Small Event Spreads Worldwide

           

            Something as small as Zulu mine and factory workers, has lead to the development of one of the most popular world wide types of music. They formed vocal ensembles, for a simple type of competitive entertainment. This  local coral style came in the late 1930'a and became common in South Africa, during the years following World War 1. This type of music would later be named isicathamiya.

            Isicathamiya is a type of secular a capella choral singing that was developed in South Africa, by Zulu communities. It became popular outside of Africa, when it was promoted by the world-music industry in the late 20th century. Isicathamiya is made up of diverse traditions, that include local music's, Christian choral singing, and black minstrelsy. This music is performed in a call-and-response fashion by a group that ranges from four to more than twenty male singers. The group sings in four part harmony and contains a great number of bass vocalists. Typically, a tenor soloist leads this group. Zulu is the original language of the performance but, many songs have a mixture of English in them. While singing, the group performs swift coordinated gestures and footwork to match with the style of the song. The Zulu root -cathama justifies theses actions as walking lightly and stealthily, in a catlike fashion. One particular group stands out when people have conversation dealing with this type of entertainment.

            The group Ladysmith Black Mambazo, is well known for exceeding expectations when it comes to this type of fashion of music performance. Even though they campaigned against apartheid, they also became popular for sticking to and incorporating the ways of African tradition. Ladysmith Black Mambazo is a male choral group from South Africa that sings in the vocal styles of mbube and isicathamiya. The group was assembled in the early 1960's in South Africa by a man named Joseph Shabalala. Ladysmith is the name of Joseph's hometown, which is about three hours east of Johannesburg. Black, in the name represents the oxen, which is the strongest of all farm animals. Mambazo in Zulu means, the chopping axe, which is a symbol for the groups ability to chop down singing rivals that challenged them. By the end of the 1960's, they were banned from competitions for being too good, but could still perform for the main purpose of entertainment. In 1970, they received their first opening for a contract from a radio broadcast. Ladysmith Black Mambazo established themselves as the most successful singing group in South Africa, during the 1970's and early 1980's. One year after a land mark recording, Paul Simon also produced Ladysmith Black Mambazo's first world wide release, "Shaka Zulu", which went on to win a Grammy Award in 1988, for best folk tale recording. Later, the groups also were awarded for "Raise Your Spirit Higher", and, "Ilembe". The group also recorded with many artists such as, Stevie Wonder, Dolly Parton and Sarah McLachlan. They have also taken part in shows such as Family Guy and Mean Girls. In 2013, the group released "Live: Singing For Peace Around The World" and in 2014 they will release, "Always With Us".

            This was an interesting topic to research and I recommend anyone that has an interest in music to do it. I also recommend this to people that have an interest in the fight against the apartheid. I enjoyed researching this topic and learning about the development of one of the most famous musical groups around the world. They are not only talented, but they truly entertain with a purpose. It's a great topic to see how something that started out so small and simple, turned into something that is now enjoyed world wide. It also shows that not all the fighting against apartheid dealt with marches and protests. There was also a side that did simple things like put their feelings into different kinds of music.       

Duriel C. 

1A