Kaziyang’emasisweni: Ntongela Masilela and Mazisi Kunene’s Dialogue of Great Civilisations Across Time

Abstract

ABSTRACT In Theory of the Idea, Plato proposes an intersection of the abstract and the concrete as the genesis of a new product. This discussion is centred on the Platonian notion and ingenuity of the grafting of two entities to create something new. As in Grecian times, grafting exists in African communities. This article seeks to present the idea of grafting as displayed in the confluence of Masilela’s “idea” and Kunene’s “art form”. This demonstrates the hallmark of the New African Movement (NAM). The discussion explores five areas of Kunene’s philosophy as an expression of Masilela’s ideology of the new African renaissance: the family, religion, knowledge, land, and the epic. The power of the idea birthed through form (art) is thus shown in our purposeful examination of Kunene’s philosophy and advocacy for the preservation of African epistemologies, affirming Ngidi’s point that Kunene provides key pillars of Masilela’s ideology. Framed in a different ancient civilisation, Masilela’s ideology of the new African intersects with Kunene’s work and yields a product that is a fitting instrument for Africa’s self-re-imaging. The New African Movement is thus an apt framework for recentring Africa’s epistemologies, as articulated by Kunene whose work exhibits Africa’s heritage that needs re-centring.