Ntyilo Ntyilo

Why the Birds (or Bards) Sing

Fear of the frigidity of frosty falls every evening,

Of the future winters the birds will sing.

Soaring in silent scorch of solar strikes every sun,

Of the past summers the birds will sing.

Safely secured in creations caress of climbing cranes,

Of escalating escapes the birds will sing.

Per pree of approaching predatory prowls,

Of descent to death the birds will sing.

A song for solstice sails through seasons of sea suns –

While daughters dreadfully dream of ships drown,

In solo stand the highest spectators to human evolution –

Seeing the blind revolution that served silence to human harmony.

Serving sacrifice to soul to supply their sacrifice for service

Birds sing in social serenity on the sole statues busted by bards.

Yintaka Mni? Which bird is it? Can you tell by the song it sings?

Some birds singing in a tree by the Rhodes University Barret Lecture Complex. There are a couple of them, which ones do you know just by listening to the songs?

You are about to enter the bird’s nest – the sacred cauldron of cooking songs. The lives of the artists and the stories behind their songs will leave you wishing you could sing as good as the birds. Moreover, you will know from now that not all birds that sing are free as Maya Angelou once advised.

‘Ndiyaqala ukuyitya ndiyishiye’: the songs from the smaller tree are sung by the less free.

KwaThole, kwaNdlangisa, kwaMpundeshe, kwaGqagqane kulapho kuthiwa ‘umlambo awuwelwa uwelwa ziiNkonjane zona zinamaphiko’. Enyanisweni kulaphi kuvele khona inkonjane ethanda umthi omfutshane kuneminye kodwa onexabiso elingumangaliso – bambi bathi ukuwubiza ngumthi womyalelo okanye ngamafutshane – umya.

Kulombongo ulandelayo inkonjane yenkcubeko yakwaThole ithi iyaqala ukushiya into isemnandi iyitya:

Culture the Poet – Ndiyaqala Ukuyitya Ndiyishiye.

‘Lent’ifun’umnt’oyaziyo

Ozoqala ngoyishuka-shuka

Aman’ukuyibuka

Umazi wayo uyiva ngevumba

Ndisus’endigakufuniyo

Kanjalo ndiyahluza

Ndiman’ukubalis’ibali

Ngethemba kuzolunga’

Culture the Poet – Ndiyaqala Ukuyitya Ndiyishiye

Le nkonjane itya umya ayiyodwanga. Luninzi ulutsha lwakowethu ulosebenzisa lomthi olujongelwa phantsi ngumthetho nabanye abantu bokuhlala. Kanti lomthi uyatyiwa nazintaka ezindala zakuthi nangona singazufane zicule ngawo zona seziqabukile. Le mbongi isikhumbuza umcimbi esawulibalayo wokuba lomthi uyaziwa ziingqanga zona ntaka zinkulu zihlathi nangona uzondwa nje ngamaxhalanga kuba ona adla into efileyo.

Le mbongi, egama layo lenene lidiza umzila wayo ehlabathini – nguNkcubeko iThole lakwaBam. Iphuma iqhwithiza kwilali yaseLujecweni, bayakwathi ukuyibiza nguMjex, ngaphaya komlambo weCorhana kude-kufuphi neGxulu neLibode. Ifundile kwaye izinzile njengomfundisi-ntsapho kweliya laseTranskei ngaxeshanye ingumbhali nomdlali weqonga ozakhela igama kulutsha lwaseMpuma-Koloni. Inene yakhumkhanyo kumcimbi wenkcubeko njengentaka ayababona abehla besenyuka besithi bazimvumi kodwa abazazi iingcambu zomthi abahleli kuwo.

Nanku lomthi wayo ithanda ukuhlala phantsi kwawo imana ukuchwetha izihlala iwuhlukuhla ikhangela ukuvela kwesiqhamo.

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Iindidi ezimbini zomya ezikhuliswa nguHlalutya. (Image: Landiso Magqaza)

Bawubiza ngamagama ke nabangazange bawubona:

Ngumya kwabawuxabisileyo, yintsangu kwabawugxekayo.

Athi amaBhulu yidarha xa ewuphicelayo,

Nelogama alithatha kubaThwa abathandi bawo.

Akhe ayatyholwa namaNdiya ngobuchule bawo

Kanti kutshiwo amaTshayina kudala awubonayo

Batyhole noNuka-Nuka bathi uyafana nawo

Bephosisa phofu awunawo lamandla awo

Namhla udume izizwe nabelungu sebetyeba ngawo

Ubuqili busebuninzi kananjalo ngobuchiza bawo

Singenalo igunya lokugweba okwadalwa nguBawo.

Nindixolele ngodanduluka kaloku ndiyimbongi ndiyachukumiseka yinyaniso. Mandiyibeke apho ingca ndingekagabadeli. Kodwa ndivale ngelithi lengoma yenkonjane yakwaThole liculo labaninzi elikhuthaza ukuzithanda nokuzithemba kwaye sizixabise njengabasenzise beliyeza lomyalelo.

Zingakapheli nje intaka, nalamabali awakazuphela. Camagu!