Muchongolo Old Culture but Still Rocks
By Constance Rahlane

 
The sound of the muchongolo drum rumbled one Sunday afternoon in Cottondale village [Acornhoek, South Africa], calling people from far and near. Young and old men danced, all wearing traditional clothes. Women sang, ululated, danced, and clapped hands alongside the men, who all wore short white pants and red nghonde necklaces. The bare-chested men’s legs were covered in bokko sheep’s hair, and each carried fighting sticks and shields. The scent of muqhobhothi and godwana, traditional beers, filled the air. Vendors, selling fruits, snacks, sweets and magwinya buns, sat at every corner of the tavern. People blew whistles, and others boomed vuvuzelas [air horns]. A young man hit the muchongolo drum stridently, he was sweating like a marathon runner. Villagers around Bushbuckridge and tourists from America gathered and cheered the muchongolo dancers. Eddie’s Tavern was very loud, but no one seemed to care, as there were only joyous faces. Even the rainy weather didn’t stop people from flocking in.

Muchongolo is a traditional dance which takes place Sunday afternoons throughout Bushbuckridge, Mpumalanga. Men, women, and children form groups and compete against each other by dancing different styles of traditional dances. Each group dances by lifting their legs up and pounding them down hard while singing their own different cultural songs. Viewers contribute by throwing money on the ground. The dancers are given traditional beers and pap [traditional porridge made from mielie-meal] and meat at the end of events.

Mukhongeteri Mathebula, 76, one of the muchongolo leaders amongst three people in Chief Mnisi tribe, said he started performing the cultural dance in 1938, and says nothing will ever separate him from it.

“Long ago, we only danced muchongolo when there was a wedding,” he explains. “Now we dance every Sunday, and rotate between Cottondale, Islington, Werverdin, Manyeleti, Landela, and Landlou.”

The crowd clapped its hands when Mathebula hit the stage; he jumped like an 18-year-old, and the ground melted when he hit it with his legs. Mathebula says the aim of muchongolo is to preserve the culture for the younger generation and to entertain people on Sunday, with a long week ahead.

People were very entertained, indeed. The American visitors also joined in and danced along with them, and even drank the traditional beer.

“This is an interesting event. I wish to see it more often,” said Trishy, one of the tourists.

Robert Mkansi, a man who says Sunday is his favourite day of the week because he is entertained by muchongolo, was also very much delighted. “I don’t go to church—this is my church. I started watching the dance when I was a boy. I still do with my kids.”

Photos by Constance Rahlane