Bra Ray’s majestic essence was a true gift to South Africa
IT IS not a good time. An amazing South African is no more. In the eighties many South Africans were comforted by his lyrical voice.
Many of us knew him without knowing him. He knew us all. Singing in an English that sounded like Swahili or Xhosa, the deep voice spoke the many majesties of the continent. True, PW Botha and them guys did not sound like they like him, but they could not make us stop listening to that soul-touching voice. Even Stellenbosch was okay with his lyrical voice. Rumour has it that one reverend, from the Dutch Reformed Church, was his fan but could not sing in the Paarl main street.
He was afraid of an unexplained accident. I am not sure of the truth in this, but I knew that I also would not risk singing Ray Chikapa Phiri’s songs in that environment. Honestly, in the eighties he sustained the human rights essence with a fervour deeper than the spirit of the revolution. He did not spoonfeed you the depths of revolution but you could feel the absence of narrowness in the simplicity of his lyrics. Remember Nana Coyote Motijoane? He sang with Ray Phiri. Ray Phiri used to say that Nana was a beautiful singer. I thought that was merely the exhibition of his sweet humility. The deep humility of Zwakala in the sweetness of the eighties did make the government of the time uncomfortable.
But Pik Botha would never admit that the world loved the voices and complexities in the spirits of Chikapa. As foreign minister of apartheid it is, I imagine, not possible to see the magic of a voice like Phiri’s. I really regret the pain in the complexities of the apartheid guys. Mastig!
But let’s be honest to say that many white ouens, of the UDF, in the eighties were more aware of the depths in Bra Ray’s music. I do suspect that many of them were comfortable in his complexity. This guy pushed the identity of Stimela, the band, more to the fore than his own magical essence. I like that. It is cool. It is not really articulated, but the apartheid ouens saw Stimela and Ray Phiri as a terrorist movement. I remember my shock when I discovered a cop playing Ray Phiri. I could swear that he played it in secret. Now you see the true elegance of Chikapa.
He was not a politician but one of the complex voices that sang about the complexities of this South Africa we have now. Many times, when the depths of verbal political rhetoric took over, it is the song of the humanity of this kind of person that came to the rescue. That is not everyday and that is why the country is currently mourning. We’ve lost beauty in the complex depth of our world.
I have enjoyed the many sweet moments that our media gave to the exhibitions of this musician this week. It was just joyous to perceive. It is great to observe this kind of soulful moment in South Africa.
It is just uncomfortable that Bra Ray left us in the month of Madiba’s birth, when we were supposed to sing (excuse the pun) in celebration to his life. It is also a lyrical thought that says to me – maybe the greatness in this month is in the combination of recognising the marvels we are offered by this fleeting moment called life.
I was proud to be associated with this society, when I saw the majestic attention Ray Phiri was given. It is a marvellous gesture that tends to say to me, that the complex essences of artistic people, like the deceased, make life great. It is a wish that we do not forget the amazing roles they played in creating social realities like ours. It is humbling to think that our space, as a country and society, has a magnificent thought attached the majestic essence – humanity. It is common knowledge that you have it too. We are just requested in life that we share it with the many complex and great spirits within this life. It is my wish that his spirit visits the many souls that decorate the world in its complexity. Condolences to the many who knew Bra Ray deeper than us. May your pain be eased by the knowledge that he was also family to us, and that his life was a big celebration to the whole complex world. It is also humbly fitting to recognise that he played a magnificent role in making human beings understand that the beauty of life is in the positive contribution we give back to its charms. Heyta Bra Ray!