Oh Zimbabwe 23/05/2006 (This is one of a series of articles I wrote dealing with memories of an African childhood. To read the first of these, click here)As regular readers will know, this blog has encouraged me to mine my memories of a childhood in South Africa and Zimbabwe. In the process, I have discovered that Africa had a much deeper effect on me than I had realized while I was living in England. Yet I should have suspected this, if only through something that happened a few years into my English sojourn.Out of the blue someone phoned me from London, asking if he could visit to relive old times at university in Pietermaritzburg. His name sparked only the faintest of memories (and I have since forgotten it again) and I could not remember his face at all. But I figured that it would all come back to me when I saw him, so I invited him and gave him directions. In a little more than an hour, he arrived.And I did not recognize him. As we talked, I searched my brain for some distant memory of the guy, anything that would confirm that I had once known him, but nothing occurred. He could have been a stranger off the street.Now, my memory is a fickle beast and I have become fairly used to situations like this, pretending to remember people that have vanished forever, and I carried things off rather well on this occasion; I don't think he even suspected that I had no memory of him at all. We talked for a couple of hours and it was quite clear that he knew me well - he remembered things from those days that he could only have known through being there.It was when we said goodbye and he was walking back to his car that the faintest of memories appeared in the dim recesses of my mind. There was something about his walk that sparked this. Yes, I had known him but very vaguely; he was a friend of a friend and had only ever been on the periphery of our circle.So my memory was vindicated at last. But my forgotten friend did me an unwitting service before he left; he gave me a tape of Zimbabwean pop music. To him, it was nothing - merely something he happened to have at the time and a convenient gesture of thanks for brief hospitality. But to me, it became a treasure trove of Zimbabwean memories.Music is a part of life in Zimbabwe, so much so that I hardly noticed it while I was there. It fills the background, every young Shona about town has a portable radio or beatbox blaring forth, and the sounds blend into daily life to become unnoticed, just as the insect noise at night does. Perhaps this is why it infects the soul so deeply.As I listened to the tape, I was transported back to blazing hot days in the dry Zimbabwe summer, walks through the long grass, the sweat trickling down my face, and music drifting through the air from some unknown source. And I smiled. I smiled as the memories emerged from hiding and once again I was confronted with the essential happiness of the Shona people. The smile was and remains my involuntary response to their music. Even as I write, Thomas Mapfumo makes me grin as he pounds out the rhythm in the background. And the sound of an mbira, the thumb piano of Africa, has the same effect on me. I am more Zimbabwean than I ever suspected.That tape became my refuge from gray English winters and depressing times. Whenever I needed to smile, Nyami Nyami Sounds, Jonah Sithole or The Four Brothers were happy to oblige. Eventually, I made the mistake of lending the tape to someone and never saw it again. But my hunger had been whetted and I searched everywhere for more Zimbabwean pop music, mostly to no avail.And then I heard and recorded a program on BBC radio that went some way to sating my need. A young presenter named Andy Kershaw had been doing a series on African music and, when he went to Zimbabwe, I had the sense to record the program. This consisted mainly of Andy being shown around Zimbabwe by Biggie Tembo, the lead singer of the Bhundu Boys, one of the top Zimbabwean bands of the early eighties. There were snippets of music in between the talking, some traditional, some pop. They visited Biggie's home village and a beer hall, then wandered off to look at more famous sites, in the end arriving at Victoria Falls. And it was here that Biggie said something that, for me, epitomizes the Shona spirit and wisdom.At the edge of the Falls, there is a statue of David Livingstone, looking suitably noble and European as he gazes out over the cascading torrent. Andy looked at this and then made a comment that revealed his vast lack of understanding of African history and the nature of Livingstone's calling to that continent. He said to Biggie, "Doesn't this make you angry - that there should be a statue to this man in this place? He claimed to have discovered the Falls and yet they were always known to your people."Bear in mind that "bhundu boys" were runners for the guerillas during the war in Zimbabwe and that Biggie had been one of them. It might have been expected that he would agree with Andy's sentiments but that would not be allowing for the gentle Shona spirit. Without hesitation, Biggie replied, "Oh, he wasn't so bad."There was a slight pause and then he went on: "After all, Andy..." and I can imagine the smile on his face as he spoke the next words, "He made me met you..."
--ooOoo--For those who are interested in a taste of Zimbabwean pop music, there are a few brief snippets at this address. Some of the links lead to a music site but the following will play if you have RealPlayer on your computer: Muti Usina Zita by Zexie Manatsa & the Green Arrows; Rudo Imoto by The Four Brothers; Taxi Driver by Jonah Moyo and Devera Ngwena.Technorati tags: Zimbabwean pop music; Zimbabwe.(to read the next of the African Memories articles, click here)
Clive
Way As usual. Mr. Thumbs-with-no-particular-computer-skills can't figure out how to sample this music you offer. Sample music. Access sites. Pretending to know foreign languages. No matter. I can still feel the itch of grass on my bare legs, from these well-placed words of yours. Trickling sweat; tickles me, too. And scratching has now become a new hobby to enjoy. Us humans seem to find pleasures in the damndest places. Fickle memories. Forgotten memories. Good memories. Smells compete sensibly; but music jogs like no other. Perhaps I already experienced young Kershaw, if he is the one brave lad who (for National Public Radio) recorded those sweet, sweet and wide-eyed Mali orphans, along with a rag-tag mix of some local musicians. Powerful sounds. Sensual. Bare. Earthy. Delicious. Date Added: 23/05/2006
Gone Away Very likely that it was Nick Kershaw who recorded the sounds of Mali that you heard, Way - he spent quite some time in Africa, going from country to country and recording the local music. Good memories, as you say.
To hear the sample sounds, click on the link "this address" in the article and then click the small symbol next to the song you want to hear. This will open a dialog box asking whether you want to open the file or download it. Open the file to hear it, provided you have RealPlayer, of course (they are all in RP format). Date Added: 23/05/2006
Way Man. I really tried. Date Added: 23/05/2006
Gone Away I did too, Way. :( Date Added: 24/05/2006
keeefer African music is infectious. but its nothing a hefty dose of penicillin can't cure. I had an acquaintance, i would say friend but that would imply i liked him, who had a thing for bulgarian folk music. Now some folk music i can almost appreciate, i am not adverse to sitting in a smoky public house sipping at my ale whilst someone croons with a hey nonny nonny. Sadly bulgarian folk music is akin to two fat ladies beating each other senseless with a sack full of vocal cats. He would attempt to have this awful sound played whenever we shared a vehicle and i think the tape may still be found along the M69 somewhere. The person in question was eventually committed, so let that be a lesson to those of you who stray into the bulgarian folk music section of your local record store. Date Added: 24/05/2006
Gone Away Thanks for the warning, Keef - I'll bear it in mind. But you have to admit that African music is cool... well, some of it, at least. :D Date Added: 24/05/2006
Marti What a great story! Thank you for sharing! Especially timely memory as Memorial Day approaches. Date Added: 24/05/2006
Houston Bridges By coincidence, I have on my daily play list music from two African sources: Mali (Ali Farka Toure) and Egypt. I actually have three albums of Ali Farka Toure. My favorite is the one he recorded with Ry Cooder. I found this information and link through Google: http://www.google.com/musicl?lid=ZB4Eh9I5xwO. I've been very pleased with the quality of the Rough Guide series, so you might want to check it out. Date Added: 24/05/2006
Mad I'm late to the party! Um I have a confession to make... that tape wasn't borrowed by a friend, it was pinched by an eldest son going to University... sorry Dad. ;) To make it up to you I'll zip up my Jonah Sithole CD and send it to you. I found it in Camden Market would you believe. Did I tell you I went to see Ladysmith Black Mambazo last year? Date Added: 25/05/2006
Gone Away Thank you, Marti! :) Date Added: 25/05/2006
Gone Away Really interesting link, Houston - thanks. All African music has something about it, I think. A rich field for exploration by any musician. Date Added: 25/05/2006
Gone Away So that's where the tape went! And all these years I've been racking my brain, trying to remember who I lent it to... You are forgiven, Number One Son, in view of the promise of Jonah Sithole's CD. :)
And yes, you did mention that you were going to a Ladysmith Black Mambazo concert but I don't think I ever had a report back from it. About time, don't you think? Date Added: 25/05/2006
Fragile Industries You are so right about the evocative power of music. Nearly any genre of world music brings back a total sense memory, as do other styles, depending on what I was doing when I heard it. To say my tastes are eclectic would be putting it mildly, so as I go through various musical enthusiasms (opera, techno-trance, girl groups of the '60's, ambient, Johnny Cash, Kelly Clarkson, Sisters of Mercy, Bette Midler, Bob Willis and the Texas Playboys, the Beatles, the Stones, etc., etc.) the music embeds a mental time machine in my brain. I haven't listened to much African music, but I loved its influence on Paul Simon (Graceland era). Maybe that will be my next passion! Thanks for a fun post. Date Added: 25/05/2006
Gone Away Eclectic would describe my musical taste, too, Fragile. Much is decided by my age and the 60s would figure largely in that - but I try to listen to new stuff as well. My latest find is Matchbox 20 (well, I'm only about ten years behind the times). But Africa stays with me, it seems... Date Added: 25/05/2006
keeefer Matchbox 20 The wifes a big fan so they must be good , she has exceptional taste (in men at least). If you need to expand your collection let me know, i think we have several of their CDs somewhere. Date Added: 26/05/2006
Gone Away Hey, cool, Keef - that would be great! Thanks indeed. :) Date Added: 26/05/2006
Mad Ladysmith Black Mambazo were exellent. The support acts were exceptional as well. :D Date Added: 26/05/2006
Gone Away I guess you had to be there, huh, Mad? ;) Date Added: 26/05/2006
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