January 28, 2005
By Ndaba Dlamini
ESUTHWINI, a musical play currently running at the Laager Theatre in Newtown that seeks to "unravel the myths around circumcision", kicks up some dust.
The play, voted best play at the Market Theatre Laboratory's 2004 Zwakala Festival, affords the audience a chance to peep into the highly secretive world of initiation schools. Four youths take on a journey to manhood where they undergo stringent and rigorous initiation into the world of manhood.
However, as fate may have it, not all the four youths, or amakwedini, manage to complete this arduous journey. One youth is struck and killed by lightning while urinating outside his bhoma (a makeshift shelter), "a reflection that not all initiates who die in initiation schools die as a result of the ingcibi's knife".
Writer, musical director and choreographer Mncedisi Thambe says he had a vision of how he wanted to reflect the truth behind initiation.
"As a person who was initiated, I have used my true experience … not assumptions that have been made by people who are not informed about what they are talking about. And I have chosen and composed songs that will truly compliment the play."
The play's hypnotic Xhosa and Tswana song and dance are intricately interwoven into the storyline, lending credence to the message behind the play, which Thambe says is meant to "retain and restore our important tradition in this new generation, especially looking at the Aids pandemic and high death-rate in initiation schools."
Thambe, who grew up in Swartkopfontein, "a village rich in cultural and traditional practices" in the North West province, says his work has been shaped by a consistent enquiry into the past.
"It has become a revelation and confirmation of my sceptic mind to realise that it is through the ruins of our past that we can make sense of our present and piece together our future."
Oscar Motsikoe, a fieldworker for the Market Theatre Laboratory, directs the play, which boasts an impressive cast of talented young actors.
After premiering at the Market Theatre, Esuthwini will tour the North West.
Esuthwini is on at the Laager Theatre until 6 February every Tuesday to Sunday. Performances start at 8.15 pm. The Sunday shows start at 3.15 pm.
For more information, contact the Market Theatre publicity department on 011 832 1641.
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