African-Language Literatures. Innocentia Jabulisile Mhlambi
same could be said in cases of narratives that guard against the violation of social codes. The reiteration of proverbs warns or advises against acceptance of trends that would have a negative impact on the social cohesion established by older generations. Through the use of the extended proverb Impi yaboMdabu Isethunjini (the war of the Africans is in the intestines) the author indicates that the applicability of the proverb should go beyond intimate family intrigues, as the original form does not include national and social issues that affect black identity such as class disparities in African society, education, politics, employment and social morality. The tensions that play themselves out in the narrative between the rural and the urban family members are projected as being beyond seemingly trivial family conflicts relating to who is responsible for children begotten out of wedlock in order to touch on socio-economic and political issues affecting Africans in a post-apartheid context. The narrative makes the claim that while change and transformation are essential to progress, certain aspects of this progress are not commensurate with traditional values. Transformational tendencies are therefore carefully sifted through the ordering and structuring of narratives or axioms and their validity evaluated against a pre-existing oral archeology.
Proverbs and gender relations
The narratives are structured so as to refer back to the titles and at the same time explore gender relations through the characters of Popi in Impi and that of Nomvula in Aphelile. In both instances, Popi’s education and Nomvula’s business success are positioned as leaving them unfulfilled because these achievements accord them a pseudo-independence that encourages them to ‘unrightfully’ question their traditional gender roles. Their upward mobility is projected as the cause of gender struggles. Popi’s attainment of a Doctor of Philosophy degree and Nomvula’s success in the fashion industry are linked to references existing in the society regarding affluent and elite women. In Aphelile, where Nomvula cites a proverb or an axiom, her sayings are undercut, first by the irrelevance of her material attainments to the task of raising a child and, second, by the expectations placed by society on a mother within a traditionally conceived family. Her citation of the proverb ‘ubucwibi obuhle obuhamba ngabubil’ (it is a beautiful sight to see two birds flying together) is subverted by her refusal to acknowledge the role of Makhaya in her life with Sibusiso as only a life together could attest to the truthfulness of the proverb. The contexts of her citations are ironical and tend to question and cast doubt on her convictions. Her chosen form of motherhood is questioned as shallow and self-centered through such comments as ‘umncishe amalungelo okuba ubaba enganeni yakhe’ (you denied him his rights of being a father to his child). Furthermore her depiction hints that she is bordering on insanity in her refusal to accept Makhaya in their lives, especially now that he has shown to be penitent and prepared to marry her (Radebe: 19). Equally, in Impi, Popi’s observations and proverbial sayings are subverted by the materialistic values she holds.
In these texts such women are held in contempt. They are seen as domineering, controlling, over ambitious, unrestrained and non-conformist. Therefore changes in perspectives, configurations and imperatives within the narratives are curtailed by the geo-archeological boundaries operative in popular culture and traditional knowledge. In both, the narrativisation of gender struggles is processed through the prism of a patriarchal framework which operates through a biased depiction of Nomvula’s struggles for survival and Popi’s assertion of her independence. Both female characters value their independence and the material benefits of being financially self-sufficient. The conceptualisation of the family in the novel Aphelile, is that it has a father-head and a nurturing mother. In the novel Impi, the violation of a customary practice, that is, John’s refusal to adopt his sister’s children because of his wife’s fearful disposition and dislike of her sister’s children, is the framework within which a range of other themes are raised. I revisit this issue later in this chapter.
In Aphelile Agambaqa, the main character, Nomvula, is compelled by the nature of her romantic relationship with Makhaya to raise a child by herself for seven years. Because of his chauvinistic egocentrism, Makhaya becomes an absent father. The romantic relationship he offered to Nomvula removed all commitments and any anticipation of marriage, prompting her to keep the pregnancy a secret and confine herself to single parenthood until he re-appears one day to claim his role as a father and a husband. By the time Makhaya re-appears, Nomvula has established herself as a working mother. The nature of her work, in turn, makes her an absent mother as she has to travel far and wide leaving the care of her son to her sister, Ntombi and her mother, MaMhlongo. This indicates that on her own, without the support of her family, she would have failed in her responsibility of raising her child. The idea of working mothers is challenged, then, particularly if the working mother is a single parent like Nomvula. Makhaya lives with his lover, Thembisile, who is a nursing sister. He has a romantic relationship with her which is similar to the one he had with Nomvula. Thembisile also has a foster child. During her night shifts the foster child is entrusted to the care of relatives until the shift has ended, making her an absent mother.
In both instances children are exposed to bad influences and, to atone, the children are spoiled. Makhaya abducts his son on the day Nomvula has planned to take him out on a spending spree because she will be away from home for a month. Overindulging the child is atonement for affection not given to the child. This is shown in many instances when Nomvula fails to reprimand Sibusiso. In the Eastern Cape, Makhaya, too, is not an innocent party. He atones for the seven-year period he has been absent by indulging the child, winning his trust through material gifts. For Makhaya, the material gifts are used as a vehicle to reconnect with his son and to make him feel the need for a father figure in his life. And it is this need that is exploited by the author to re-unite Makhaya and Nomvula (even though Nomvula initially protests against the idea) and lead them into matrimony, in which Nomvula is expected to fulfil the traditional role of being a housewife because Makhaya will provide for them.
The proverbs that sum up the lesson of ideal parenting are ‘ubucwibi obuhle obuhamba ngabubili’ (it is a beautiful sight to see two birds flying together) (Radebe: 24) or ‘amasongo amahle akhala ngambili’ (this type of bird species normally make similar sounds and they are always together) (Buthelezi,1996: 58). These proverbs are carriers of the central moral in the narratives. In Impi, Popi’s domineering nature in affairs related to the children is criticised through the proverb ‘amasongo akhala emabili’ (Buthelezi: 58). These proverbs lobby for a traditional family. In Aphelile the proverb complements the proverb used in the title. In Impi, though, the use of the proverb goes beyond surface problems to issues involving the commitment of parents to raising their children and the kinds of values the children receive. For Buthelezi there is a link between social disintegration and the values transferred to children in their families. And together with the axiom deduced from the narratives, that dual parenting is the best form of parenting, the proverbs concretise the narrative experience so that Nomvula’s attempts at shutting Makhaya out of her life and that of her son are expected to fail. In a similar vein, Popi’s domination over her children eventually destroys her family.
Proverbs and traditional practices
Cultural values can also be strategically employed with the intention of directing the reading of the narrative towards the lesson contained in the proverb. In Aphelile this cultural value relates to the observance of a customary practice of inhlawulo (loosely translated as: paying for the damages), which may be interpreted as a legitimate claim to fatherhood by a father who has children out of wedlock. In the narrative, Makhaya did not show respect to Nomvula’s family by observing this practice, not even after learning of his son’s existence, therefore, culturally, he does not have a right to the child. With complete disregard for custom (Radebe: 65) he unilaterally decides to reclaim his child, abducting him from school and taking him back with him to Bhizana in the Eastern Cape, with stern directives that if Nomvula wants her child back she must come to the Eastern Cape. His actions are fuelled not only by his knowledge of his son’s existence but also by the information he has received regarding Nomvula’s impending marriage to another man (Radebe: 59). Makhaya is opposed to another man raising his child (Radebe: 71). Through the abduction of the child from its mother, the narrative directs attention away from this cultural expectation and focuses on the relationship between the parents and the child and on the lovers’