Black Bull, Ancestors and Me

We all talk about freedom, we all desire freedom so we work towards freedom. In Mzantsi one of the most popular topics is the issue of gays and lesbians, ever since I was a child these were one of the issues I was most aware of, next to racism. One of the ways I believe that people work towards their individual freedom is by telling their own stories but some are worth publishing and some are just simply worth talking about over a glass of wine or not at all.Nkunzi Zandile Nkabinde tells her story about her journey from childhood to her initiation as sangoma and becoming a practicing sangoma. Firstly, the way it is written gives me goose bumps; it's as if a white person was sitting next to her asking what every word meant, although there is a glossary at the back. She explains one too many words and this makes it hard to concentrate on the story being told. Secondly, there are too many unnecessary details in the book; for instance, most people are fully aware what was happening in Soweto in 1976, she decides to remind the reader of this and I can't link it to the story. Thirdly, she clearly thinks in isiZulu so her story looses a lot of weight in English. In a country like South Africa, she could've easily published in isiZulu or stuck to isiZulu terminology with a glossary at the end of the book.As I read through this book, I kept on asking myself but why? Why do I need to hear this story? How does it relate to me and my existence, where do I fit in, if at all? I felt slightly guilty maybe I don't have a sense of culture and what it means to be a sangoma. I wasn't enjoying the story, not my ideal choice of literature.

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