Routledge

Chapter Notes

Chapter 7 Labor Migration: Isicathamiya

  • Isicathamiya means ‘to walk stealthily, like a cat’, or ‘to walk on tip toes’.
  • Isicathamiya is a genre created by migrants workers from KwaZulu Natal in the the cities Durban, Johannesburg, and Kimberly.
  • Main types of labor done by migrant workers: working at the harbor (in Durban), diamond mining (in Kimberly, known in Zulu as eDiamane), gold mining (in Johannesburg, known in Zulu as eGoli). It was also common in all three cities for migrants to work as gardeners or house servants.
  • Early migrants were predominantly men.
  • Isicathamiya was often performed at all-night competitions in all-male hostels for migrant workers.

Theoretical points on Marre's documentary Rhythm of Resistance

  1. During apartheid, not all black South African performance was resistance against white domination.
  2. Racial divisions during apartheid were not as clear-cut as Marre makes them out to be. (See the discussion above on ‘entanglement’.)
  3. Marre reduces differences amongst black South Africans.

Also, Marre excludes gum boot dance from his documentary on the grounds that it is simply a genre that emerged from white domination, on the one hand, and commodification, on the other. However, in doing so, Marre assumes a reified idea of ‘pure’ Zulu culture and seems to want to keep Zulu men pre-modern and untainted by commercial interests — naked except for their loincloths rather than clothed in the Western dress and footgear worn by the gumboot dancers.

Characteristics of isicathamiya

  • Performed by all-male choirs.
  • Usually a capella.
  • Words of songs in isiZulu.
  • A SATB texture is used with one person (the leader) singing soprano, usually one or two people on the alto part, usually a few people on the tenor part, and then several (or even many) people on the mass part.
  • Often songs are in call-and-response, with the leader (soprano) calling.
  • Performers dress in fine suits, often with gloves and superbly polished black shoes.
  • The dance style is very smooth and ‘stealthy,’ with subtle movements known as isteps.
  • Certain songs require bodies to be still, as in the old mission style known as makwaya (choir).
  • Before the 1990s, white judges were often used in isacathamiya competitions.
  • The leader of an isicathamiya group is usually the founder and composer. Famous isicathamiya composer Joseph Shabalala (of Ladysmith Black Mambazo) says that he learned to compose from his ancestors in dreams. Shabalala's compositional process is very complex, and can be read about in Ballantine (1996).

Joseph Shabalala and Ladysmith Black Mambazo

We have already discussed the role of Ladysmith Black Mambazo in Graceland. It is important to note in such a context that isicathamiya is a constantly evolving genre. As is evidenced by the various performances of Ladysmith Black Mambazo attended by Muller over the course of many years, the group has adapted their style. This should not be viewed simply as a case of ‘sell-outism’, but rather as the progression of a professional group who does, of course, want to be successful, but also wants to engage with contemporary discourse and current problems.

A related point here is the curitorial role played by Ladysmith Black Mambazo. The group some times uses maskanda musicians to open for them, and in this sense Ladysmith Black Mambazo is now presenting other South African musicians to an international audience. Unlike Paul Simon's role in Graceland, however, LBM simply showcases these musicians and does not incorporate the music of these musicians into their own group sound.