‘Music forms part of Africans’ DNA’

GREETINGS to all the good people of our great country, Zimbabwe.

My name is Clive Malunga of Jenaguru Arts Centre.

I know I have met many of you in various arenas across the country and even beyond, or on social media platforms or through television and radio.

Indeed, my involvement in music and dance goes back a long way.

The older and more mature of you will remember the days of the famous and highly subscribed Jenaguru Music festivals, which formed part of the annual musical calendar of this country from 1992, until they morphed into musical galas of the first decade of this millennium.

I have vast experience as a performing artiste (locally and internationally), talent scout, arts developer, arts manager and arts sponsor, among many other roles.

Knowledge not shared is knowledge wasted as someone said. I warmly welcome you to this music column which will run weekly.

Africans, in general, and Zimbabweans in particular, are highly musical.

Music forms part of their DNA.

Every human activity and rite of passage is accompanied by music and dance.

Birth, marriage and death are celebrated through music and dance.

Worship of the supreme being by various religious groups is dominated by music.

Politicians use music to drum up support from the electorate.

Traditionally, military generals would deploy music to boost the morale of their soldiers before and during battles.

Music is often used to lighten the burden and stimulate energy when doing such tough tasks as hunting and thrashing of corn.

Mothers use lullabies to put crying babies to sleep.

Thus, the functions of music are varied and range from lightening the sombre mood of mourners at a funeral to electrifying the celebratory atmosphere at parties.

There is hardly any event in the life of a Zimbabwean which can be done without music.

If music is so intertwined with our lives, it is only natural that we should have a forum to talk about it.

Zimbabweans have so much to talk about in music and the arts. As a country, we have achieved a lot of artistic success as evidenced by some of our performing and visual artistes gaining international acclaim.

Mr Music Africa, as Thomas Mapfumo is affectionately known by his legion of fans, the late Oliver Mutukudzi , the late Biggie Tembo and Mbuya Stella Chiweshe, to name but a few, have wowed crowds wherever they have performed internationally.

Many young musicians such as Winky D, Jah Prayzah and Mokoomba are following in their footsteps.

Visual artists like Nicholas Mukomberawa and Dominic Benhura carved their names in their niche of sculpture.

These names are just a microcosm of the huge success the local arts industry has managed to score. We have, therefore, compelling reasons to celebrate. This column will provide a forum through which our artistic success — past, present and future — will be recognised and celebrated.

We also have a lot of reasons to grieve over some events and developments (or lack of it) that have happened on our arts landscape.

Over a period spanning two decades from 1990 to the present, the music industry lost some of its luminaries.

Tineyi Chikupo, Leonard Dembo, Paul Matavire, Paul Mpofu, Biggie Tembo, John Chibadura, Beaula Dyoko, Marshall Munhumumwe, Chiwoniso Maraire, Simon Chimbetu, Oliver Mtukudzi . . . the list goes on.

These were immensely talented and creative musicians who worked hard to develop and popularise various genres of Zimbabwean music. In this column, we shall reminisce about our happy times with them.

They are gone, but they are still with us, for we continue to hear their voices.

Through this column, I shall endeavour to refresh our memories on the enormous contributions by these departed illustrious sons and daughters of our motherland.

Clearly, our country needs to put in place proper infrastructure and administrative structures, or where these already exist, they must be strengthened, for the effective identification and nurturing of artistic talent in the country.

Institutions like the National Arts Council of Zimbabwe must be adequately resourced and competently manned to tap into the abundant raw talent and use it to build a vibrant arts industry.

With the correct national policies, the arts sector can provide employment to thousands of Zimbabweans and contribute millions of dollars to the country’s GDP.

Apart from providing the artists with income from their creative efforts, the arts can provide a positive outlet for the frustrations of youths, who are desperate to make a mark in life.

The arts sector can help take young people away from vices such as prostitution, drug abuse and crime and assist in reducing the rate at which our society is sliding into moral decadence. At best, an arts conscious youth could be our first step in restoring our cultural identity and hunhu/Ubuntu.

This column shall lobby the Government and other stakeholders to provide sufficient backing to the arts industry, in the same way it is supporting other business sectors.

Music and arts are collaborative pursuits. You work with others to produce works of art. Even the so-called solo productions are produced with the assistance of others in the background and also with the audience in mind.

The audience or the public are, therefore, co-producers of all art work.

We need, across visual and performing arts, to create synergies that will enhance the quality of our products. There ought to be greater interaction between artists and the State.

The State should acknowledge the great work done by artists towards social, cultural, political and economic development.

Artists have a part to play towards the attainment of Vision 2030.

We need to see their role concretised through a deliberate policy of close cooperation with the State to set output targets for the sector.

If mining and tourism have been given targets to meet in contributing to the national vision of an upper middle economy by 2030, why has the same not been done with respect to the arts?

This column shall explore these and other issues with a view to build consensus on how best national artistic talent can be harnessed for national development.