By Norm Dixon
In August tens of thousands of people flock to the capital of Scotland from all parts of the world. They come to celebrate the curious and sad fact that the subjugated people of Scotland have provided the cannon fodder and shock troops for most of British imperialism's sordid military adventures throughout the world. I was in Edinburgh in August, and I can proudly state that I did not attend the Royal Military Tattoo.
Instead, in a small upstairs hall in central Edinburgh, I was fortunate enough to catch a dazzling and spellbinding performance by Sunduza, Zimbabwe's youthful mbube vocal and dance group. While thousands in Edinburgh Castle were yawning their way through a dull ritual that attempted to revive some interest in Britain's blood-soaked imperial past, these young and confident performers were celebrating their people's liberation from the British-backed racist rulers in 1980. A poke in the eye for British imperialism!
Sunduza means "let us push" in the Sindebele language. The group was formed in 1985 by a group of Bulawayo school leavers as way of making an income. Sunduza's popularity since has allowed the group to become Zimbabwe's youngest professional singing group.
They perform for social and state occasions and, most recently, have been involved in an AIDS awareness campaign throughout Zimbabwe. Sunduza holds workshops for school and youth groups that highlight the importance of Zimbabwe's and southern Africa's culture and raise awareness of the environmental problems facing the region. The group tours Europe regularly. While they are away, a junior "reserve" choir performs at home.
A Sunduza performance is an amazing mixture of song, dance and theatre. Sunduza's mbube — the choral singing made famous by South Africa's Ladysmith Black Mambazo — heard live is an unforgettable experience. Their beautifully perfect harmonies and vocal gymnastics cannot be described in a way that truly captures their marvellous quality.
Their show, Injabulo 2000, which means "joy", includes songs, mostly composed by leader Simon Banda, which reflect many aspects of Zimbabwean life and include traditional, religious, and liberation songs.
The spectacular and sensual dances are drawn from different traditions and regions of southern Africa. Some of the most riveting are the opening amabiza — a dance to celebrate the coming of the rains which has each group member performing a swirling, vibrating solo — the muchongoyo, a war dance, danced in a two-line formation carrying sticks, the more familiar toyi toyi and phantsula liberation dances from South Africa's townships, and the gumboot dance, which originated in South African mining compounds after drums were banned.
The songs and dances are woven around the story of a young rural herds boy in colonial Zimbabwe (then Rhodesia). He teaches villagers to dance. Forced to leave the village in search of work, he finds himself in the mines, where he dreams of being a full-time musician. Only after the victory of the liberation movement can his dreams begin to come true.
After the show, the audience and the performers were thoroughly elated. In stark contrast, bored Tattoo-goers were traipsing through the streets outside in a morbid procession to meet hundreds of waiting coaches.
Sunduza is likely to visit Australia in the near future. It should not be missed. Sunduza has also released an excellent CD that includes most of the songs from the Injabulo 2000 show. It can be purchased for œ12.00 from Corium Music Publishers, 9a Endeavour House, North Circular Road, London, NW2 1LA. Sunduza can be contacted by writing to PO Box 6873, Harare, Zimbabwe.