From the kraal to the classroom: Shifting musical arts practices from the community to the school with special reference to learning tshigombela in Limpopo, South Africa

Abstract

In South Africa the arts and culture educational curriculum has undergone immense change and continues to impact and influence the role of musical arts practices in children’s lives throughout the country. In specific districts of the Limpopo province in particular, musical practices of the Venda culture are being integrated into the school classroom as a means to revitalize and regenerate musical forms that have been historically denigrated by missionaries and the apartheid government. The dance and performance genre known as tshigombela is one such example and, at present, it is a predominant musical practice that illustrates how a musical form can be preserved by shifting it from community settings and into government-sanctioned classrooms. This paper will explore this conscious shift of musical arts practices and the historical and current roles of tshigombela in communities and classrooms in Limpopo that are ensuring its legacy in the greater Venda musical culture.