Chimurenga Vol. 2: Dis-Covering Home (July ’02)

- Dis-Covering Home Suite :

Part1: Going Home by Binyavanga Wainaina

Part2: (untitled) by Steve O.

Part3: Hole in the White ‘Hood by Henk Rossouw

Part4: Insearchofthelostriddim by Ntone Edjabe

- Lesego Rampolokeng on bavinos on the run stateside
Mahmood Mamdani on African Studies as Bantu education at UCT – circa 1998
- Gael Reagon on sisterhood and nationhood
- Julian Jonker on whiteys on the moon and black secret technology

Conversations:

Louis Moholo, Blue Notes’ drummer (talking to John Eyles): “When we met Chris McGregor, he met us [black musicians in Blue Notes] as well. I always find it so difficult that [view that] King Chris McGregor came along and rescued us like Captain Marvel. He did not really. We did him a favour.”

Gaston Zossou, Benin’s Minister of Culture/author (talking to Boniface Mongo-Mboussa): “I reproach the people in our country who call themselves “intellectuals” for in fact being master copyists. They have the privilege of being the official distributors, the dealers of a culture which is not our own. And, in my opinion, that makes them incompetent in dealing with our problems.”

Haile Gerima, Ethiopian filmmaker (talking to Bridget Thompson and Phindile Xaba) – circa 1990: “A lot of my friends just think ‘Oh South Africa, we”ll all have a powerful base from which to make movies’. I think it depends who comes to power, then you’ll know how universal how pan-African they will be and how much they care about the rest of Africa. SA might be a new colony for America.” (web only)

Faction:

Kgafela oa Magogodi – hole in his heart
Ashraf Jamal – in a field (for Zwelethu Mthethwa)
Noa Jasmine – breathing lessons
Khulile Nxumalo – Yeoville Kites
Jorge Matine – (untitled)

Re-Views:

Sandile Dikeni on Andile Yenana’s We Used To Dance
Nadia Davids on Zimitri Erasmus’s Coloured By history, Shaped By Space

Goddy Leye on Dak’Art and other biennials: “A friend of mine would speak to his wooden sculptures each time he had European or American visitors in his studio. “Cool ! Cool! Here come my friends” he would say to refrain the ”terrible anger” of the sculptures being ”disturbed”.” (web only)

Photographs:

Yazeed Kalmadien (amandla intifada) – Zwelethu Mthethwa (in a field) – George Hallet – Oscar G – Goddy Leye – Dominique Malaquais

Cover:

Strange Fruit by Lewis Allen