasks simpler” too.
It helped women cope with their daily tribulations, and question the injustices pervading their lives.
A woman could express her sexual drought or disaffection to her husband’s relatives through song.
That way, women’s problems were always solved amicably.
Jenje Makwenda, who is an archivist-historian, researcher, author, producer, lecturer and ethnomusicologist, combines entertainment and didacticism to explore the historical link between music and the struggle against colonialism.
◆ Full story: www.herald.co.zw