Abstract
Long before the National Party institutionalised apartheid in 1948, individuals and organisations tried to highlight the injustices of the colonial capitalist system in South Africa, but, as Lodge (1983:6) puts it, “it all ended in speeches”. This article seeks to demonstrate how Benedict Wallet Vilakazi effectively broke the silence by bringing the plight of the black masses to the attention of the world. He strongly protested against the enslavement of black labourers, especially in the gold and diamond mines, that he depicts as responsible for the human, psychological and physical destruction of the black working classes. As a self-appointed spokesperson of the oppressed, he protested against the injustices through the medium of his poetry. One of his grave concerns was the fact that black workers had been reduced to a class with no name, no rights, practically with no life and no soul. The chosen poem “Ngoba … sewuthi” (Because … you now say) is thus representative of the poems in which B.W Vilakazi externalised his commitment to the well-being of the black workers, and his protest against the insensitivity of white employers.
Highlights
B.W Vilakazi’s Zulu poetry, published in two volumes (1935 and 1945), became world famous through its 1973 English translation by Malcolm and Friedman
Long before the National Party institutionalised apartheid in 1948, individuals and organisations tried to highlight the injustices of the colonial capitalist system in South Africa, but, as Lodge (1983:6) puts it, “it all ended in speeches”
The chosen poem “Ngoba ... sewuthi” (Because ... you say) is representative of the poems in which B.W Vilakazi externalised his commitment to the well-being of the black workers, and his protest against the insensitivity of white employers
Summary
B.W Vilakazi’s Zulu poetry, published in two volumes (1935 and 1945), became world famous through its 1973 English translation by Malcolm and Friedman. Colonial goverments represented the interests of white capitalists who often only aimed at personal enrichment, and did not care about the social development of the black population that was living in a state of servitude in its own land, deprived of any human rights This situation led to Vilakazi’s deeply felt protest poetry. The subject of Vilakazi’s protest poems were mainly the inhuman conditions of mine workers Both his Zulu roots in the ubuntu philosophy and his Christian education at St. Francis College, a Catholic Missionary school at Mariannhill, KwaZulu-Natal, made him aware that human beings need to be treated with dignity, regardless of race and class. The English translations used in this article are based on the original Zulu text, but with an eye on Malcolm and Friedman’s (1962) and Friedman’s (1973) rendition, where appropriate
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