Zulu royal media coverage shows thirst for cultural knowledge

Since the death of the late king of amazulu, Isilo Goodwill Zwelithini, it has been intriguing to note the sharp interest in cultural matters online. I noticed this interest in the social media reactions to discussions on how the king was to be buried.

There was much fascination with the concept of ukutshalwa kwenkosi (planting of the king) and why this was the idiomatic term used, as opposed to the common terms for burial such as ukufihlwa or ukungcwaba.

There was also a great deal of interest in the public displays by the regiment formations known sometimes as amabutho as they paid homage to the late king.

On Ukhozi FM, there was a similar observation by some presenters who reported that isizulu language terms had been trending online for weeks since the death of isilo.

Alongside the cultural concepts and practices, there was a lot of discussion and explanation around the history of the Zulu monarchy, its travails, and its victories.

One young person remarked online that they wondered why this kind of history was not taught at school. In fact, many people asked this question, why it is that they are only learning this as adults?

It was quite important too, that many people expressed their support and respect for the culture of amazulu as an expression of an African culture. South Africans at large have shown appreciation for the lessons that this moment has offered to them.

The media has played a very pivotal role in this regard. Both ENCA and SABC Kwazulu-natal-based journalists have been important in playing the role of not only reporter but also of historian and cultural educator.

There was quite a lot of praise for ENCA journalist Siphamandla Goge, who demonstrated not only indepth cultural knowledge, but also showed deep familiarity with the contemporary politics and power players in the ebukhosini (royal house).

This thirst for cultural and historical knowledge shows you just how shallow the South African history curriculum is on the long precolonial histories of African societies in SA.

The South African history curriculum has always been based on a de-africanisation of black South Africans. As such, it lacked basic cultural concepts such as iziduko, izithakazelo, imibongo, amaqhalo, umlando – and all the many elements of indigenous folklore that convey our history.

The South African history curriculum has been completely empty when it comes to conveying to born-frees that Africans in South Africa had their own complete social and political systems that operated over many centuries and even survived colonialism.

In fact, the current coverage showed us that there has been so little collective public discussion of what is deep and resilient about black historical cultural matters.

Usually, we have seen how it is only when culture goes wrong — such as in the deaths of initiates — that suddenly African culture is a matter of public debate and usually it is misrepresented and misunderstood.

The kind of coverage that these reporters provided reminded me of the hopeful days of the early post-apartheid SABC when there was a deep commitment to rigorous and equitable use of vernacular languages to bring news to the masses. This was the era out of which the likes of Xolani Gwala emerged. I am reminded of the attempt to provide regional language news broadcasting such as KZN Tonight, which became a very important part of the news cycle during the day.

There was also at a later point, Asikhulume Let’s Talk, which was a hard-hitting show aimed at holding politicians accountable using the African languages.

However, with the destruction of the SABC both politically and commercially, these flowering vernacular models withered away and gave us the dominance of the English language commercial media.

African language radio stations largely reduced to being over-commercialised platforms which were more focused on programming that drove party music and excessive laughter and banter as well as overly religious and conservative domestic matters, or the very irritating educational content.

Cultural discussion on our vernacular radio stations has been there, but it has been too fragmented and isolated.

The current coverage of the royal matters of Amazulu broke the misperception that black audiences are only interested in music or church.

As black people, we want to know our histories, our cultures, and we have a deep thirst for long conversations on these matters.

Now the media needs to provide this kind of reporting equally for other black clans and nations so we can learn about each other.

The South African history curriculum has always been based on a de-africanisation of black South African