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Bahlabelelelani – Why Do They Sing?: Gender and Power in Contemporary Women’s Songs book cover

1st Edition

Bahlabelelelani – Why Do They Sing? Gender and Power in Contemporary Women’s Songs

By Nompumelelo Zondi Copyright 2024
180 Pages
by Routledge

180 Pages
by Routledge

180 Pages
by Routledge
Also available as eBook on:
Indigenous societies, steeped in patriarchy, have various channels through which they deal with abusive characteristics of relations in some of these communities. One such route is through songs, which sanction women to voice that which, bound by societal expectations, they would not commonly be able to say. This book focuses on the nature of women’s contemporary songs in the rural community of... Read more

Acknowledgements

1. Introduction: Women’s Songs in a Patriarchal Society

2. A Theoretical Framework for the Analysis of Women’s Songs

3. Popular Songs in African Contexts: An Overview of the Literature

4. The Performance Settings of the Zwelibomvu Women’s Songs

5. Gender and Power in Contemporary Women’s Songs

6. Composition and Circulation of Contemporary Women’s Songs

7. Conclusion: Bahlabelelelani-ke – Why Then, Do They Sing?

Appendix

Select Bibliography

Index

Biography

Nompumelelo Zondi is Associate Professor and Head of the Department of African Languages at the University of Pretoria.

‘Seziyosengwa yinkehli! (There is power in a woman’s voice). This inspiring book by a woman writer gives other women a platform to tell their stories in the best African way possible – ngomculo (through music).’

— Boni Zungu, Senior Lecturer: African Languages, University of the Witwatersrand

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