“Say Africa!” shouted Vusi Sidney Mahlasela Ka Zwane.
“Say Africa!” the crowd shouted back.
With each shout, Mahlasela’s smile grew.
This monologue repeated itself a few times to close the Sotho South African musician’s performance at North Star Theatre on Oct. 14.
Hosted by the Cordova Arts & Pageants, Mahlasela, accompanied by musician Mongezi Ntaka, performed African folk music.
The song echoed in the theatre as people began to dance: “I may be walking in the streets of a city called Amsterdam. But the dust on my boots and the rhythm of my feet and my heartbeat say Africa, say Africa, say Africa!” Mahlasela sang out.
Mahlasela, often labeled “The Voice” of South Africa, performed for the 1994 inauguration of anti-apartheid revolutionary Nelson Mandela as president of South Africa. His music was an inspiration for the anti-apartheid movement. Sotho South Africans are one of four major ethnic divisions among black South Africans.
“As long as we can know that we are one human race, then if we can just understand that…I think it’s back to where it’s supposed to be,” Mahlasela said. “People see other people’s differences and all that…it’s not supposed to be that way. People are people.”
His songs shared messages on the importance of land, people, forgiveness and reconciliation.
“As musicians, our duty is to educate and to bring awareness,” Mahlasela said.
His final song of the night, “Say Africa”, was originally written by Dave Goldblum in 1997.
Mahlasela asked to re-record the song, make a few corrections and put the message of Ubuntu in it. Ubuntu, deriving from the Nguni language, has many different meanings and translations. At its heart, it means humility, Mahlasela said.
Mahlasela explained the concept of Ubuntu to the crowd through the Nguni proverb translated as, “a person is a person through other persons.”
“You won’t really win if you’re preaching this message to people who are sort of individualistic in some way,” Mahlasela said of Ubuntu. “It’s a way of life that…everyone has to lend…and live it to the fullest.”
