uNonqawuse: iNkokheli yama Rwala

By: Lukhanyiso Skosana

Berger and Luckmann state that “the self cannot be adequately understood apart from the particular social context in which they were shaped”. These particular social contexts mimic the transcendent nature of social death for the construction of identities and cultures, as our everyday interactions result in repeated or habitualised actions.

This work, whose primary focus is the ‘repetitive-actions’ that have become foundational, takes a closer look at the act of ‘being’ -- existing, yet not, as a means of survival in the initiation camps. Camps where young boys are exposed to systemic traditional volatility, framed through the mythological notions of Xhosa and Black masculinities. 

The performance also explores the narrative of uNongqawuse as Queer re-incarnation. As ‘The Girl who killed to save’ -- as understood and explored in the play by Herbet Dhlomo -- she becomes the object of this work’s obsession. The Mother of all lies, leading a platoon of false prophets – men.