DOCUMENT RESUME

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AUTHOR Tancig-Brown, JuanaTITLE South Africa In Transition, Curriculum Units and Study

Guide, Grades 6-8. Fulbright-Hays Summer Seminar Abroad 1996(South Africa).

INSTITUTION Center for International Education (ED), Washington, DC.PUB DATE 1996-00-00NOTE 67p.; Some materials may not photocopy well.PUB TYPE Guides Classroom Teacher (052)EDRS PRICE MF01/PC03 Plus Postage.DESCRIPTORS *African Studies; *Apartheid; Black Studies; Foreign

Countries; Grade 6; Grade 7; Grade 8; InstructionalMaterials; Interdisciplinary Approach; Intermediate Grades;Junior High Schools; Peace; *Racial Discrimination; *RacialSegregation; Social Studies; Teaching Guides

IDENTIFIERS *South Africa

ABSTRACTThis curriculum unit is designed to allow students to

evaluate the social, cultural, political, and economic changes occurring inSouth Africa. Specially prepared portfolios serve as mini-museums andhistorical archives for study. Examples of historical and contemporarypopular culture are included. Numerous documents, activities and resourcesare offered, along with study questions and information for additionalinquiry. (EH)

********************************************************************************* Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made *

* from the original document. *

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3 7

SOUTH AFRICA IN TRANSITIONCurriculum Units and Study Guide

Grades 6-8,Juana "fancig-Brown

PERMISSION TO REPRODUCE ANDDISSEMINATE THIS MATERIAL

HAS BEEN GRANTED BY

4(C4D't < \i c

TO THE EDUCATIONAL RESOURCESINFORMATION CENTER (ERIC)

Cr) U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATIONOffice of Educational Research and Improvement

C641 EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES INFORMATIONCENTER (ERIC)

jorjhis document has been reproduced asCr) "" received from the person or organizationoriginating it.

Minor changes have been made toimprove reproduction quality.00Points of view or opinions stated in thisdocument do not necessarily represent

Oofficial OERI position or policy.

Tab Ile of Contents

Rationale Page 1 - 2

Objectives Page 3

Strategies for Getting Started Page 4 - 5

Vocabulary Page 6

Time Line - History of South Africa Page 7

Time line Study Questions Page 8

To Kill A Man's Piide Page 9 - 27

To Kill A Man's Pride -Study Questions Page 28

Seven Steps to Democracy- Study Guide Page 29

Seven Steps to Democracy Page 30

South African Art - Activities Page 31- 32

Apartheid - Art Print Page 33

Ndebele - Photograph Page 34

Zulu Love Letter Page 35

Traditional African Woodprints Page 36

Archival Photographs - w/Oscar Peterson Page 37 - 41

Archive and Museum Pertfolio Contents Page 42

References Page 43

3

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The strongest impressions South Africa left with me, were of the importance of individuals asagents of change in achieving a democratic society. I was just as impressed with how at every levelof society the individual works with others for the good of the whole. Whether in small villages orin large urban areas, the importance of community was always evident. South African democracyis the product of the tireless commitment and effort of courageous individuals, but could not havebeen possible without these individuals joining together in order to achieve a common goal.

Sharing these impressions with my students became the impetus for developing my curriculum unitson South Africa. I wanted to guide my students through a tour of the country similar to the one I hadundertaken, helping them identify along the way the strands that make up this multiculturaldemocratic society. I wanted the process of inquiry and discovery to be informed by my studentscuriosity and by student generated-questions which access to primary source material providedwould spark. In order to allow the broadest perspectives to emerge I developed integratedcurriculum units that draw on the arts, sciences and humanities as tools with which the studentscould undertake their journey.

This multidisciplinary perspective creates a more authentic learning environment, approximatinghow students would learn in the "real world". Students evaluate the social, cultural, political, andeconomic changes taking place in South Africa through the use of specially prepared portfolioswhich serve as mini-museums and historical archives. Cultural exhibits containing examples ofXhosa and Zulu traditions, as well as contemporary South African popular culture, are all includedin this portfolio. Also included are historical documents, such as copies of the Constitution and theANC charter. Using prior knowledge of changes in U.S. culture and society as the schema to helpstudents organize and integrate this information, a more cohesive picture of South Africa's transitionwill begin to emerge.

This objective will also help the students draw connections between South Africa's road todemocracy and the struggles in our own history, identifying parallels between our respectivesociopolitical system, and between South Africa's rainbow nation and our own multicultural society.I would like students to assess the importance of individual social action and identify opportunitiesfor social actions as a member of a community. In order to do this it is important that studentsacquire content knowledge in a context that allows the students to work in concert with others, thusreinforcing the objectives of democracy by allowing the inquiry process to be a democratic one aswell.

I knew I wanted the students to read, evaluate, and analyze the many pieces that together make upthe complex story of South Africa in transition, but I also wanted to create a context for this processthat would allow students more than a cursory look at random facts and pictures. The process ofchange must be studied within a holistic framework. This framework centers on an integratedperspective as the thread with which students connect the many pieces that make up the SouthAfrican cultural quilt. An essential part of this inquiry is to allow student groups to identify theirown areas of interest and to generate their own set of content and organizational objectives. Givingstudents this ability empowers them to act as an autonomous micro community /society which must

4

engage in aspects of the democratic process. Students must take the initiative to organizethemselves, to engage in spirited dialogue insuring that this process is inclusive of all groupmembers. This process parallels the democratic process of our two democracies. Thus thedemocratic process is both the lesson's objective content knowledge as well as the methodologyused to understand and analyze.

Traveling in South Africa allowed me to see the widespread reforms within all institutions and Iadmired the sort of effort that in place to improve and democratize education. The government isacutely aware that this next generation needs to be better prepared academically. They are alsoaware that education has to prepare students not only for jobs, but to assume the role of responsiblecitizens who can continue the work that others before them began. This is the role of education inall democracies and as such educators must accept the responsibility to democratize the classroomand the process of learning, for the good of our students and our society.

Objectitves

1. Understand the changes occurring in South Africa's institutions using primarysource documents and visual documentation

2. Identify the important issues these institutions must address to remedy pastinequities and create an inclusive democratic society.

3. Assess the role of the individual citizen as well as the role of community groupsand organizations in effecting these changes and in achieving the stated goals.

4.Explain the role of geography, the environment and natural resources in the pastand current historical transformations of South Africa.

5. Analyze and evaluate the effectiveness of our own political, social and culturalinstitutions as vehicles for democratic ideals and action.

6. Understand the importance of negotiation, compromise and non-violent conflictresolution for the creation and maintenance of a democratic society, applying thisprocess in a collaborative group setting to achieve a common goal.

6. Develop student generated mini-units for partner schools and elementary classesthat feature knowledge of South Africa's historical, geographic, political and /orcultural changes.

6

Strategies for Getting Started

Archives and Museum portfolios can be used in a variety of ways. Each quarter my students aredivided into groups of fours and they work cooperatively on major projects for the theme units Ihave designed. Each group gets a set of portfolios. Teachers may decide to compile portfolios soeach group receives portfolios which contain the same documents, this way all groups will beworking simultaneously on similar activities and research. Another suggestion would be to giveeach group documentation on different aspects of South Africa's transition. Groups would thenspecialize in a specific area and become the area experts for the class, whether in the arts,economy, politics, and environmental arena..

It is important that however you choose to divide the classroom, that the students be allowed tobe part of the decision process in what they will choose to focus on and in how they willdemonstrate their knowledge. I like to start with a brainstorming session before we embark onour research. This can be as simple as a mini-lesson giving a brief overview of South Africa,followed by a K-W-L chart. I started my mini-lesson with a personal reflection of my trip toS.A. accompanied by some attention-grabbing slides. You need not have made a personal visit,however, you could start with overhead pictures of Nelson Mandela, the now famous HectorPeterson photo and others included in this packet. I also informed my students that we weregoing to all "travel" to South Africa and would have to do a little research for our trip.Followingthis mini-lesson students may work on the K-W-Ls, which allows them to identify priorknowledge, as well as what they would like to learn about this topic.

Once student are in their groups a good way to embark on the unit (or trip) is to begin with alook at the geography of the country. In order to travel there students must know the locationand do some investigation on the costs of travel, the distance and time to get there, as well as theweather since they need to know what to pack! Because of the stark differences amongprovinces students needed to be informed on the specifics of the locations we would visit. Myclass trip followed my own, so I used my itinerary, but your class could design their own. Weworked on such real-life details as securing travel documents, inoculations ( our itineraryincluded Kruger Park - a malaria area), and calculating the costs of the trip as well as thecurrent dollar-to-rand conversion rates. We used a travel book to accomplish much of this legwork, but I also had the students call the State Department and write letters to the SouthAfrican embassy for any available information.

"In" South Africa

Each student arrived with an itinerary in hand which detailed where we were going . High on thelist was a visit to Nelson Mandela, so we chose to fly into Johannesburg. We were careful whenwe selected our hotel, aware that the city has problem areas much like our own large cities.Although English is the most widely spoken language, there are 11 official languages, includingZulu and osa. We decided as a class we wanted to learn some basic vocabulary so as to beable to greet people in their own tongue. We also brushed up on some basic past and recenthistory, after all we would have to be informed and articulate when we met several dignitariesand luminaries who were scheduled to see us. These important hosts would, of course, be some

7

of our students who had eagerly volunteered to role-play Mandela and others.

The necessary material for this would be included in the portfolios. Inside we had the time-line,which gave us an annotated but informative overview of South Africa's history. I had thestudents work on these along with the study sheets. These questions and activities would allowmy students to i terpret the information on the time-line, i fer the meaning of events, begin toidentify a cause and effect relationship between past and present history, as well as to provokemore questions for group research. It would also help in the collaborative process, as thestudents begin to organize the material ,and themselves as a micro-community.

Team members have been asked to take on specific responsibilities within their groups. Thisboth facilitates the process of inquiry as well as builds in the elements of accountability neededto complete and assess the work. Some of my students chose such professions/tasks as historian,statistician, artist/picture editor, and resource librarian. These are only possibilities and yourstudents and you will have your own ideas of what is needed. must begin a democratic processof choosing which tasks will be performed by whom and what activities they will choose towork on. Doing this will require that all members be engaged: in joint decision-making; insharing ideas; actively compromising; and in some form of peaceful conflict-resolution Thisbegins to mimic the steps through which South Africa emerged as a democratic nation. Asteams become more involved in the projects, the difficulty of South Africa's task will take on amore personal dimension and be better understood.

This packet contains material intended to be used in a setting where students participateinteractively in the learning process. Students are challenged to explore the contents of thearchive/museum and trusted to make choices about what activities, in addition to the suggestionsprovided, they would like to use to further explore the material. It is important that classroomresources on South Africa are made available to supplement the materials in the portfolio. It isalso important that students have access to listening and art centers to widen the possibilitiesfor exploration. I have included a list of packet resources, a bibliography, and addresses ofresource centers. I have also added an additional list of activities which my students havechosen to do during the course of the year.

You can spend anywhere from two weeks to two semesters on this theme, but don't bediscouraged from teaching about the remarkable changes for lack of time. I hope you and yourstudents enjoy your trip as much as mine did. Don't forget to drop a postcard!

8

VOCA ULA Y

1. oyco An organized refusal to buy or use a product in order to express protest or topressure a government, company or individual to take action.

2. Embargo - A ban on trade with another nation.

3. Apartheid - A series of policies begun in the 1940's intended to separate people ofdifferent races in order to protect the privileges of white South Africans.

4. Segregation - The seperation of races.

5. Parliament - The law-making body in South Africa consisting of two houses - the NationalAssembly and the Senate. Headquartered in Cape Town, the parliamentary capital of SouthAfrica.

6. Coalitio - The joining together of various political parties in order to govern jointly.

7. Khoisan - South Africa's earliest inhabitants. The San, a nomadic group and the Kiwi, cattleherders, lived in the western parts of South Africa.

8. Xhosa - Part of the Nguni cultural and linguistic group, they are recognized as one of SouthAfrica's eleven official languages. Nelson Mandela was born a Xhosa prince.

9. Zulu - See Xhosa.Traditionally settled in parts of present day KwaZulu-Natal province. Theyhave been recognized for their uniquely beautiful beadwork and as the tribe of such notablechiefs as Shaka Zulu.

10. Afrikaaner - The name given to descendants of Dutch, German, French settlers. The Britishwould later call these people Boers, a word meaning farmers.

11. Kraal - A traditional Zulu village, it is usually constructed in a circular shape andsurrounded with a wall of dead branches for defensive purposes.

12. omelands - A term used by the white apartheid government for reservation-like areaswhere blacks were forced to resettle according to arbitrary tribal designation.Blacks werenot allowed outside these areas without a pass and explicit permission.

13. Difaqane - The destruction and scattering of the Bantu-speaking people as a result of war.

14. raai - Traditional South African barbecue .

15. Mielies - Corn. Used to make mieliemeal , a type of porridge resembling grits.

16. Sawnbona - Hello . Used in Siswati, Isixhosa, and Isizulu with some variations.

TIME LINE - HISTORY OF SOUTH AIFRIICA

40,000BC San people settle in South Africa300AD Bantu people arrive in KwaZulu Natal

1487 Bartolomeu Dias sails around the Cape of Good Hope1500 Sotho people settle in todays Lesotho1652 Dutch settlement started in Table Bay, Cape Town1688 French Huguenots arrive in the Cape1690 Boers move inland1750 Nguni people settle in Swaziland1780 Dutch fight the Xhosa at Great Fish River1795 British capture Cape Town from the Dutch1815 Shaka Zulu captures power - beginning of the difaqane1820 British settlers arrive in the Eastern Cape1824 Kning Moshoeshoe begins to consolidate the Basutho people1830's The Voortrekkers begin the Great Trek1838 Boers defeat the Zulus at the battle of Blood River1852 Boer Republic of Transvaal created1858 British defeat Xhosa after disaster of Great Cattle Killing1860's Indians arrive in Natal as indentured servants to work sugar plantatio1869 Diamonds found near Kimberly1871 Gold discovered in the Eastern Transvaal1877 British annex the Boer Republic of Transvaal1881 Boers defeat British and Transvaal becomes the South African Republic1886 Gold discovered in the Witswatersrand1893 Mohandas Ghandi arrives in Natal1897 Zululand annexed by Britain1899-92 Anglo-Boer War1905 Government commisssion recommends separate development for blacks, with

inferior education1910 Union of South Africa created, uniting the former British colonies and Boer republics

Blacks denied the vote. Lasotho and Swaziland become British protectorates1912 South African Native Council established, an early version of the ANC1913 Natives Land Act restricts black ownership of land to 7 1/2 % of the country1928 Communist party begins to work for full democracy1948 National Party wins the elections and will remain in control until 1994.

Apartheid laws, including the one making inter-racial marriages illegal passed.1955 ANC adopts the Freedom Charter1960 Sharpeville Massacre. ANC banned by the government1961 South Africa leaves the Commonwealth of nations and becomes a Republic1963 Nelson Mandela indicted during the Rivonia Trial and sentenced to life inprisonment1966-68 Lesotho and Swaziland gain independence from Britain1975 South Africa invades Angola1976 Soweto uprisings begin1977 Steve Biko is murdered1985 State of emergency is declared - official murder and torture by the state increases as does

black resistance1990 ANC ban lifted, Nelson Mandela freed

Use the abbreviated facts from your time line to identify, interpret, drawconclusions, and provide opinions to the following set of questions.

1. Provide plausible explanations for the migration of Europeans to South Africa inthe 14th-17th century. What additional reasons can you conclude for 19thcentury migration?

2. What consequences did early European colonialization have on the native peopleof South Africa?

3. What geographical areas would you expect to have the largest concentration ofpopulation during the looking at the 18th and 19th century? Why?

4. What year(s) would you expect to see the policies of apartheid most stronglyenforced? Explain why?

5. Identify the role each of the following may have played during the apartheidyears of South Africa? The Nationalist Party, the Communist Party, the ANC.

6. The Natives Land Act restricted black (75% of the population) ownership ofland to only 7 '/2 percent of the country. How might this policy have beenimplemented? What possible consequences did this policy have on the country'sblack population?

Further Activities1. Using a Venn diagram compare and contrast the treatment by European

colonialists on the native populations of South Africa and the Americas.

2. Using classroom resources and those found in your archive portfolio, construct atime line for the years 1990 to 1996.

3. Choose a given year and corresponding event in the time line. Research this eventproviding facts and historical details to create a more comprehensive explanation

4. Choose an event from the time line and "illustrate" it using any of the following -painting, drawing, collage, or assemblage. You may use realism or abstraction.

Sacred Heart Elementary School1625 Park Road NWWashington, DC 20010(202) 265-4828

Estimados Padres y Guardianes:

Noviembre 8, 1996

Yo quiero empezar este boletin dandoles las gracias a ustedes por venir a nuestra primerareunion de la ASOCIACION DEL HOGAR Y ESCUELA el pasado 17 de Octubre. Nosotrosestamos siempre contentos por verlos! Hubo muchos padres representando cada nivel de grado.MARAVILLOSO! GRACIAS! Cada grupo (con la excepciOn de una clase) tuvo la oportunidadde ver al maestro por grado de su hijo/a y organizarse. Esperamos que otros clubes de padrespueden verse antes de nuestro prOxima reunion e121 de Noviembre.

Los Padres de Kindergarten se reunieron el pasado 24 de Octubre y decidieron en unafiesta de Pizza del Dia de Halloween como una manera para empezar a aumentar fondos paracomprar sombras para las ventanas de las clases. Dios los bendiga. Esta es un maravillosocomienzo. Dejenos unir y continuar trabajando juntos para tomar un paso a la vez por el motivode hacer la Escuela Sagrado Corazon la mejor en esta area. Amigos, se puede lograr!! Ustedes,juntos con el personal de la escuela pueden hacerlo. Sthanse las mangas y imanse con nosotros.Hagan el sacrificio de asistir a las reunions y dar de ustedes por el amor de los nifios nuestrosnifios. Dios continuara bendiciendo nuestros esfuerzos y reforzando nuestros resolvimientos paraavanzar mas adelante.

Por favor acepten mi disculpa personal por la inconvenience muchos de ustedesexperimentaron ayer debido a los cambios abruptos en el programa del calendario. Yo acepto totalresponsabilidad y hare todo lo posible por evitar tal problema en el futuro. Yo aprecio supaciencia y comprensiOn Tambien, yo agradezco a la Senora Brown, Sefiora Scott y el personalpor avanzar tal como ellos lo hicieron bajo las circunstancias. Otro ejemplo del esfuerzo de buenequipo. Esto es algo por el cual estoy muy orgullosa aqui en el Sagrado Corazon. Nosotros deverdad tenemos un gran equipo!!

RECAUDACION DE FONDOS YENTA DE DULCES: Las barras de chocolates ya llegaron.Estos son un surtido de chocolate con leche, mantequilla de mans y arroz crujiente vendiendosepor un dolar cada uno. Nosotros estamos pidiendo a los padres que per favor se presenten a laoficina de la escuela a recoger un suplemento para vender. Gracias a ustedes esto ha sido unacampafia de recaudacion de fondos exitosa en el pasado. Yo se que podemos hacerlo tal comoeste tiempo con su apoyo. Dios los bendiga.

SEGURIDAD DE LA ESCUELA: Este tema crece cads dia. Nosotros hemos decidido instalarun Sistema de Alarma ADT como una medida de precaucien. Otras medidas estan bajoconsideraciOn. Por ahora, este nuevo Sistema de Alarma costarA a la escuela noon para Instalar yveinticinco &Stares mensuales pars mantenerlo. Aqui tambion usted puede ayudarnos. Nosotros

usaremos algo de nuestro dinero recaudado en la campafia de tondos para pagar por la instalaciOn.

12

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me

to, i

nstr

uct m

e ab

out s

omet

hing

Ikn

ew,'

for

the

TO

KIL

L A

MA

N'S

PR

IDE

169

thou

sand

th ti

me.

Per

haps

he

unde

rest

imat

ed m

yin

telli

genc

e; b

ut m

ore

likel

y he

was

'bre

akin

g m

ein

',m

easu

ring

my

tole

ranc

e. T

he d

ie-c

uttin

gm

achi

nes

wer

e w

hini

ng in

cess

antly

and

abov

e th

eir

nois

e th

em

adde

ning

sou

nd o

f Sp

ring

bok

Rad

io s

cree

ched

out

of a

sm

all h

ome-

mad

e so

undb

ox h

angi

ngfr

om th

ew

hite

was

hed

conc

rete

roo

f w

hich

was

sup

port

edby

colo

ssal

, whi

tew

ashe

d cy

lindr

ical

pill

ars.

The

wal

lsto

o w

ere

whi

tew

ashe

d. T

he th

irty

or

sofa

ctor

y `g

irls

'w

ere

wor

king

noi

sily

atth

eir

tabl

es b

ehin

d m

e,ch

atte

ring

and

gig

glin

g as

if tr

ying

toou

tdo

the

mac

hine

s an

d th

e ra

dio.

Tea

-bre

ak, m

y fi

rst t

here

, had

bee

n an

ord

eal

ofey

es s

tudy

ing

me

from

beh

ind

larg

e m

ugs

and

the

tins

that

wer

e us

ed a

s te

acup

s. F

ortu

nate

ly, t

he'g

irls

' had

thei

r ow

n te

a-ro

om, o

ther

wis

e it

wou

ld h

ave

been

wor

se. T

here

wer

e si

xtee

n'b

oys'

, inc

ludi

ng m

ysel

f,ro

und

the

long

unv

arni

shed

tabl

e. I

was

sitt

ing

atth

efa

r si

de, a

pun

gent

toile

t doo

r be

hind

me

not t

hety

pe th

at y

ou s

it on

, but

a h

ole

inth

e fl

oor

for

squa

tting

ove

r. I

cou

ld n

ever

bri

ng m

ysel

f to

use

itdu

ring

all

the

eigh

t mon

ths

I sp

ent w

orki

ngth

ere.

The

tea

was

the

only

thin

g th

e fi

rm c

ould

offe

r. Y

oubo

ught

you

r ow

n br

ead

and

anyt

hing

that

you

coul

daf

ford

to g

o w

ith it

. Sin

ce I

had

n't k

now

nth

at, a

ndha

dn't

had

a ce

nt in

my

pock

et w

hen

I w

asta

ken

onin

the

mor

ning

, I w

as n

ot e

atin

g. A

fter

bein

g tip

ped

by a

nei

ghbo

ur w

ho w

orke

d ne

xt d

oor

toD

etai

l tha

ton

e' 'b

oy' h

ad s

ever

ed h

is f

inge

rs w

ith th

egu

illot

ine

and

ther

e m

ight

be

a 's

pace

', I

had

borr

owed

a tw

enty

cent

pie

ce f

or th

e tr

ain

ticke

t 'an

d ru

shed

ther

e. S

ono

w I

sat

at t

he e

ndof

the

tabl

e, n

ot k

now

ing

wha

tto

do

with

my

hand

s an

dfe

elin

g lik

e a

spec

imen

for

hum

an s

tudy

' and

con

tem

plat

ion

'whi

leth

e ot

hers

wer

e hu

rrie

dly

eatin

gth

eir

firs

t mea

l of

the

day.

The

170

TO

KIL

L A

MA

N'S

PR

IDE

`gir

ls' w

ere

chat

ting

at th

e to

psof

thei

r vo

ices

in th

eot

her

room

. One

of

the

'boy

s' s

ugge

sted

that

Joh

nha

d cu

t his

fing

ers

on p

urpo

se to

get

wor

kers

'in

sura

nce

mon

ey. T

hey

talk

ed a

bout

it u

ntil

the

buzz

er s

ound

ed a

fter

fif

teee

n m

inut

es.

At l

unch

I h

ad n

owhe

re to

go.

I de

cide

d to

fam

iliar

ise

mys

elf

with

the

neig

hbou

rhoo

d. I

t was

one

of th

ose

rust

y in

dust

rial

out

skir

ts o

f to

wn

whe

re o

nese

es n

o on

e bu

t gre

ase-

stai

ned

over

all-

clad

mec

hani

csan

d ha

ndy-

men

. Not

hing

but

truc

ks a

nd v

ans

off-

load

ing

sem

i-pr

oces

sed

good

s. O

urfi

rm w

as a

t the

sout

hern

end

of

Moo

i str

eet,

unde

r a

maz

eof

high

way

s, w

ith H

eide

lber

g ro

ad f

orm

ing

aT

with

Moo

ist

reet

; and

run

ning

into

min

e du

nes.

I f

ollo

wed

Moo

ist

reet

-in

the

dire

ctio

n of

Car

lton

Cen

tre.

I ha

d an

hour

, a h

ungr

y ho

ur to

kill

. Not

that

my

empt

yst

omac

h w

orri

ed m

e; w

ell,

it w

orri

ed m

e on

ly b

ecau

seit

was

an

unco

mfo

rtab

le s

ensa

tion

whi

ch c

ould

not

be

tota

lly ig

nore

d. S

omeo

ne w

as w

alki

ngbe

side

me.

His

tall

shad

ow h

ad f

alle

n in

line

with

min

e. B

oth

of u

sha

d ou

r ha

nds

in o

ur p

ocke

ts. I

mov

ed a

side

to g

ive

him

way

to p

ass

but h

e di

d no

t.`H

awu,

saw

ubon

a m

fow

ethu

.' H

eex

tend

ed h

ism

assi

ve h

and

to g

reet

. It w

as o

ne o

f th

e 'b

oys'

from

the

firm

; tal

l, re

cedi

ng f

oreh

ead,

sm

ooth

dar

ksk

inan

d on

e ey

e. I

n th

e on

e ey

e an

d th

e w

ide

grin

Ico

uld

read

rec

ogni

tion,

alth

ough

I h

ad n

ever

see

n th

e m

anm

ysel

f. H

is E

lmer

ski

pper

that

was

no

long

erits

orig

inal

whi

te b

ut b

row

nish

, and

the

flim

sy d

ark

trou

sers

that

cam

e to

' jus

t abo

ve h

isna

ked

ankl

es,

wer

e w

orn

with

out a

ny th

ough

tof

phy

sica

l dec

orat

ion,

but o

nly

to c

over

the

body

. I g

ave

him

my

hand

.`S

eem

s yo

u. d

on't

reco

gnis

e m

e, b

ut I

kno

w y

ou.

I

have

see

n yo

u at

Mzi

mhl

ope.

' He

was

telli

ng th

e tr

uth.

:1 f

elt s

light

ly e

mba

rras

sed

at n

ot k

now

ing

a m

an

TO

KIL

L A

MA

N'S

PR

IDE

171

who

kne

w r

ne. I

t's a

lway

s lik

e th

at. A

nyw

ay h

e di

dno

t kno

w m

e by

nam

e ei

ther

. 'I

can'

t eve

n re

cogn

ise

you.

Let

alo

ne p

lace

you

,' I

answ

ered

, als

o sh

owin

gm

y te

eth.

`My

nam

e is

Som

dali.

I a

lso

stay

at M

zim

hlop

e,' h

esa

id b

y w

ay o

f in

trod

uctio

n.`M

zim

hlop

e? W

hich

sid

e?' I

was

ask

ing

with

due

rega

rd f

or h

is f

eelin

gs, n

ot w

ishi

ng to

mak

e hi

m f

eel

awkw

ard.

.I h

ad a

lrea

dy p

lace

d hi

m in

'Aus

chw

itz'

from

his

appe

aran

ce a

nd th

e w

ay h

e sp

oke

with

ade

ep Z

ulu

acce

nt. P

eopl

e bo

rn a

nd b

red

in S

owet

osp

eak

ever

y la

ngua

ge in

a c

hara

cter

istic

way

.T

he n

orth

ern

side

of

the

stat

ion,

' and

see

ing

that

he h

ad f

inal

ly to

div

ulge

the

guar

ded

dom

icile

, he

amas

sed

enou

gh c

oura

ge to

tell

me,

'in

the

host

el.'

`Oh,

I s

ee. M

y na

me

is M

tutu

. I s

tay

in.

.. i

n th

elo

catio

n.'

`Yes

. I h

ave

seen

you

ther

e, w

hen

I'm g

oing

to a

ndfr

om th

e st

atio

n.' T

hey

hold

a s

ervi

tude

, a r

ight

of

way

in th

e lo

catio

n an

d ar

e ha

rdly

wor

th a

sec

ond

glan

ce f

rom

the

loca

tion

resi

dent

s, e

xcep

t may

be th

e_d

ark

nigh

t's c

hild

ren

who

nev

er f

ail t

o co

llect

the

dues

on

Frid

ays

and

mon

th-e

nds,

or

the

falle

n w

omen

who

pro

vide

the

host

eler

s w

ith f

emal

eco

mpa

ny f

orsa

le.

1-I

did

not h

ave

anyt

hing

tosa

y. W

e w

ent a

few

ipac

es b

efor

e he

con

tinue

d. 'Y

ou w

ere

luck

y to

arr

ive

firs

t. O

negu

y cu

t his

fing

ers

with

the

guill

otin

eye

ster

day.

Tha

t thi

ng n

eeds

to b

e op

erat

ed w

ithr-

care

, it's

dan

gero

us. Y

ou'v

e fi

lled

that

guy

's s

pace

.'.1

:um

not

com

men

t. 'T

hey'

re g

oing

to te

ach

you

-the

mac

hine

s to

o.' I

let h

imgo

on.

'But

you

won

'ttie

pai

d be

fore

you

're r

egis

tere

d. T

hey

firs

t tak

e a

ir--

- erso

n on

tria

l:'w

as in

tere

stin

g. 'H

ow lo

ng is

the

tria

l ?'.

172

TO

KIL

L A

MA

N'S

PR

IDE

`Tw

o, th

ree

wee

ksPi

eter

s de

cide

s. B

ut a

g, it

'son

ly a

way

to g

et f

ree

labo

ur o

ut o

fth

e pe

ople

they

empl

oy b

efor

e th

ey r

egis

ter

them

. Pie

ters

is th

eow

ner

of th

e fi

rm. H

e ta

kes

the

good

-loo

king

gir

lsaw

ay in

his

VW

sta

tion

wag

on'to

cle

an h

is h

ouse

'be

fore

he

regi

ster

s th

em. Y

ou s

houl

d se

e hi

m a

mon

gth

e gi

rls

acts

like

a b

ull t

hat h

as b

een

kept

alo

ne f

orm

onth

s, w

hen

it is

rel

ease

d am

ong

a he

rd o

f co

ws.

Som

e of

the

girl

s ar

e m

arri

ed. W

hen

thei

r hu

sban

dsw

ant t

o ta

lk to

them

on

the

phon

e, o

r co

me

look

ing

for

them

at l

unch

or

afte

r w

ork,

he

refe

rs to

them

as

`boy

frie

nds'

. Oth

erw

ise

he h

as a

littl

e se

nse

of h

umou

rw

hen

he h

as n

ot g

ot o

ut o

n th

e w

rong

sid

e of

his

bed

in th

e m

orni

ng. H

is a

ssis

tant

is a

loof

and

has

an

affa

irw

ith o

ne o

f th

e tw

o In

dian

gir

ls in

the

offi

ce.'

`How

muc

h is

the

star

ting

pay?

'`T

wen

ty-f

ive

rand

a w

eek.

Thi

rty

for

thos

e w

hoha

ve b

een

with

the

firm

ove

r th

ree

year

s. T

he w

omen

,I

don'

t kno

w.'

He

told

me

a lit

tle m

ore

abou

t him

self

, tha

t he

had

com

e fr

om M

ond

lo n

ear

Vry

heid

inN

atal

to w

ork

inJo

hann

esbu

rg w

ith a

for

ged

pass

eig

ht y

ears

bef

ore,

that

he

had

been

with

Det

ail f

or tw

o ye

ars

and

(he

mus

t hav

e gu

esse

d I

was

cur

ious

to k

now

) th

at h

eha

dlo

st h

is e

ye in

a s

tick-

figh

t com

petit

ion

whe

n he

was

ate

enag

er, a

n un

fort

unat

e ac

cide

nt f

or w

hich

no-

one

coul

d be

bla

med

. 'Y

our

mou

th is

dry

. You

mus

t be

hung

ry.'

'I'm

use

d to

it, m

fo. D

on't

wor

ry,'

I sa

id p

olite

ly.

'Say

it a

gain

, mfo

wet

hu. W

e ar

e al

l use

d to

it a

ton

e tim

e or

- an

othe

r of

our

live

s. B

ut I

have

fif

tyce

nts

here

. Let

's g

o bu

y so

me

mag

ewu.

'.

Tha

t was

how

I s

truc

k up

a f

rien

dshi

p w

ith th

em

an f

rom

the

host

el. A

t the

end

of

the

firs

t wee

k he

lent

me

mon

ey to

buy

a w

eekl

y tic

ket,

gave

me

1_ 9

WO

KIL

L A

MA

N'S

PR

IDE

173

ic'ii

a.re

ttes

ever

y da

y w

ithou

t bei

ngas

ked;

we

ate

and

.talk

ed to

geth

er d

urin

g lu

nch

and

entr

aine

dto

geth

erM

zim

hlop

e an

d Fa

rada

y St

atio

ns.

Tel

l me

= w

ho c

ould

den

y su

ch a

man

frie

ndsh

ip?

fcou

ld s

ee th

at p

eopl

e w

e m

et w

ho k

new

me

alw

ays

onde

red

wha

t I w

as u

p to

with

a 'c

ount

ry b

oy',

but

ylne

w b

ette

r. H

owev

er I

nev

er in

vite

d hi

m h

ome

rivh

at c

ould

I in

vite

him

for

? T

o re

min

d hi

m th

at h

e'a

lso

had

a fa

mily

he

was

den

ied?

And

it w

as n

ot u

ntil

afte

r I

had

been

reg

iste

red

that

he

invi

ted

me

to th

eho

stel

'jus

t to

see

whe

re I

live

'.

`Reg

istr

atio

n fo

r w

ork

is s

uch

an in

tere

stin

g ex

ampl

etir

if a

way

of

killi

ng a

man

's p

ride

that

I c

anno

t pas

s it

Eby

' with

out m

entio

n. I

t was

on

Mon

day,

aft

er tw

oi'W

eeks

of

unre

war

ded

labo

ur a

nd p

erse

vera

nce,

that

Piet

ers

gave

me

a le

tter

whi

ch s

aid

I ha

d be

en e

mpl

oy-

5ed

as

a ge

nera

l lab

oure

r at

his

fir

m. I

was

to ta

keth

e.le

tter

to th

e no

tori

ous

80 A

lber

t Str

eet.

Mon

day

isus

ually

the

busi

est d

ay th

ere

beca

use

ever

ybod

yW

akes

up

on th

is d

ay d

eter

min

ed to

fin

d a

job.

The

yen

d up

dej

ecte

d, c

row

ding

the

labo

ur o

ffic

e fo

rjo

bs.

Tha

t Mon

day

I w

oke

,up

elat

ed, w

hist

ling

all t

hej4.V

ay a

sI

clea

ned

the

coal

sto

ve, m

ade

fire

to w

arm

-:.th

e ho

use

for

thos

e w

ho w

ere

still

asl

eep,

and

took

pmy

toot

hbru

sh a

nd w

ashi

ng r

ags

toth

e ta

p ou

tsid

eth

e to

ilet.

The

col

d w

ater

was

rev

ivif

ying

as

I sp

lash

edr.

it o

ver

my

uppe

r bo

dy. I

gre

eted

'Sta

r', a

lso

was

hing

R a

t the

' tap

dia

gona

lly o

ppos

ite m

yho

me.

The

n I

took

F, th

e w

ashi

ng b

asin

, hal

f-fi

lled

it w

ith w

ater

and

wen

tin

to th

e la

vato

ry to

was

h th

e re

st o

f m

e. W

hen

Iha

dfi

nish

ed w

ashi

ng a

nd d

ress

ing

I ba

de th

em g

oodb

ye a

t4

hom

e an

d 's

et o

ut, s

wep

t int

o th

e to

rren

t of

wor

kers

174

TO

KIL

L A

MA

N'S

' Mb

rush

ing

to th

e st

atio

n. S

omda

li ha

d re

ache

d th

e st

atio

firs

t and

we

wai

ted'

for

our

trai

ns w

ith th

e hu

ndri

dial

read

y on

the

plat

form

.. T

he g

uys

from

the

loca

tio-i

iipr

efer

to w

ait f

or tr

ains

on

the

stat

ion

brid

ge. M

any

of:7

'th

em lo

oked

like

chi

ldre

n w

ho d

id n

ot w

ant t

o go

43'

..tsc

hool

. I d

id n

ot s

ympa

thiz

e w

ith th

eM. T

he li

ttlel

time

my

brot

hers

.hav

e to

them

selv

es, ,

Satu

rday

and

Sund

ay, s

ome

of th

em s

pend

wor

ship

ping

Bac

chus

., ;-

r';1

The

trai

n sc

hedu

le w

as g

eare

d to

the

mor

ning

rus

hlho

ur. F

rom

fou

r in

the

mor

ning

the

trai

ns .h

adl

rum

bled

in w

ith p

reca

riou

s fr

eque

ncy.

If

yoti

stag

'sne

ar th

e ro

ad to

the

host

el y

ou a

re w

oken

up

by th

e.il

shuf

fle

of a

myr

iad

foot

falls

long

bef

ore

the

firs

ttr

ain.

I h

ave

seen

thes

e pe

ople

on

my

way

hom

e w

heiif

:th

e no

ctur

nal b

ug h

as b

itten

me.

All

I ca

n sa

y is

that

:an

end

less

flo

w o

f re

solu

te m

en, h

aste

ning

in th

e in

ky;

mis

ty m

orni

ng d

own

Moh

ale

stre

et to

the

awes

ome

appa

ritio

n.I

had

arri

ved

ten

min

utes

ear

ly a

t the

sta

tion.

The

`nin

ety-

five

' to

.Geo

rge

Goc

h pa

ssed

Mzi

mhl

ope

whi

le 7

;1,

I w

as th

ere.

Thi

s tr

ain

brou

ght t

he f

ree

mor

ning

;st

untm

an s

how

. The

dar

edev

ils r

an a

long

the

roof

of

the

trai

n, a

few

cen

timet

res

from

the

nake

d ca

ble

_-ca

rryi

ng th

ousa

nds

of e

lect

ric

volts

, and

duc

keV

iun

der

ever

y py

lon.

One

mis

timed

ste

p, a

slip

and

refl

ex a

ctio

n w

ould

sen

d hi

s ha

nd c

lasp

ing

for

supp

ort

No

com

men

t fro

m a

ny o

f us

at t

he s

tatio

n. T

he tr

ain

show

s .h

ave

been

goi

ng o

n si

nce

time

imm

emor

ial a

nd .;

have

lost

thei

r m

agic

.M

y tr

ain

to F

arad

ay a

rriv

ed, b

urst

ing

alon

g th

ese

ams

with

its

load

. The

spa

ces

betw

een

the

adja

cent

coac

hes

wer

e fi

lled

with

peo

ple.

So

the

only

way

Ico

uld

get o

n th

e tr

ain

was

by

wed

ging

thys

elf

amon

gth

ose

hang

ing

on p

erilo

usly

by

hook

ing

thei

r fi

nger

sin

to th

e na

rrow

run

nels

alo

ng th

e to

ps o

f th

e co

ache

s, !

:

TO

KIL

L A

MA

N'S

PR

IDE

175

thei

r fe

et o

n th

e do

or le

dges

. A s

light

wan

deri

ng o

f th

em

ind,

a s

udde

n sw

ayin

g of

the

trai

n as

it s

witc

hed

lines

, bri

ngin

g th

e w

eigh

t of

the

othe

rs o

n to

p of

us,

alo

st g

rip

and

anot

her

labo

ur u

nit w

ould

be

abru

ptly

term

inat

ed. W

e hu

ng o

n fo

r de

ar li

fe u

ntil

Fara

day.

In P

iete

rs's

off

ice.

Fou

r au

tom

atic

tele

phon

es, t

wo

scar

let a

nd tw

o or

ange

col

oure

d, tw

o fa

ncy

asht

rays

,a

gild

ed b

all-

pen

stan

d co

mpl

ete

with

gild

ed p

en a

ndch

ain,

two

flat

pla

stic

tray

s, th

e on

e on

the

left

mar

ked

IN a

nd th

e ot

her

one

OU

T, a

ll di

spla

yed

onth

e bl

and

face

of

a la

rge

high

ly-p

olis

hed

desk

. Und

erm

y fe

et a

thic

k ca

rpet

that

mad

e m

e fe

el li

ke a

pie

ceof

dir

t. O

n th

e so

ft o

pal g

reen

wal

l on

my

left

a b

igfr

amed

`D

esid

erat

a' a

nd a

bove

me

a ce

iling

of

heav

en-

ly s

plen

dour

. Beh

ind

the

desk

, wea

ring

a s

hort

cre

am-

whi

te s

afar

i sui

t, le

anin

g ba

ck in

a re

gal f

lexi

ble

arm

chai

r, h

is h

airy

legs

(th

e pa

le s

kin

of w

hich

curi

ousl

y m

ade

me

thin

k of

a f

rog'

s ve

ntra

l sid

e)ba

lanc

ed o

n th

e ed

ge o

f th

e de

sk in

the

man

ner

of a

sher

iff

in a

n ol

d-fa

shio

ned

wes

tern

, blu

e-ey

ed, s

light

-ly

bal

d, ja

ckal

-fac

ed o

verl

ord.

`You

've

got y

our

pass

?'`Y

es, m

iste

r Pi

eter

s.' T

hat o

ne d

id n

ot w

ant t

o be

calle

d ba

ns:

`Let

me

see

it. I

hop

e it'

s th

e ri

ght o

ne. Y

ou g

ot a

perm

it to

wor

k in

Joh

anne

sbur

g?'

`I w

as b

orn

here

, mis

ter

Piet

ers.

' My

hand

s w

ere

resp

ectf

ully

beh

ind

me.

`It d

oesn

't fo

llow

.' H

e re

mov

ed h

is le

gs f

rom

the

edge

of

the

tabl

e an

d op

ened

a d

raw

er. O

ut o

f it

heto

ok a

sm

all b

undl

e of

type

d pa

pers

. He

sign

ed o

ne o

fth

em a

nd h

ande

d it

to m

e. `

Go

to th

e pa

ss o

ffic

e.D

on't

spen

d tw

o da

ys th

ere.

Oth

erw

ise

you

com

eba

ck a

nd I

've

take

n so

meb

ody

else

in y

our

plac

e.'

He

squi

nted

his

eye

s at

me

and

wag

ged

his

tong

ue,

176

TO

KIL

L A

MA

N'S

PR

ID

tryi

ng to

am

use

me

the

way

he

wou

ld tr

y to

mak

eba

by s

mile

. .T

hat r

eally

am

used

me,

his

tryi

ng A

O;

amus

e m

e th

e w

ay h

e w

ould

a b

aby.

I th

ough

t he

had'

'a

baby

's m

ind.

..

`Esi

baye

ni'..

Tw

o st

orey

red

-bri

ck b

uild

ing

occu

py--

;in

g a

who

le b

lock

. Add

ress

: 80

Alb

ert s

tree

t, or

sim

ply

'Pas

s O

ffic

e'. A

cros

s th

e st

reet

, hal

f th

e bl

ock

(the

rem

aini

ng h

alf

a pa

rkin

g sp

ace

and

'hom

e' o

f th

eho

mel

ess

met

hyla

ted

spir

it dr

inke

rs o

f th

e ci

ty)

take

nup

by

anot

her

red-

bric

k st

ruct

ure.

Not

off

ices

this

time,

but

'Esi

baye

ni' (

at th

e kr

aal)

itse

lf. N

o qu

estio

n:w

hy it

has

bee

n ca

lled

that

. The

who

le b

lack

popu

latio

n of

Joh

anne

sbur

g ab

ove

pass

age

kno

ws

that

pla

ce.

Lik

e I

said

, it w

as f

ull o

n a

Mon

day,

ful

l of

wre

tche

d m

en w

ith d

efea

ted

eyes

sitt

ing

alon

g th

egu

tters

on

both

sid

es o

f A

lber

t Str

eet,

othe

rs g

roup

edw

here

the

sun'

s ra

ys le

aked

thro

ugh

the

skys

crap

ers,

and

the

rest

mill

ing

abou

t. W

hen

a ca

r dr

iven

by

aw

hite

man

wen

t up

the

stre

et p

ande

mon

ium

bro

kelo

ose

as m

en, I

mea

n di

rty

slov

enly

men

, tro

tted

behi

nd it

and

fou

ght t

o gi

ve th

eir

pass

es f

irst

. If

the

whi

te p

erso

n ha

d no

t com

e fo

r th

at p

urpo

se th

eycu

rsed

him

unt

il he

wen

t out

of

sigh

t. O

ccas

iona

llya

truc

k or

van

wou

ld c

ome

to p

ick

up la

bour

ers

for

api

ece

job.

The

cle

rk w

ould

sho

ut o

ut th

e nu

mbe

rof

men

that

wer

e w

ante

d fo

r su

ch a

nd s

uch

a jo

b, s

ayfo

rty,

and

dou

ble

the

num

ber

wou

ld b

e al

l ove

r th

etr

uck

befo

re y

ou c

ould

say

'sto

p'. N

one

of th

emw

ould

wan

t to

mis

s th

e cu

t, w

hich

cau

sed

quite

som

epr

oble

ms

for

the

empl

oyer

. A s

hrew

d bu

sine

ssm

anw

ould

take

all

and

sim

ply

divi

de th

e m

oney

he

had

laid

out

am

ong

the

who

le g

roup

, as

it w

as le

ft to

him

to d

ecid

e ho

w m

uch

to p

ay f

or a

pie

ce jo

b. E

very

-bo

dy w

as s

atis

fied

inth

e en

dth

e te

mpo

rary

n

TO

:KIL

L A

MA

N'S

PR

IDE

177

empl

oyer

hav

ing

his

wor

k do

ne in

hal

f th

e tim

e he

had

barg

aine

d fo

r, a

nd e

ach

of th

e la

bour

ers

with

enou

gh f

or a

tick

et b

ack

to th

e pa

ss-o

ffic

e th

efo

llow

ing

day,

and

_may

be te

nce

nts

wor

th o

f di

sh-

wat

er a

nd .b

read

fro

m th

e oi

ly r

esta

uran

ts in

the

neig

hbou

rhoo

d, f

or th

ree

days

. Tho

se w

how

ere

smar

t and

fam

iliar

with

the

way

s of

the

-pas

s-of

fice

hand

ed th

eir

pass

es in

with

twen

ty a

nd/o

r fi

fty-

cent

piec

es b

etw

een

the

page

s. T

his

gave

them

fir

stpr

efer

ence

, and

they

cou

ld c

hoos

e th

e be

tter

jobs

.T

he q

ueue

to 'E

siba

yeni

'w

as m

ovin

g sl

owly

. It

snak

ed a

bout

thir

ty m

etre

s ar

ound

the

corn

er o

fPo

lly s

tree

t. It

had

take

nm

e m

ore

than

an

hour

tore

ach

the

door

. Ins

ide

the

ten-

foot

wal

lw

as a

nas

phal

tre

ctan

gle,

long

itudi

nal b

ench

es a

long

the

oppo

site

wal

l in

the

shad

e of

narr

ow ti

n le

dges

, fill

edw

ith b

ored

-loo

king

men

, toi

lets

on th

e lo

wer

sid

e of

the

rect

angl

e, f

acin

g w

ide

bust

ling

door

s.It

wou

ldta

ke m

e an

othe

r th

ree

hour

sto

rea

ch th

e cl

erks

. If

Ifi

nish

ed th

ere

just

bef

ore

lunc

h-tim

e, it

wou

ld m

ean

that

I w

ould

not

be

thro

ugh

with

my

regi

stra

tion

byfo

ur in

the

afte

rnoo

n w

hen

the

pass

off

ice

clos

ed.

Fort

unat

ely

I ha

d tw

enty

cen

ts a

ndI

knew

that

the

blac

kjac

ks w

ho w

orke

d th

ere

wer

e no

thin

g bu

tst

arvi

ng le

eche

s. O

ne to

okm

e up

the

queu

e to

fou

rpe

ople

who

sto

od b

efor

ea

snar

ling

whi

te b

oy. T

hose

who

se p

lace

s ah

ead

ofm

e in

the

queu

e ha

d be

enus

urpe

d w

aste

d th

eir

brea

th g

rum

blin

g.T

he m

an in

fro

nt o

f m

e co

uld

not u

nder

stan

d w

hat

was

bei

ng b

awle

d at

him

in A

frik

aans

. The

cle

rkga

veup

exp

lain

ing,

not

pre

pare

d to

use

any

oth

er la

ngua

geth

an h

is o

wn.

I f

elt t

hat a

t his

age,

abo

ut tw

enty

, he

shou

ld b

e at

RA

U le

arni

ng to

spe

ak o

ther

lang

uage

s.T

hat w

ay h

e w

ould

n't b

urst

a ve

in tr

ying

to e

xpla

inev

eryt

hing

in o

ne to

ngue

just

bec

ause

itw

as h

is. H

e

178

TO

KIL

L A

MA

N'S

PR

IDE

was

eith

er b

one-

head

ed o

r do

wnr

ight

lazy

or

else

impa

tient

to 'r

ule

the

Ban

tus'

..

He

took

a r

ubbe

r st

amp

and

bang

ed it

fur

ious

ly o

non

e of

the

page

s of

the

man

's p

ass,

and

thre

w th

ebo

ok in

to th

e m

an's

fac

e. `

Go

to th

e ot

her

build

ing,

stup

id!'

The

man

sai

d, T

hank

s,' a

nd e

lbow

ed h

is w

ay to

the

door

.`N

ext!

Wat

soe

k jy

?' h

e as

ked

in a

bel

licos

e vo

ice

whe

n m

y tu

rn to

be

snar

led

at c

ame.

He

had

frec

kles

all o

ver

his

face

, and

a w

eak

jaw

.I

gave

him

the

lette

r of

em

ploy

men

t and

exp

lain

edin

Afr

ikaa

ns th

at I

wan

ted

E a

nd F

car

ds. M

y us

e of

his

lang

uage

eas

ed s

ome

of th

e te

nsio

n ou

t of

him

. He

aske

d fo

r m

y pa

ss in

a s

light

ly c

alm

er m

anne

r. I

gav

eit

to h

im a

nd h

e pa

ged

thro

ugh.

'Goo

d, y

ou h

ave

perm

issi

on to

wor

k in

Joh

anne

sbur

g ri

ght e

noug

h.'

He

took

two

card

s fr

om a

pile

in f

ront

of

him

and

labo

riou

sly

wro

te m

y pa

ss n

umbe

rs o

n th

em. A

gain

Ith

ough

t tha

t he

shou

ld s

till b

e at

sch

ool,

lear

ning

tow

rite

pro

perl

y. H

e st

ampe

d th

e ca

rds

and

told

me

togo

to r

oom

six

in th

e ot

her

bloc

k.. T

here

wer

e ab

out

twel

ve o

ther

cle

rks

grow

ling

at p

eopl

e fr

om b

ehin

d a

cont

inuo

us U

-sha

ped

desk

, and

the

spac

e in

fro

nt o

fth

e de

sk w

as o

verc

row

ded

with

peo

ple

who

mad

e it

diff

icul

t to

get t

o th

e do

or.

Ano

ther

bla

ckja

ck b

arre

d th

e en

tran

ceto

- th

ebu

ildin

g ac

ross

the

stre

et. '

Whe

re d

o yo

u th

ink

you'

rego

ing?

''A

wn!

Wha

t's w

rong

with

you

? I'm

goi

ng to

roo

msi

xto

be

regi

ster

ed. Y

ou're

was

ting

my

time,

' Ian

swer

ed in

an

equa

lly u

nfri

endl

y w

ay. H

is e

yes

wer

ebl

oods

hot,

as b

ig a

s a

cow

's a

nd a

s -s

tupi

d, h

is b

reat

hw

as f

oule

d w

ith `

mai

-mai

', an

d hi

s at

titud

e w

as a

long

way

fro

m h

elpf

ul. el 4

TO

KIL

L A

MA

N'S

PR

IDE

179

He

spat

into

his

rig

ht h

and,

rub

bed

his

palm

sto

geth

er a

nd g

rabb

eda

stic

k th

at w

as le

anin

g ag

ains

tth

e w

all n

ear

him

. 'G

o in

,' he

chal

leng

ed, i

ndic

atin

gw

ith a

tilt

of h

is h

ead,

and

dila

ting

his

gapi

ng n

ostr

ils.

His

beh

avio

ur p

erpl

exed

me,

mor

e th

an a

nger

ing

ordi

smay

ing

me.

It m

ight

be

that

he w

as d

runk

; or

was

Isu

ppos

ed to

pro

duce

som

ethi

ngfi

rst,

and

was

he

soun

cout

h as

not

to te

llm

e w

hy h

e w

ould

not

allo

wm

e to

go

in?

Wha

teve

r th

ere

ason

, I r

egre

tted

that

Ico

uld

not k

ick

som

e of

the

`rna

i-m

ai' o

ut o

f th

esa

ggin

g be

lly, a

nd p

roce

eded

on m

y w

ay. I

turn

ed to

see

if th

ere

was

any

one

else

witn

essi

ng th

eun

nece

ssar

yag

gres

sion

.!N

o, m

fo. Y

ou'v

e go

t to

wai

tfo

r ot

hers

who

are

also

goi

ng to

roo

m s

ix,'

expl

aine

da

man

with

hal

f hi

ste

eth

mis

sing

,w

eari

ng a

tatte

red

over

coat

and

noth

ing

to c

over

his

larg

e,pa

rche

d fe

et. A

nd, b

efor

eI

coul

d sa

y th

anks

: 'Sa

y,m

num

zane

, hav

e yo

u go

t aci

gare

tte o

n yo

u? Y

'kno

w, I

hav

en't

had

a si

ngle

smok

e si

nce

yest

erda

y.'

I ga

ve h

im th

eon

e sh

rive

lled

Lex

ingt

on I

had

inm

y sh

irt-

pock

et. H

e in

dica

ted

that

he

had

no m

atch

esei

ther

. I s

earc

hed

mys

elf

and

gave

the

box

to h

im. H

isha

nds

shoo

k vi

olen

tly w

hen

he li

tan

d sh

ield

ed th

efl

ame.

`E

il B

abal

aaz

has

me.

''Y

a, n

eh,'

I sa

id, f

or th

e sa

keof

say

ing

som

ethi

ng.

The

man

turn

ed a

nd w

alke

daw

ay a

s if

his

fee

t wer

eso

re. I

lean

ed a

gain

st th

e w

all a

nd w

aite

d.W

hen

ther

ew

ere

a go

od m

any

of u

s w

aitin

g th

ega

teke

eper

grun

ted

that

we

shou

ld f

ollo

w h

imin

side

to a

noth

erbu

stlin

g'k

raal

'. T

hat

was

whe

re th

e bl

ack

cler

kssh

oute

d ou

t the

jobs

at f

ifty

cent

s a

piec

e or

mor

e,de

pend

ing

on w

heth

er th

eyw

ere

perm

anen

t or

tem

pora

ry. T

he m

en in

ther

ew

ere

figh

ting

like

mad

to r

each

the

row

of

win

dow

s w

here

they

han

d in

thei

r

180

TO

KIL

L A

MA

N'S

PR

IDE

pass

es. W

e fo

llow

ed th

e bl

ackj

ack

up a

slo

ping

cem

ent w

ay r

isin

g to

agr

een

doub

le d

oor.

The

re w

as n

owhe

re it

was

n't f

ull a

t the

pass

-off

ice.

Her

e to

o it

was

ful

l of

the

sam

e m

iser

able

figu

res

that

wer

e bu

zzin

g al

l ove

r th

e pl

ace,

but

this

tim

e th

eyst

ood

in a

ser

ies

ofqu

eues

at a

long

cou

nter

like

the

one

acro

ss th

e st

reet

,- o

nly

this

one

was

L-s

hape

dan

d th

e w

hite

cle

rks

behi

nd th

e br

ass

grill

e w

ore

ties.

I de

cide

d th

at th

ey w

ere

ofa

bette

r cl

ass

than

the

othe

rs, a

lthou

gh th

ere

was

no

doub

t tha

tth

ey a

lso

had

the

sam

e ro

tten

man

ners

and

arr

ogan

ce. T

hebl

ackj

ack

left

us

with

ano

ther

one

who

told

us w

hich

queu

es to

join

. Our

car

ds w

ere

take

n an

d ha

nded

to a

lady

fili

ng c

lerk

who

wen

t to

look

for

our

reco

rds.

I w

as r

ight

! T

he c

lerk

sw

ere,

at b

otto

m, a

ll th

esa

me.

Whe

n I

reac

hed

the

coun

ter

I pu

shed

my

pass

unde

r th

e gr

ille.

The

man

who

took

it h

ad c

lose

-cr

oppe

d ha

ir a

nd a

thin

sha

rp f

ace.

He

wen

tth

roug

hm

y pa

ss c

heck

ing

it ag

ains

t a p

hoto

stat

rec

ord

with

my

nam

e sc

raw

led

on to

p in

a h

andw

ritin

g th

at I

did

not k

now

.`W

here

hav

eyo

u be

en f

rom

Jan

uary

unt

il no

w,

Sept

embe

r?' h

e sa

id in

a c

old

voic

e, lo

okin

g at

me

from

beh

ind

the

grill

e lik

ea

god

abou

t to

adm

onis

h a

sinn

er.

I ha

ve h

eard

som

e fu

nny

tale

s, f

rom

man

y te

llers

,'w

hen

it co

mes

to a

nsw

erin

g th

atqu

estio

n. S

ee if

you

reco

gnis

e th

is o

ne:

CL

ER

K:

Hee

r, m

an. W

aar

was

jy a

l die

tyd,

jong

?(L

ord,

man

. Whe

re h

ave

you

been

all

the

time,

jong

?)M

AN

:I

... I

was

mad

, baa

s.C

LE

RK

:M

ad!?

You

thin

k I'm

your

unc

le, k

affe

r?

TO

KIL

L A

MA

N'S

PR

IDE

181

KA

FFE

R: N

oba

as, I

was

mad

.C

LE

RK

:Jy

..

. jy

dink

.. (

and

the

whi

te m

an's

mou

th d

rops

open

with

no

wor

ds c

omin

gou

t.)K

AFF

ER

:(C

omin

g to

the

resc

ue o

f th

eba

as w

ithan

exp

lana

tion)

At h

ome

they

tell

me

that

I w

as m

ad a

llal

ong,

baa

s. 'S

true

.C

LE

RK

:W

here

are

the

doct

or's

pape

rs?

You

mus

tha

ve b

een

toho

spita

l if

you

wer

e m

ad!

(With

ann

oyan

ce.)

KA

FFE

RI

was

trea

ted

by a

witc

hdoc

tor,

baa

s.N

ow I

am

bet

ter

and

have

fou

nda

job.

Such

ans

wer

sse

rve

them

rig

ht. I

f it

isth

eir

aim

toha

rass

the

poor

peo

ple

with

impo

ssib

lequ

estio

ns,

then

they

sho

uld

expe

ct e

quiv

alen

t ans

wer

s. I

did

not,

how

ever

,sa

y so

met

hing

out

of

the

way

. I to

ldth

e tr

uth.

'Loo

king

for

wor

k.'

`Loo

king

for

wor

k, w

ho?'

`Baa

s.'.

`Tha

t's r

ight

. And

wha

t hav

eyo

u be

en li

ving

.on

all

alon

g?' h

e as

ked,

like

a go

d.`S

crou

ngin

g, a

nd lo

okin

g fo

rw

ork.

' Per

haps

he

did

not k

now

that

amon

g us

bla

cks

a m

an is

neve

r th

row

nto

the

dogs

.`S

teal

ing,

huh

? Y

ou s

houl

dha

ve b

een

caug

htbe

fore

you

foun

d th

is jo

b. D

oyo

u kn

ow th

atyo

uha

ve c

ontr

aven

edse

ctio

n tw

o, n

ine,

for

nine

mon

ths?

Do

you

know

that

you

wou

ld h

ave

gone

to ja

il fo

rtw

o ye

ars

ifyo

u ha

d be

en c

augh

t, ts

otsi

?T

hese

polic

emen

are

not

doi

ng th

eir j

ob a

nym

ore,

' he

said

,tu

rnin

g hi

s at

tent

ion

to th

est

amps

and

pap

ers

infr

ont o

f hi

m.

I ha

d w

ante

d to

tell

him

that

if I

had

had

a ch

ance

182

TO

KIL

L A

MA

N'S

PR

IDE

to s

teal

, I w

ould

not

hav

e he

sita

ted

to d

o so

, but

:II

stop

ped

mys

elf.

It w

as th

e w

ise

thin

g to

act t

imid

:in:1

the

circ

umst

ance

s. H

e ga

ve m

e th

epa

ss a

fter

sta

mpi

ng 5

it. T

he b

lack

jack

told

me

whi

ch c

orri

dor

to.f

ollo

w.

foun

d m

en s

ittin

g on

ben

ches

alo

ngsi

deon

e w

all a

ndst

ood

at th

e en

d of

the

queu

e. T

hem

an in

fro

nt o

fm

e sh

ifte

d an

d I

sat o

n th

e ed

ge. T

his

time

the

queu

ew

as r

easo

nabl

y fa

st. W

e m

oved

for

war

d on

the

seat

sof

our

pan

ts. I

f yo

u w

ante

d to

pre

vent

them

shi

ning

you

had

to s

tand

up

and

sit,

stan

d up

and

sit.

You

;co

uld

not f

ollo

w th

e lin

e st

andi

ng. T

he p

atro

lling

blac

kjac

k m

ade

you

sit i

nan

em

barr

assi

ng w

ay.:i

Hal

fway

to th

e do

or w

ew

ere

appr

oach

ing,

the;

tm

an n

ext t

o m

e re

mov

ed h

is u

pper

clo

thes

. All

the

othe

rs n

eare

r to

the

door

had

thei

r cl

othe

s bu

ndle

dun

der

thei

r ar

mpi

ts. I

did

the

sam

e.W

e w

ere

all v

acci

nate

d in

the

firs

tro

om a

nd m

oved

on to

the

next

one

whe

re w

e w

ere

X-r

ayed

by

som

eim

patie

nt b

lack

tech

nici

ans.

The

sna

king

line

of

blac

k bo

dies

rem

inde

d m

e of

pri

sone

rs b

eing

sea

rche

d.T

hat w

as w

hat 8

0 A

lber

t Str

eet

was

all

abou

t...

The

last

par

t of

the

med

ical

exa

min

atio

nw

as th

em

ost d

isgr

acef

ul.

Ido

n't k

now

whe

ther

'it w

asde

sign

ed to

sav

e ex

pens

e or

on s

ome

othe

r gr

ound

of

expe

dien

cy, b

ut o

n m

e it

had

the

effe

ct o

f di

shon

our.

Aft

er b

eing

X-r

ayed

we

coul

d pu

ton

our

shi

rts

and

cros

s th

e co

rrid

or to

the

doct

or's

cub

icle

. Out

side

wer

e pe

ople

of

both

sex

es w

aitin

g to

set

tle th

eir

own

affa

irs.

You

pas

sed

them

bef

ore

ente

ring

the

cubi

cle,

insi

de w

hich

sat

a f

at w

hite

man

in a

whi

te d

ust-

coat

with

a f

ace

like

an o

wl,

behi

nda.

sim

ple

desk

. The

man

who

had

gon

e in

ahe

ad o

f m

e w

as z

ippi

ngup

his

fly.

I u

nzip

ped

min

e an

d st

ood

faci

ng th

e ow

l beh

ind

the

desk

, hol

ding

my

trou

sers

with

bot

h ha

nds.

He

tilte

d hi

s fa

t fac

e to

the

righ

t and

left

twic

eor

thri

ce.

9

TO

KIL

L A

MA

N'S

PR

IDE

183

la. Y

our

pass

.'I

hitc

hed

my

trou

sers

up

whi

le h

e ha

rrie

d m

e to

give

him

the

pass

bef

ore

I co

uld

zip

my

trou

sers

. Ist

raig

hten

ed m

ysel

f at

leis

ure,

'in

spite

of

his

`Gou

,go

u, g

ou!'

My

prid

e ha

d be

en h

urt e

noug

h by

ex-

posi

ng m

ysel

f to

him

, with

the

man

beh

ind

me

prep

arin

g to

do

so a

nd th

e on

e in

fro

nt o

f m

e ha

ving

done

the

sam

e, a

row

of

men

of

diff

eren

t age

spa

radi

ng th

emse

lves

bef

ore

a bo

red

owl.

Whe

n I

fini

shed

dre

ssin

g I

gave

him

the

pass

. He

put a

littl

em

aroo

n st

amp

som

ewhe

re in

am

ongs

t the

last

pag

es.

It m

ust h

ave

mea

nt th

at I

was

fit

to w

ork.

The

med

ical

exa

min

atio

n w

as o

ver

and

the

wom

enon

the

benc

hes

outs

ide

pret

ende

d th

ey d

id n

otkn

ow. T

he y

oung

whi

te la

dies

clic

king

thei

r he

els

upan

d do

wn

the

pass

ages

sho

wed

you

they

kne

w. Y

ouhe

ld y

ours

elf

toge

ther

as

best

as

you

coul

d un

til y

ouva

nish

ed f

rom

thei

r si

ght,

and

you

neve

r to

ld a

ny-

body

els

e ab

out i

t.

'Maa

r, m

y fr

iend

. Why

don

't yo

u co

me

with

me.

toth

e ho

stel

one

day

? Ju

st to

see

whe

re I

sta

y, a

nd m

eet

som

e of

the

guys

who

com

e fr

om N

atal

with

me.

Are

you

afra

id?'

Som

dali

aske

d as

we

wen

t thr

ough

the

barr

iers

at F

arad

ay s

tatio

n.It

was

the

thir

d w

eek

afte

r I

had

been

to th

e pa

ssof

fice

. I w

as e

ven

begi

nnin

g to

get

use

d to

the

twen

ty-

five

ran

d an

d fe

w c

ents

in a

bro

wn

enve

lope

that

the

Indi

an la

dy b

ookk

eepe

rs in

the

offi

ce h

ad g

iven

me,

and

whi

ch m

ade

me

feel

ver

y as

ham

ed e

ach

time

Ire

ceiv

ed it

. I f

elt l

ike

a du

pe w

hen

I ha

d to

go

to th

eof

fice

to s

ign

for

chic

ken

feed

aft

er w

orki

ng h

ones

tlyfo

r a

who

le w

eek

and

taki

ng P

iete

rs's

sco

rn w

ithou

tan

y co

mpl

aint

. He

'see

med

to th

ink

that

we,

the

184

TO

KIL

L A

MA

N'S

PR

IDE

wor

kers

, dep

ende

d on

him

for

a li

ving

and

to f

orge

tth

at h

e, in

turn

, .de

pend

ed o

n ou

r la

bour

for

his

easy

life.

May

be th

is w

as b

ecau

se h

e kn

ew th

at th

egr

eate

rde

man

d .w

asfo

r jo

bs, f

or w

ork,

not

for

labo

ur.

Eve

rybo

dy w

as a

t his

mer

cy. S

omda

li ha

d be

en r

ight

abou

t the

bul

l-lik

e be

havi

our

ofou

r bo

ss..

He

beha

ved

like

a sh

eikh

in a

har

em. N

one

of th

ew

omen

like

d it,

but t

hey

had

to h

ide

thei

r di

sapp

rova

l as

long

as

they

wan

ted

to r

emai

n w

orki

ng. W

e on

ly g

ritte

dou

r te

eth

and

let h

im c

ontin

ue.

..I

coul

d no

t ref

use

Som

dali'

s in

vita

tion.

It

was

not

an in

vita

tion

.to a

coc

ktai

l par

ty b

ut it

was

an

invi

tatio

n ri

ght e

noug

h. S

uch

are

the

invi

tatio

ns o

fth

e si

mpl

e. A

part

fro

m th

e fa

ct th

at h

ew

as m

y fr

iend

,in

the

even

ings

I u

sual

ly h

ad n

othi

ngto

do

at h

ome

but l

iste

n to

the

hyst

eric

alsc

ream

s of

my

sist

ers'

babi

es, w

hile

bei

ng a

sked

to s

hift

this

way

and

that

inth

e do

ll's

hous

e. A

nd th

e ho

stel

was

no

long

erda

nger

ous:

'sev

enty

-six

had

com

e an

d go

ne. B

efor

eSo

mda

li in

vite

d m

e th

ere,

the

host

elw

as to

me

apl

ace

I kn

ew o

f an

d di

dn't

know

abo

ut. I

kne

wit

mus

t be

hell

to li

ve th

ere

fam

ily m

en w

ithou

tfa

mili

es, m

arri

ed m

en w

ithou

t wiv

es. T

hat

was

how

Iha

d se

en it

, and

that

was

whe

rem

y co

ncer

n en

ded.

But

whe

n it

com

es to

the

mis

ery

of li

feon

e ha

s to

part

ake

to r

eal!

), u

nder

stan

d. T

he d

eepe

stpa

ngs

of th

e m

an c

augh

t up

in s

qual

orar

e ne

ver

real

ly f

elt

from

a s

afe

dist

ance

. Mos

t peo

ple

shri

nk f

rom

expe

rien

cing

wha

t it

feel

s lik

e to

be

dow

n, li

ckin

gth

e ba

se o

f th

e dr

ain.

Som

dali'

s in

vita

tion

was

my

chan

ce to

get

to th

e co

re o

f ho

stel

life

.In

ord

er f

or y

ou to

und

erst

and

why

I h

adne

ver

care

d ab

out t

he h

oste

l, rt

hink

a br

ief

desc

ript

ion

ofho

w I

vie

wed

the

host

el f

rom

afa

rw

ill b

e ne

cess

ary.

At f

irst

the

secu

rity

of

the

host

elw

as ti

ght,

with

TO

KIL

L A

MA

N'S

PR

IDE

185

wat

chm

en a

t eve

ry g

ate,

pre

vent

ing

outs

ider

s fr

omen

teri

ng th

e pr

emis

es. P

erha

ps s

omeo

ne s

till h

ad a

little

con

scie

nce,

and

wis

hed

to' t

ry a

nd h

ide

the

sham

eful

pla

ce. A

s tim

e w

ent o

n th

is s

ecur

ity s

lack

ened

until

ther

e w

as f

ree

traf

fic

betw

een

the

loca

tion

and

the

host

el, a

lthou

gh o

nly

men

wen

t the

reit

wou

ldha

ve b

een

shee

r m

adne

ss f

or a

wom

an to

go

into

that

enca

mpm

ent o

f de

priv

ed m

en. E

ven

then

it w

asm

ainl

y th

e lo

catio

n dr

unks

who

wen

t in

afte

r th

epo

ison

ous

brew

of

yeas

t, br

own

brea

d, b

row

n su

gar

and

wat

erm

bam

ba, s

koki

aan

and

othe

r va

riat

ions

of th

e sa

me

thin

g w

hich

they

con

sum

ed th

ere

out o

fsi

ght o

f th

e pe

ople

of

the

loca

tion.

We

only

wen

tth

ere

to s

ell s

omet

hing

a w

atch

may

be, t

he h

oste

l-er

s be

ing

ever

pre

pare

d to

'sna

tch

a ba

rgai

n'or

to u

se th

e sh

ower

s an

d qu

ickl

y re

turn

to th

e lo

catio

n.T

he f

ew in

mat

es w

ith a

ven

ture

som

e sp

irit

or h

avin

gre

lativ

es 'o

utsi

de',

mos

t of

who

m h

ad b

een

disc

over

edth

ere

in th

e G

olde

n C

ity b

y th

e tr

acin

g of

line

age,

wen

t out

to m

ix w

ith th

e lo

catio

n pe

ople

. Bla

ckpe

ople

see

m to

bel

ieve

that

they

are

all

rela

ted

toea

ch o

ther

in th

is w

ay. T

his

way

you

can

nev

er b

elo

st, w

here

ver

you

go, b

ecau

se e

very

body

with

the

sam

e su

rnam

e or

cla

n-na

me

as y

ou is

reg

arde

d as

are

lativ

e an

d is

obl

iged

to y

ou. O

ther

s fo

rmed

ban

dsw

ho in

vade

d th

e lo

catio

n at

nig

ht s

olel

y to

rap

e an

dki

ll, s

o th

at th

ere

was

som

eone

lyin

g de

ad s

omew

here

in th

e sm

all l

ocat

ion

once

in e

very

wee

k. T

his

gave

the

host

el p

eopl

e a

form

idab

lene

ss th

at m

ade

itdi

ffic

ult t

o be

frie

nd th

em o

r to

sym

path

ise

with

thei

rte

rrib

le lo

t.T

he b

ulk

of th

e in

mat

es c

hose

to s

tay

'insi

de' a

tw

eeke

nds,

fill

ing

in th

e em

ptin

ess

of th

eir

lives

with

alco

hol a

nd tr

aditi

onal

song

that

bro

ught

them

nost

algi

a fo

r th

e pl

aces

of

thei

r bi

rth,

the

ban-

en

186

TO

KIL

L A

MA

N'S

PR

IDE

hope

less

ness

of

..whi

chha

d dr

iven

them

. to

gath

ersc

rapS

in th

e hu

man

jung

les

of J

ohan

nesb

urg.

Mur

der

was

als

o ri

fe in

side

.'D

ehum

aniz

ed p

eopl

elo

se th

eir

conc

ern

for

life:

. -'W

e liv

elik

e ho

gs, w

ild d

ogs

or a

ny.

othe

r ne

glec

ted

anim

als.

: The

pets

of.

. abe

Lun

guliv

ebe

tter

than

we,

' Som

dali

wou

ldsa

y to

me

on a

day

whe

n. h

e w

as in

a- r

eally

dep

ress

ed -

moo

d.N

orm

ally

he n

ever

com

plai

ned.

..`O

kay

Som

dali,

go. w

ith y

ou to

day.

It's

stil

lea

rly,

' I s

aid

and

saw

that

he

was

ple

ased

..

At t

he s

tatio

n.a

man

nam

ed J

oe, w

how

as a

lrea

dyqu

ite f

amili

ar w

ithSo

mda

li fr

om d

ice

gam

es in

the

host

el, j

oine

dus

. Som

dali

and

Joe.

wer

e fr

iend

s, o

nly

that

was

rat

her

cost

ly to

the

form

er. W

hat k

ept t

hem

goin

g w

as th

atSo

mda

li pr

ovid

edbe

ers.

Inn

ocen

tSo

mda

li w

asno

t aw

are

of th

eex

ploi

tatio

n an

dde

rive

d gr

eat s

atis

fact

ion

from

livi

ng. w

itham

ajita

, as

he w

ould

.'sa

y..

The

re -

was

no n

eed

to w

ise

him

up. I

coul

d :n

ot h

elp

laug

hing

insi

de ..

whe

nI

hear

d Jo

epr

omis

ing

to g

etSo

mda

li a

wom

an a

nd to

lead

the

latte

r. to

a .`

spot

'.T

he e

xped

ition

sal

way

s en

ded

upw

ith b

oth

of th

emdr

unk

and

Som

dali

clai

min

g th

athe

. had

bee

n.pi

ckpo

cket

ed a

t the

'spo

t', b

utno

t sor

eab

out i

t, pe

rhap

sco

nsid

erin

g it

as p

art o

f th

e sa

crif

ice

of le

arni

ng. t

o liv

eSo

wet

o-st

yle.

-The

thre

eof

us

wen

tup

..Moh

ale

stre

etw

ith th

e w

ave

ofco

untle

ss p

eopl

e,tu

rned

dow

nC

arr

stre

et a

nd f

ifty

met

res

late

r cr

osse

dth

e :n

ew. S

owet

ohi

ghw

ay w

here

it st

arte

d sk

irtin

gM

zim

hlop

e. `

..

We

.ent

ered

.the

firs

t's

tree

t' to

our

left

. It w

as th

efi

rst t

ime

that

I ha

d be

ento

the

host

elto

vis

itso

rneo

ne-

(I :h

ad'g

one

ther

e .o

n. im

pers

onal

mat

ters

)an

d na

tura

llym

y se

nses

:wer

e: s

harp

.T

he .f

irst

thin

gth

at. t

old-

you'

you

t.wer

e in

a di

ffer

ent p

lace

was

the

smel

t han

ging

in th

eai

r, th

e st

ench

of

rotti

ng r

ubbi

sh,

9

TO

KIL

L A

MA

N'S

PR

IDE

187

urin

e, d

irty

wat

er a

nd n

egle

cted

toile

ts, a

n un

hygi

enic

muc

ky-

atm

osph

ere

that

alm

ost m

ade

you

puke

: If

you'

ve e

ver

been

nea

r a

pigs

ty, t

hen

you

have

the.

righ

t ide

a. N

ot th

at I

rat

e th

e lo

catio

nm

uch

bette

r,bu

t at l

east

the

loca

tion

smel

ls o

f lif

e,no

t neg

lect

. As

we

wen

t dee

per

into

the

host

el I

was

dis

gust

ed to

thin

k th

at it

was

hum

ans

who

let

othe

r hu

man

s liv

elik

e th

at, i

n th

e lo

wes

tst

ate

of d

erel

ictio

n: a

nd y

etth

eir

swea

t fue

lled

the

econ

omy

of th

e co

untr

y- to

keep

it g

oing

. The

so-

calle

d la

stba

stio

n ag

ains

t rov

ing

Mar

xism

; a b

astio

n of

men

scr

apin

g sm

all s

ooty

enam

el p

ots

to c

ook

the

tom

atoe

s, o

nion

s an

d m

ealie

mea

l the

y ha

d in

pla

stic

car

rier

s.A

bas

tion

of m

enw

astin

g aw

ay o

n sk

okia

an,

a ba

stio

n of

men

was

hing

over

alls

in th

e w

ater

-tro

ughs

;a

bast

ion

of m

enw

alki

ng in

the

open

in th

eir

unde

rpan

ts. D

on't

coun

tm

e in

, and

cou

nt S

omda

li ou

t too

.T

he f

irst

dor

mito

ryw

as f

ifty

sho

rt p

aces

long

.T

hree

doo

rs. A

gap.

Ano

ther

pile

of

brow

nish

, gre

yish

bric

ks a

nd u

ndul

atin

g as

best

oson

top;

this

tim

e th

eto

ilets

. Six

bas

ins

in' a

row

in a

n en

clos

ure

with

nodo

or a

nd th

e w

-all

goin

g on

lyha

lfw

ay u

p so

that

apa

sser

by c

ould

see

a pe

rson

sitt

ing

insi

de. A

djac

ent t

oth

is: h

igh

narr

ow tr

ough

s,ap

pare

ntly

to w

ash

dish

esin

. Beh

ind

this

: low

, dee

pce

men

t tro

ughs

for

was

hing

clot

hes

in. T

he lo

ngitu

dina

lha

lf o

f th

is p

lace

anem

pty

room

with

eig

ht s

how

ers.

Am

an w

as v

igor

ousl

yru

bbin

g so

ap o

n hi

s na

ked

glis

teni

ngbo

dy u

nder

one

of th

em. T

he lo

ng d

orm

itori

esal

tern

ated

with

the

toile

ts. A

man

obe

ying

the

call

of n

atur

e in

the

mid

dle

of th

e ni

ght h

adto

wal

k ou

tsid

e fo

r no

t les

sth

an f

ifte

en p

aces

wel

l, lik

e in

the

loca

tion.

The

wis

e th

ing

to d

ow

as to

be

arm

ed w

hen

goin

g to

the

toile

t.T

here

had

bee

nan

atte

mpt

to m

ake

the

plac

e

c

188

TO

KIL

L A

MA

N'S

PR

IDE

hom

ely,

may

be w

hen

itw

as s

till n

ew. P

each

tree

slin

ed o

ur w

ay o

n bo

th s

ides

and

thro

ugh

the

gaps

betw

een

the

build

ings

I. s

aw th

at th

ere

wer

e ga

rden

patc

hes

with

wilt

ing

plan

ts, m

ostly

mai

ze a

ndpo

tato

es. T

he g

rass

beh

ind

and

betw

een

the

build

ings

grew

wai

st h

igh.

The

ste

nch

was

unb

eara

ble.

At l

engt

h, a

fter

jum

ping

and

ste

ppin

g ar

ound

the

pudd

les,

we

cam

e to

whe

re S

omda

li st

ayed

.H

epu

shed

the

met

al d

oor

inw

ards

with

out k

nock

ing.

The

noi

se it

mad

e pu

t our

teet

hon

edg

e. H

e w

ent i

nah

ead

and

as w

e fo

llow

ed, m

y fo

ot s

ank

into

sta

gnan

tw

ater

just

in f

ront

of

the

door

. The

re w

asa

buzz

of

agita

ted

inse

cts.

Whe

n yo

u go

into

a p

lace

whe

re p

eopl

ear

e liv

ing,

you

expe

ct to

find

som

ethi

ng, a

tle

ast,

whi

chin

dica

tes

that

this

is s

o. B

ut in

the

host

elyo

u ar

eut

terl

ydi

shea

rten

ed. T

he d

oor

open

ed in

toa

med

ium

-siz

ed r

oom

. The

flo

orw

as b

are,

dus

t-la

den

cem

ent.

Nea

r th

e w

all f

acin

g th

e do

or, w

hich

had

two

squa

res

cut i

nto

it fo

r w

indo

ws

that

had

neve

r be

encl

eane

d si

nce

the

host

elw

as b

uilt,

wer

e tw

o ta

bles

mad

e of

cem

ent s

labs

on m

etal

stil

ts c

omin

g ou

t of

the

floo

r. T

he b

ench

es o

n op

posi

te s

ides

of

the

tabl

esw

ere

also

mad

e of

cem

ent s

labs

res

ting

on s

ewer

age

pipe

s. T

wo

old

men

in d

enim

ove

ralls

sat a

t one

tabl

eta

lkin

g in

a d

ull m

urm

ur a

nd a

ppar

ently

drin

king

from

a p

last

ic c

onta

iner

bet

wee

n th

em. T

hey

did

not

even

rai

se th

eir

eyes

to s

ee w

ho w

as c

omin

g in

. Aga

inst

the

side

wal

ls w

ere

long

ste

el c

abin

ets

from

whi

ch th

egr

een

pain

t had

pee

led

long

ago

and

whi

chru

st n

owco

vere

d al

mos

t com

plet

ely.

The

y ex

tend

edfr

om th

efr

ont w

all h

alf

the

leng

th o

f th

esi

de w

alls

to tw

oop

enin

gs o

n th

e le

ft a

nd r

ight

. The

wal

lsw

ere

not

plas

tere

d an

d th

e as

best

os r

oof

rest

edon

raf

ters

that

wer

e co

ated

with

thic

k la

yers

of

soot

and

spi

der-

web

s.

3 (1

TO

KIL

L A

MA

N'S

PR

IDE

189

The

soo

t mig

ht h

ave

com

e fr

om a

bra

zier

dur

ing

win

ter.

We

follo

wed

Som

dali

to th

e op

enin

g on

the

righ

t,in

to a

clo

set f

or f

our

peop

le s

leep

ing

in th

e co

rner

s.T

he f

irst

ope

ning

led

to a

noth

er, i

nto

a cl

oset

exa

ctly

the

sam

e as

the

one

we

had

pass

ed, e

xcep

t tha

t it w

asth

e la

st a

nd h

ad o

nly

one

open

ing

to it

. Eig

ht m

en o

nei

ther

sid

e of

the

cent

ral r

oom

, whi

ch m

eant

six

teen

men

to o

ne d

oor

and,

ther

e be

ing

thre

e do

ors

in th

elo

ng d

orm

itori

es, f

orty

-eig

ht m

en to

one

uni

t fif

typa

ces

long

. The

re is

abs

olut

ely

no p

riva

cy th

ere.

You

slee

p in

you

r co

rner

of

the

clos

et, o

n th

e do

or-l

ike

lid o

f a

bric

k ki

st in

whi

ch y

ou a

re s

uppo

sed

to k

eep

your

pos

sess

ions

, a m

etre

fro

m th

e m

an n

ext t

o yo

uan

d th

e m

en b

elow

you

.T

he la

st c

lose

t was

ful

l of

men

hud

dled

aro

und

asm

all o

ne-p

late

sto

ve h

ardl

y a

foot

hig

h fr

om w

hich

a th

in b

atte

red

chim

ney

pipe

ros

e to

a s

mal

l hol

e in

the

roof

. The

sun

was

set

ting

and

it w

as c

old

in th

e`h

ouse

', al

thou

gh th

e m

iddl

e of

sum

mer

was

not

long

gone

. Wor

n, d

irty

shr

eds

and

blan

kets

wer

e he

aped

on

the

woo

den

lids

and

from

the

smut

ty r

afte

rs h

ung

all

sort

s of

dus

t-co

vere

d ra

gs, j

acke

ts, o

verc

oats

, jer

seys

and

wha

teve

r yo

u m

ay c

are

to n

ame.

The

re w

as e

ven

a bi

cycl

e su

spen

ded

with

a w

ire,

and

two

elec

tric

guita

rs. A

sm

ell o

f ro

tting

foo

d, s

wea

t and

the

coal

-sm

oke

from

the

min

iatu

re s

tove

stif

led

the

air.

Sudd

enly

the

nake

d bu

lb b

linke

d al

ive

and

shed

alig

ht th

at m

ade

the

room

eer

ie, c

astin

g da

rkne

ss in

the

corn

ers.

`Thi

s is

my

bed,

maj

ita, m

ake

your

selv

es a

t hom

e,'

Som

dali

said

and

took

off

his

jack

et w

hich

he

adde

dto

the

clot

hes

hang

ing

near

his

'bed

'. W

e sa

t on

the

kist

, Joe

set

tling

dow

n be

side

me

with

out s

how

ing

any

sign

of

surp

rise

at t

he u

nspe

akab

le li

ving

con

-e`

;

190

TO

KIL

L A

MA

N'S

PR

IDE

?

ditio

ns. A

s I

said

, he

was

use

d to

per

sona

l vis

itsto

the,

,ho

stel

. As

for

me,

Iw

as s

hock

ed.

Aft

er h

angi

ng h

is c

oat S

omda

li tu

rned

to g

reet

the

othe

rs. W

hen

we

had

com

e in

;hey

had

just

gla

nced

at

us a

nd r

esum

ed th

eir.

Con

vers

atio

n..T

he A

fric

anw

ayof

ent

erin

g th

e co

mpn

y of

oth

ers

is f

orth

e ne

wco

rner

to a

nnou

nce

him

self

by

gree

ting.

fir

st. I

t is

the

'um

thak

athi

' (w

izar

d) w

ho a

rriv

esun

seen

. `So

nibo

narm

-ek

haya

(G

ood

even

ing

at h

ome)

.'.,

`Aw

u, S

omda

li! Y

ou a

re b

ack

from

esi

Lun

gwin

r:A

thin

'am

a B

hunu

? (W

hat d

o th

e B

oers

say?

)' T

hey

gree

ted

him

ent

husi

astic

ally

,as

if th

ey w

ere

notic

ing

Som

dali

for

the

firs

t tim

e.`W

hat c

an th

ey s

ay, b

ut c

ontin

ueto

giv

e .u

s th

e"sc

orpi

on's

bite

? E

r, m

adod

a, I

hav

e br

ough

tyo

u .a

frie

nd p

f m

ine

that

I w

ork

with

...

and:

hein

trod

uced

me,

sta

rtin

g w

ithm

y fi

rst n

ame

i.ans

inse

rtin

g th

e po

sses

sive

.pre

posi

tion

rka'

befo

re. :

msu

rnam

e. 'W

ell,

this

ske

lm J

oe y

ou k

now

.'O

ne m

an h

eld

my

hand

and

intr

oduc

edhi

mse

lf.

The

oth

ers

follo

wed

sui

t. I

coun

ted

eigh

t,of

. the

n*So

mda

li ca

me

to s

it ne

xt to

me.

'You

see

mno

t.tO

at e

ase,

my

frie

nd. R

elax

. You

mus

t. be

.sho

cked

.,.,

this

sta

ble

whe

n yo

use

e it.

for

the

firs

t tim

e.r-

You

get u

sed

to it

, mfo

wet

hu.'

,

`Let

's h

ope

I w

ill. B

ut I

dou

bt it

,' I

repl

ied.

`Thi

s is

our

rew

ard

for

wor

king

for

the

The

y do

n't c

are

how

you

live,

as

long

as

yout

tir.0

for

wor

k th

e fo

llow

ing

day,

.' sa

idSo

mda

li bi

tterl

y`T

hey

don'

t kno

w. O

ther

wis

e th

ey'd

be

asha

med

4th

emse

lves

,'I

answ

ered

, thi

nkin

g th

atno

,nor

mhu

man

bei

ng c

ould

con

scio

usly

tole

rate

oth

er p

eci2

livin

g th

at w

ay.

,... !

`You

thin

k so

?' S

omda

li se

emed

to d

isag

ree.

do y

ou s

ay o

f th

eve

ry id

ea o

f bu

ildin

g su

ch a

la

36

TO

KIL

L A

MA

N'S

PR

IDE

191

of r

emov

ing

men

fro

m th

eir

fam

ilies

aft

er ta

king

thei

rliv

esto

ck a

nd w

hat l

ittle

land

they

had

, and

bur

ying

them

in f

ilth?

Is

that

not

mea

nt to

kill

a m

an's

pri

dein

him

self

?'I

unde

rsto

od w

hat S

omda

li m

eant

. Bef

ore

I co

uld

mak

e th

at k

now

n in

so

man

y w

ords

he

wen

t on,

with

gall

in h

is v

oice

, 'If

you

take

a m

an, a

mar

ried

man

,fr

om h

is w

ife

it's

tant

amou

nt to

cas

trat

ing

him

. Abu

llock

is c

astr

ated

to m

ake

it st

rong

for

. lab

our

purp

oses

.'`Y

es, S

omda

li is

rig

ht, n

doda

na (

son)

.' It

was

old

Khu

zway

o, th

e .g

rey-

head

sex

agen

aria

n So

mda

li ha

dto

ld m

e w

as li

ke a

fat

her

to th

em in

thei

r la

bour

cam

p de

ns. '

Com

e ne

arer

boy

, I w

ant t

o se

e yo

uw

hen

I ta

lk to

you

. Fan

a, s

it yo

urse

lf s

omew

here

.'Fa

na s

tood

up

from

the

tin o

f pa

int h

e w

as s

ittin

g on

.I

repl

aced

him

bes

ide

the

old

man

. The

littl

e st

ove

was

beg

inni

ng to

glo

w o

n th

e si

des,

a s

olita

ry p

otfi

lling

its

who

le f

ace

and

boili

ng f

urio

usly

. The

hea

t-w

ave

was

too

muc

h fo

r m

e, s

o I

shif

ted

a lit

tle b

ack-

war

d. T

he o

ld m

an a

lso

posi

tione

d hi

mse

lf to

look

dire

ctly

into

my

face

. His

Bus

hman

-lik

e fe

atur

es w

ere

attr

activ

e.`Y

a, n

doda

na k

a?

(Yes

, son

of?

)' I

answ

ered

him

by

fini

shin

g hi

s gr

eetin

g w

ith m

y na

me.

I d

id th

istw

ice

befo

re h

e he

ard

me

wel

l. 'Y

ou d

efen

d ab

eLun

guby

say

ing

they

do

not k

now

? N

ow, m

y bo

y, te

ll m

eth

is: i

s th

isth

e w

ay w

e liv

e, a

ll of

us

blac

ks -

our

righ

tful

lega

cy f

rom

the

ance

stor

s, o

r fr

om T

ixo

who

mad

e he

aven

and

ear

th?'

He

paus

ed, l

ooki

ng a

t me.

`Or

is it

an

appo

rtio

nmen

t tha

t our

con

quer

ors

thin

kfi

t for

us?

'`I

t is

the

latte

r, b

aba,

' I r

eplie

d w

ithou

t cer

tain

ty, a

sI

did

not k

now

wha

t old

Khu

zway

o w

as g

ettin

gar

ound

to. E

very

body

was

list

enin

g. D

oubt

less

they

BE

ST C

OPY

AV

AIL

AB

LE

31

192

TO

KIL

L A

MA

N'S

PR

IDE -

wer

e al

l sen

sitiv

e ab

out t

he q

uest

ion

of th

eir

stat

us in

the

soci

al s

trat

ific

atio

n. T

hey

knew

that

a m

an c

ould

not s

ink

low

er d

own

than

they

wer

e, a

nd th

e on

lyw

ay th

ey c

ould

let o

ff s

team

was

by

dam

ning

the

syst

em th

at d

egra

ded

them

. To

them

ever

y w

hite

man

stoo

d fo

r th

e fo

rces

that

hel

dth

em d

own

with

thei

rfa

ces

in th

e m

uck

of th

eho

stel

. In

othe

r w

ords

, the

irho

pele

ssne

ss b

red

a vo

lcan

ic r

acis

m.

`Tha

t is

righ

t,m

y bo

y. Y

ou a

re f

ollo

win

gm

y w

ords

wel

l. Y

ou s

ee, t

hey

have

laid

clai

m to

eve

ryth

ing

that

you

can

turn

you

r ey

es to

see.

If

ever

ythi

ng h

adgo

neac

cord

ing

to th

eir

desi

res

they

wou

ld h

ave

owne

dev

en u

s bl

ack

peop

le, t

o til

l the

soi

lfo

r th

em u

ntil

the

end

of th

e w

orld

. But

one

hum

an b

eing

can

not b

eow

ned

by a

noth

er. A

nd s

ince

they

are

una

ble

toow

nus

, all

they

lack

is a

way

to ju

stif

yge

noci

de. Y

ouca

nre

mov

e a

man

fro

m th

e fa

ce o

fa

piec

e of

pap

er,

scra

tch

his

nam

e ou

t and

pret

end

that

he

does

not

exis

t, bu

t you

can

not

rem

ove

him

phy

sica

lly f

rom

the

face

of

the

eart

h w

ithou

tm

urde

ring

him

. For

he

isbo

rn h

ere

and

so h

e di

es h

ere,

figh

ting

perh

aps

for

the

one

squa

re m

etre

he

owns

in th

e w

orld

. For

man

was

crea

ted

by N

kulu

nkul

uso

that

he

mig

ht a

vail

him

self

of th

at w

hich

um

hlab

a(e

arth

) w

as m

ade

to g

ive.

Man

was

not

cre

ated

to d

ivid

e fo

r ot

hers

that

whi

ch is

bad

and

to k

eep

that

whi

chis

goo

d fo

r hi

mse

lf. W

eal

l die

in th

e en

d an

d le

ave

ever

ythi

ng a

s w

e fo

und

it w

hen

we

wer

e bo

rn.'

`Ya.

The

old

man

is r

ight

, mfo

wet

hu. N

om

an is

orda

ined

to d

eter

min

eth

e fa

te o

f an

othe

r. I

fhe

has

,by

som

e vi

lem

eans

, usu

rped

the

othe

r's r

ight

to s

elf-

dete

rmin

atio

n, th

enpe

ace

is d

istu

rbed

. Whe

npe

ace

is d

istu

rbed

it is

alw

ays

a si

gn th

at s

omeo

ne w

ho is

diss

atis

fied

is tr

ying

to g

et h

is r

ight

ful s

hare

fro

mth

ew

orld

.' So

sai

d th

em

an w

ho h

ad in

trod

uced

him

self

TO

KIL

L A

MA

N'S

PR

IDE

193

as B

onga

ni. I

had

trie

d to

vin

dica

te th

eir

oppr

esso

rsan

d th

ey a

ssai

led

me

from

all

dire

ctio

ns.

I at

tem

pted

to m

anoe

uvre

out

of

the

spot

I w

as in

by e

xpla

inin

g ex

actly

wha

t I h

ad m

eant

. 'W

hat I

inte

nded

to s

ay w

as th

at th

e m

ajor

ity o

f w

hite

s do

not k

now

how

you

live

bec

ause

the

who

le r

otte

nsi

tuat

ion

is c

amou

flag

ed. T

he h

arsh

enf

orce

men

t of

the

inhu

man

e la

ws

that

res

ult i

n su

ch c

ondi

tions

prod

uces

a c

alm

of

sort

s, a

nd th

is d

ecei

ves

them

into

thin

king

that

eve

rybo

dy is

satis

fied

exc

ept a

few

anar

chis

ts a

nd a

gita

tors

who

mus

t be

wee

ded

out.

Ith

ink

that

the

peop

le a

re v

ery

apt w

hen

they

ref

er to

the

polic

e as

"th

e ca

mou

flag

e" th

ese

days

, bec

ause

they

cam

oufl

age

blac

k ve

xatio

ns w

ith b

rute

vio

lenc

ean

d w

hene

ver

ther

e is

a m

arke

d "c

alm

" th

e w

hite

sar

e m

ade

to b

elie

ve th

at a

ll is

pea

cefu

l. W

hate

ver

the

caus

e of

str

ife

was

, it h

as b

een

settl

ed a

nd th

ings

are

unde

r co

ntro

l. T

he m

eans

by

whi

ch th

is h

as b

een

brou

ght a

bout

are

mad

e lig

ht o

f, o

r de

liber

atel

y an

dun

scru

pulo

usly

sup

pres

sed.

A c

ount

erfe

it pe

ace

ispr

oduc

ed f

or th

em. T

hey

don'

t kno

w w

hat i

s go

ing

on "

in th

eir

own

back

yard

". T

hat's

wha

t I m

eant

.'T

hey

seem

ed s

atis

fied

with

my

clar

ific

atio

n, f

or n

oon

e at

tack

ed m

e af

ter

that

.O

ld K

huzw

ayo

had

take

n to

me.

He

slap

ped

my

shou

lder

am

icab

ly. '

You

kno

w, m

y so

n, y

ou k

now

.Fo

r a

mom

ent I

thou

ght t

hat y

ou w

ere

lost

. You

rex

plan

atio

n ta

kes

my

min

d ba

ck to

the

end

of th

eSe

cond

Wor

ld W

ar. W

hen

the

time

cam

e to

ask

the

Ger

man

nat

ion

why

they

had

allo

wed

peo

ple

to b

ede

cim

ated

infr

ont o

f th

eir

eyes

, the

y sh

amef

ully

clai

med

that

they

had

not

kno

wn

wha

t was

taki

ngpl

ace

until

it w

as to

o la

te to

do

anyt

hing

abo

ut it

but

stan

d up

inde

fenc

e of

the

sove

reig

nty

of th

eir

coun

try.

It d

id n

ot h

elp

them

any

bec

ause

eve

rybo

dy

39

194

TO

KIL

L A

MA

N'S

PR

IDE

was

aga

inst

them

.. T

heir

cou

ntry

was

div

ided

amon

gth

eir

enem

ies

beca

use

they

allo

wed

som

e fa

natic

s to

cont

rol t

heir

des

tiny.

'Blin

d. o

bedi

ence

and

gulli

bilit

yar

e';'

!'I

stay

ed lo

nger

than

I h

ad in

tend

edw

ith S

omda

lian

d hi

s m

ates

. Bon

gani

, who

had

been

coo

king

boili

ng a

n as

sort

men

t of

old

vege

tabl

esin

to a

thic

kso

upcu

t our

topi

c sh

ort b

y an

noun

cing

supp

er.

Eac

h m

an d

ived

. to

whe

re h

e ke

pt h

issp

oon

and,

at

the

drop

of

an e

yelid

, Iw

as a

lone

in f

ront

of

the

smal

l sto

ve: E

ven

Khu

zway

o ha

d be

ensu

rpri

sing

lysw

ift f

or h

is a

ge. J

oeca

me

from

the

shad

ows

to s

it on

the

old

man

's p

last

ic m

ilkcr

ate.

I sa

w w

hy th

ey h

ad b

een

so f

ast i

n th

eir

reac

tions

to B

onga

ni's

cal

l. T

hey

all a

te to

geth

erfr

om th

est

eam

ing

pot.

Thr

ee lo

aves

of

brea

dw

ere

plac

ed o

n a

shee

t of

pape

r th

atw

as s

prea

d on

the

dust

y fl

oor.

The

y br

oke

piec

es f

rom

the

loav

es a

ndsc

oope

d fr

omth

e po

t with

. the

ir s

poon

s. Y

ou c

ould

see

that

they

wer

e ra

cing

,' ea

ch w

antin

g to

dow

nm

ore

soup

and

piec

es o

f br

ead

than

the

next

man

. I d

on't

wis

h to

insu

lt th

ose

brot

hers

of

ours

, but

hav

e yo

u ev

er s

een

the

dead

ly e

xcite

men

t of

a pr

edat

or a

fter

mak

ing

aki

lling

? T

hey

even

fou

ght o

ver

spac

e.`D

amn

it, F

ana,

don

't pu

sh!'

snar

led

one

of th

em.

`Giv

e m

e sp

ace.

How

do

you

thin

k I'l

l rea

ch th

epo

t?' r

etor

ted

Fana

with

a fu

ll m

outh

.`Y

ou're

che

eky,

you

Fana

. One

day

I'll

bea

t it o

utof

you

,' th

e ot

her

one

thre

aten

ed.

Old

Khu

zway

o ru

led

for

peac

e. `

Aw

u, d

on't

figh

tov

er f

ood

like

pupp

ies,

boy

s. Y

ou're

spo

iling

ever

y-bo

dy's

mea

l. A

nd w

hile

you'

rebu

sy f

ight

ing,

the

food

is g

ettin

g fi

nish

ed.'

Supp

er o

ver,

Som

dali

sent

Fan

a to

buy

him

'mai

-m

ai' f

rom

the

oppo

site

dor

mito

ry.

Bon

gani

wen

t to

4'3

TO

KIL

L A

MA

N'S

PR

IDE

195

was

h th

e po

t and

the

spoo

ns in

the

sink

out

side

.A

noth

er o

ne to

ok a

bro

om to

sw

eep

whe

re th

ey h

adbe

en e

atin

g.`N

o,bo

y.Y

ou'll

sw

eep

tom

orro

wm

orni

ng. T

he d

ust w

ill ta

ke ti

me

to s

ettle

dow

n,' s

aid

Som

dali,

pre

vent

ing

him

. He

colle

cted

onl

y th

ecr

umbs

they

had

-m

ade.

The

re w

as a

cer

tain

org

anis

-at

ion

in th

e w

ay th

ey li

ved.

The

you

ng o

nes

did

the

chor

es.

Whe

n B

onga

ni r

etur

ned

he r

emov

ed th

e gu

itars

from

thei

r pe

rche

s an

d. g

ave

one.

'to

Fana

. The

yco

nnec

ted

the

guita

rs to

an

ampl

ifie

r w

ith a

PM

10

and

stru

mm

ed f

or s

ome

seco

nds.

The

n, w

ith e

xtra

-or

dina

ry d

exte

rity

, the

y pl

ayed

a m

ovin

g `m

baci

ange

(a f

ast A

fric

an b

eat t

hat

isst

ill a

fav

ouri

te w

ithco

untr

y pe

ople

). T

he s

ound

of

an e

lect

ric

guita

r in

that

glo

omy

lair

, with

the

men

sitt

ing

arou

nd th

esm

all s

tove

and

list

enin

g so

rrow

fully

to th

e m

elod

ious

twan

gs,.

the

over

hang

ing

dust

-cov

ered

rag

s, th

e bi

cycl

e,th

e sh

adow

s ca

st b

y th

e di

m, s

tain

ed li

ght b

ulb,

mes

mer

ised

me

in a

way

whi

ch I

fai

l to

find

wor

ds to

desc

ribe

. Som

dali

was

dri

nkin

g hi

s be

er in

slo

w s

ips.

He

pass

ed th

e ca

n to

the

next

man

, who

took

a f

ewdr

augh

ts a

nd a

lso.

pas

sed

it on

. If

you

did

not w

ant

to d

rink

you

gav

e th

e ca

n to

the

man

bes

ide

you.

The

mus

ic p

ause

d w

hile

Bon

gani

and

Fan

a dr

ank.

The

yst

arte

d an

othe

r so

ng im

med

iate

ly a

fter

that

.`W

hat's

the

time,

Som

dali?

' I a

sked

, thi

nkin

g th

atat

hom

e th

ey w

ould

be

won

deri

ng w

hy I

had

not

retu

rned

fro

m w

ork.

I w

as th

ree

hour

s la

te a

lrea

dy.

`I d

on't

know

, my.

.fri

end.

You

wan

t to

go n

ow?

Mad

oda,

any

of

you

got a

wat

ch?'

Non

e ha

d, s

o on

eof

the

youn

ger

men

had

to g

o an

d as

k th

e tim

e in

the

oppo

site

hou

se, a

nd b

ring

ano

ther

can

of

beer

...`Y

es, n

doda

; I s

houl

d be

run

ning

aw

ay b

efor

e m

ype

ople

dec

ide

to g

o lo

okin

g fo

r. m

e at

the

polic

e-

196

TO

KIL

L A

MA

N'S

PR

IDE

stat

ions

.' It

was

aft

erni

ne. I

bad

e ev

eryb

ody

good

-

nigh

t and

sto

od to

go;

Joe

did

the

sam

e.So

mda

li

took

us

out.

'So

you'

ve s

een

whe

re I

sta

y, m

y fr

iend

.H

ope

you

com

e by

you

rsel

fwhe

n yo

u've

got

tim

e. S

o

long

.'`S

wee

t, So

mda

li. S

ee y

outo

mor

row

mor

ning

,' I

said

, and

we

part

ed.

As

we

cam

e ou

t of

the

gapi

ng f

ence

ont

o th

ehi

gh-

way

, I r

emar

ked

abou

t our

vis

it to

Joe

.`Y

ou k

now

, Joe

, I'v

e ne

ver

spen

t suc

h a

long

time

in th

e ho

stel

. Jes

us, m

an,

thes

e pe

ople

live

like

anim

als.

To

trav

el th

ew

hole

dis

tanc

e fr

om w

here

they

com

e fr

om to

sta

ylik

e th

is!'

'Ira.

It's

bad

, son

ny.

Thi

nk o

f th

e m

any

othe

rsuc

h

plac

es in

Sow

eto

alon

e.H

ow m

any

are

ther

e? L

et's

see

it's

this

one

, Dub

e,N

hlaz

ane,

Mer

afe,

Nan

ce-

fiel

d,' c

ount

ed J

oe.

'And

Die

pklo

of..

All

abou

t the

sam

e si

ze. H

undr

eds

of th

ousa

nds

ofdi

sgru

ntle

d m

en, l

eavi

ng h

undr

eds

ofth

ousa

nds

of s

tarv

ing

fam

ilies

in th

e so

-cal

led

hom

e-la

nds.

Tha

t's n

ot c

ount

ing

uslo

catio

n pe

ople

, bec

ause

we'

re n

ot m

uch

bette

rof

f th

an th

e ho

stel

resi

dent

s

exce

pt in

that

we

are

allo

wed

a te

mpo

rary

soj

ourn

with

our

fam

ilies

.''N

ot c

ount

ing

the

rest

of S

outh

Afr

ica

eith

er.

It's

not o

nly

Joha

nnes

burg

. All

over

the

coun

try

ther

e ar

e

peop

le w

ho h

ave

upro

oted

from

nor

mal

fam

ily li

feto

sla

ve in

the

citie

s. T

ake

Som

dali'

sbi

ttern

ess

and

mul

tiply

it a

bout

twen

tym

illio

n tim

es a

nd s

ee if

you

don'

t arr

ive

at a

ver

y sa

d an

dvo

lcan

ic s

tate

of

affa

irs,

'

said

Joe

, and

I s

ilent

lyag

reed

with

him

.A

t hom

e I

thou

ght

abou

t the

hos

tel b

efor

e I

doze

d

off.

The

mor

e I

reca

lled

all t

he d

etai

ls o

f m

y vi

sit

the

mor

e I

felt

depr

esse

d. M

y la

st th

ough

t was

that

the

wor

ld w

as s

till t

oo f

arfr

om p

erfe

ctio

n an

d th

at th

ose

d 9

TO

KIL

L A

MA

N'S

PRID

E19

7

who

hop

edfo

r w

orld

pea

ce a

tthi

s po

int i

ntim

e w

ere

build

ing

cast

les

in th

e. a

ir.

It w

ould

not

be th

e la

st ti

me

I vi

site

dSo

mda

li.

Som

ethi

ng a

bout

the

dirt

and

the

deso

latio

nof

the

host

el a

ttrac

ted

me

stro

ngly

tow

ards

the

plac

e.

Inst

ead

of g

oing

ther

e fo

r vi

ce,

like

man

y of

the

loca

tion

peop

le, I

wen

t the

re o

utof

sym

path

yw

ith

my

frie

nds

and

may

beth

at is

why

Ife

lt so

str

ongl

y

abou

t the

way

they

live

d. W

hat's

mor

e,sh

arin

g th

e

empt

ines

s of

the

life

of S

omda

lian

d hi

s co

mra

des

fille

d, f

or m

e,th

e lis

tless

even

ings

on

stre

etco

rner

s,

outs

ide

the

shop

san

d at

the

stat

ion.

Eve

ryda

y w

e

gave

ven

t to

our

feel

ings

and

it w

asam

azin

g ho

w

ther

apeu

tic th

eex

erci

se w

as f

or m

e.It

gav

e m

eth

e

satis

fact

ion

ofkn

owin

g m

uch

mor

eab

out l

ife

than

thos

e w

ho p

refe

rth

e es

capi

smof

art

ific

ialit

y.

As

I co

ntin

ued

goin

g th

ere,

Idi

scov

ered

that

son

g

was

the

only

sol

ace

ofth

ose

lone

lype

ople

. At l

east

two

days

aw

eek

they

san

gtr

aditi

onal

cho

ral

mus

ic.

Aft

er s

uppe

rth

ey w

ould

asse

mbl

e in

the

adjo

inin

g

clos

et a

nd s

tart

sing

ing

with

the

cons

cien

tious

ness

of

a st

age

grou

pre

hear

sing

for

afe

te. H

eari

ngth

is,

Mbo

bo a

nd o

ther

sw

ould

com

e fr

omth

e op

posi

te

hous

e an

d jo

inin

the

sing

ing.

Som

e of

the

song

s w

ere

perf

orm

ed w

ithgr

acef

ul d

ance

s, s

oel

egan

tly c

arri

ed

out t

hat I

won

dere

d w

here

they

cou

ld a

llha

ve le

arnt

the

sam

e pa

ces.

Whe

n th

ey s

ang,

it w

as f

rom

the

core

of th

eir

soul

s,th

eir

eyes

gla

zed

with

mem

orie

sof

whe

re th

ey h

adfi

rst s

ung

thos

ely

rics

; and

inte

rrup

t-

ions

wer

e no

tto

lera

ted.

Som

etim

esI

was

so

mov

ed

by th

eir

mus

icth

at I

yea

rned

tojo

in th

em,

and

beca

use

I di

d no

tkn

ow th

e so

ngs

Isa

iled

away

in m

y

min

d fo

r pa

radi

ses

that

I c

onju

red

up,w

here

peo

ple

sang

thei

rtr

oubl

es a

way

.A

fter

an

even

ing

of

invi

gora

ting

talk

and

unta

inte

d A

fric

antr

aditi

onal

\"-

)L

.

198

TO

KIL

L A

MA

N'S

PR

IDE

song

I w

ent a

way

fee

linga

s if

I h

ad f

ound

trea

sure

in a

gra

veya

rd. T

hose

men

mig

ht b

e bu

ried

ther

e in

the

labo

ur c

amps

, but

;the

yar

e st

ill p

eopl

e an

d,be

caus

e th

ey li

ve in

the

thro

es o

f deb

asem

ent,

hum

anad

apta

bilit

y ha

s gi

ven:

them

'a m

ost s

impl

e an

dpr

actic

al a

ppro

ach

to li

fe, a

ndno

ne o

f th

e ill

usio

ns o

fpe

ople

who

live

com

fort

able

live

sor

str

ive

only

for

that

thro

ugho

ut th

eir

time

on e

arth

, nev

er a

chie

ving

it bu

t end

ing

up d

row

ning

thei

rfr

ustr

atio

ns in

the

plea

sure

s of

the

fles

h, h

alf-

imm

erse

din

into

xica

nts

and

half

out

of

thei

r m

inds

hal

fth

e tim

e, u

ntil

thei

rhu

man

ity r

ots

insi

de th

em. .

:I w

ould

rath

er d

epen

don

a p

oor

man

for

hel

p, b

ecau

sea

rich

man

, nev

erha

ving

kno

wn

hung

er h

imse

lf, w

illle

t you

go

away

with

an

empt

y st

omac

h.T

he w

eeke

nds

wer

e m

ost e

xciti

ng.

The

y m

ade

me

thin

k of

. wor

ds I

hea

rd f

rom

a fr

iend

(I

don'

t kno

ww

here

he

pick

ed th

em u

p). H

e w

ould

look

at s

ome

ofth

e pe

ople

we

wor

ked

with

, who

cam

e fr

om th

e ru

ral

area

s an

d sa

y, 'Y

ou c

an ta

ke th

em

an o

ut o

f th

eco

untr

y, b

ut y

ou c

an n

ever

take

the

coun

try

out o

fth

e m

an.'

On

Frid

ay th

e dr

eari

ness

was

stir

red

by a

din

that

rea

ched

a cr

esce

ndo

on S

unda

y af

tern

oon.

A ty

pica

l wee

kend

wen

t lik

e th

is:

afte

r lo

okin

g in

at h

ome

on F

rida

y, I

wou

ldgo

up

to th

e ho

stel

in th

eco

mpa

ny o

f Jo

e or

som

e of

the

guys

who

wen

t the

reto

aug

men

t the

ir s

cant

y pa

ypac

kets

with

Sow

eto'

sfa

vour

ite g

ame

of c

hanc

e,sh

ootin

g cr

aps

(dic

e).

Som

dali

was

a lo

yal w

orsh

ippe

rof

Bac

chus

. I w

ould

find

him

sitt

ing

like

a lo

rd in

the

shad

ows

of h

is k

ist

with

two

or th

ree

bottl

es o

f be

erbe

twee

n hi

s le

gs, t

here

st o

f a

who

le c

rate

insi

de th

e m

ulti-

purp

ose

'bed

'.W

hen

I ca

me

in h

e w

ould

gree

t me

like

a lo

ng-l

ost

frie

nd, a

s if

we

had

not b

een

toge

ther

onl

y an

hou

ror

so b

efor

e.

44

TO

KIL

L A

MA

N'S

PR

IDE

199

`Aah

, son

of

my

mot

her!

You

cam

e ju

st in

tim

e.B

orro

w a

mug

fro

m o

ne o

f ou

r br

othe

rs h

ere

and

let

usdr

ink

toou

ran

cest

ors.

Bon

gani

, giv

e hi

mso

met

hing

to d

rink

with

.'`H

ere,

Som

dali.

You

're d

rink

ing

the

swea

t of

your

brow

? Is

this

wha

t you

hav

e be

en w

orki

ng f

or, t

hew

hole

wee

k?' I

wou

ld r

eply

joki

ngly

, and

acc

ept t

hem

ug th

at B

onga

ni h

ande

d to

me.

`Of

cour

sew

hat d

o yo

u th

ink?

It's

Fri

day

toda

y;ev

eryb

ody

drin

ks w

hite

man

's b

eer

and

feel

s ri

ch.

Com

e on

, use

you

r m

outh

for

wha

t it s

houl

d be

use

dno

w, n

ot f

or p

reac

hing

.'W

hen

Joe

was

with

me,

he

did

not w

ait t

o be

invi

ted,

but

took

a c

onta

iner

and

gul

ped

dow

nas

muc

h as

he

coul

d be

fore

Som

dali

prot

este

d th

at h

ew

as d

rink

ing

as if

it w

as h

is la

st d

ay o

n ea

rth.

Mea

nwhi

le, t

he g

ame

wou

ld b

e w

arm

ing

up in

the

mai

n ro

om. '

Five

I d

o, f

ive

I do

..

. Ee,

pop

! E

e, s

ixth

ree!

' we

.wou

ld h

ear

them

sin

ging

out

with

gre

atgu

sto.

On

that

eve

ning

the

stov

e w

ould

bur

n its

elf

to a

shes

with

no

one

tend

ing

it. F

rida

ys th

ey d

id n

otdi

ne to

geth

er. E

very

one

ate

an a

lmos

t sub

stan

tial

mea

l in

one

of th

e ci

ty `

ches

anya

mas

' and

ret

urne

dto

the

host

el r

eple

te. O

ld K

huzw

ayo

neve

r re

turn

ed a

tw

eeke

nds

beca

use

of th

e bo

iste

rous

ness

, whi

chw

asto

o m

uch

for

his

aged

ner

ves.

He

slep

t in

the

sky

slum

s on

the

roof

of

the

Gol

den

City

. Whe

nw

efe

lt th

at th

e ga

me

was

hot

eno

ugh,

we

wen

t in

for

the

gam

bit.

Som

etim

es w

ew

on a

nd a

t oth

er ti

mes

we

lost

, but

mos

tly w

e lo

st. T

he f

oolis

h lo

st th

eir

who

le p

ay e

nvel

opes

ther

e an

d it

was

suc

h a

pity

tow

atch

them

beg

ging

to 'b

e ad

vanc

edm

ore

mon

ey,

only

to lo

se th

at a

s w

ell.

Dep

endi

ng o

n th

e am

ount

of

mon

ey in

volv

ed, i

t was

pos

sibl

e fo

r th

e ga

me

to la

stth

e w

hole

nig

ht. T

he w

inne

rs n

ever

hun

g ar

ound

the

200

TO

KIL

L A

MA

N'S

PR

IDE

gam

e lo

ng, b

ut w

ent o

ff to

dri

nk th

eir

crum

pled

scoo

ps in

one

of

the

coun

tless

hau

nts

of v

ice.

Whe

nyo

u ar

e po

orth

ere

is n

o fo

rm o

f en

tert

ainm

ent t

hat

you

can

affo

rd to

dro

wn

your

mis

fort

unes

in b

esid

esov

er-i

ndul

genc

e of

one

kin

dor

ano

ther

.A

t Mso

mi's

you

got

eve

ryth

ing:

cig

aret

tes,

dagg

a,an

y co

ncoc

tion

you

wan

ted,

and

the

prof

ligat

ew

omen

who

se s

ole

sour

ce o

f in

com

ew

as p

eddl

ing

them

selv

es to

the

fam

ishe

d ho

stel

men

. The

latte

rw

ere

only

too

eage

r to

par

t with

a li

ttle

hard

-ear

ned

cash

for

the

com

pany

of

anyt

hing

in s

kirt

s, n

o m

atte

rw

hat s

he w

as li

ke. M

som

i'str

affi

c in

vic

ew

asbo

omin

g an

d th

ere

was

no

fear

of

inte

rfer

ence

fro

mth

e po

lice,

any

sig

n of

who

m in

the

host

el in

voke

dam

ong

the

inha

bita

nts

a pr

imor

dial

blo

odlu

st.

Ston

ing

and

hack

ing

to d

eath

of

`sel

lout

intr

uder

s', a

s th

eyre

ferr

ed to

them

, occ

urre

d fr

omtim

e to

tim

e.W

hen

it go

t lat

e I

wen

t hom

eor

som

ewhe

re e

lse

in th

e lo

catio

n. T

he d

iffe

renc

ew

as s

trik

ing.

In

the

loca

tion

the

pres

ence

of

wom

enfo

lkan

d ch

ildre

nco

ntri

bute

d a

cert

ain

amou

nt o

fw

arm

th a

nd a

rea

son

for

livin

g; a

man

's d

elig

ht is

a lo

ving

wom

an a

ndgr

owin

g ch

ildre

n.Sa

turd

ay m

orni

ng w

as a

lway

sa

drab

spe

ctac

le.

Man

y w

oke

up w

itha

who

le d

ay to

them

selv

es.

Bef

ore

the

beer

hall

was

des

troy

ed, e

very

body

sw

arm

edth

ere

to s

ink

wha

t had

rem

aine

dof

thei

r Fr

iday

earn

ings

in b

eer.

The

rew

as n

othi

ng e

lse

they

cou

lddo

. Whe

n th

e ba

r w

ent-

up in

fla

mes

the

Mso

mis

saw

a ch

ance

to g

o in

to b

usin

ess

supp

lyin

g th

eir

host

elm

ates

with

deb

auch

ery.

How

ever

,ev

en b

efor

e th

at, a

sso

on a

s th

e su

n su

rfac

ed in

the

east

on

Satu

rday

s,ev

eryb

ody

cam

e ou

t of

thei

r la

irs

to s

oak

up th

e m

ildm

orni

ng b

eam

s. T

hey

mad

em

e th

ink

of a

pla

gue-

stri

cken

con

cent

ratio

nca

mp

alth

ough

I h

ad n

ever

see

nkr

"6

0

TO

KIL

L A

MA

N'S

PR

IDE

201

one.

Tha

t is

why

whe

n I

lear

nt o

f A

usch

witz

, the

Naz

i cam

p in

Pol

and,

I s

impl

y du

bbed

the

host

el `

our

Aus

chw

itz'.

Gri

m-l

ooki

ng m

en s

at o

r st

ood

agai

nst

the

wal

l dri

nkin

g fr

om ti

ns a

t eve

ry h

ouse

. Som

e di

dth

eir

was

hing

at t

he tr

ough

s an

d ot

hers

clu

ster

edto

geth

er p

layi

ng d

ice.

Doo

r-to

-doo

r m

erch

ants

had

thei

r co

lour

ful g

oods

dra

ped

over

thei

r sh

ould

ers

and

arm

s w

ith th

e re

st o

f th

eir

stoc

ks in

bul

ging

pap

erba

gs. T

he c

loth

ing

they

sol

d ra

nged

fro

m m

en's

und

er-

wea

r to

ove

rcoa

ts, a

nd e

ven

fem

ale

garm

ents

whi

chw

ere

boug

ht a

nd lo

cked

aw

ay u

ntil

such

tim

e as

the

buye

r to

ok th

em h

ome

to p

rese

nt to

his

fam

ily.

The

str

eet v

endo

rs w

ould

be

prep

arin

g th

eir

mak

e-sh

ift s

hops

to s

tart

sel

ling

ever

ythi

ng f

rom

she

epen

trai

ls to

chi

cken

pie

ces

that

hum

med

with

gree

nfl

ies,

whi

le th

e ri

b-ca

ges

of m

ongr

els

kept

them

selv

esat

a s

afe

saliv

atin

g di

stan

ce. A

s th

e da

y go

t old

er, t

hete

mpo

wou

ld in

crea

se to

a f

ast d

runk

en f

renz

y un

tilth

e ni

ght c

ame

to c

over

it a

ll up

.T

hen,

on

Sund

ay, a

sle

epin

g so

cial

con

scio

usne

ss,

unde

rlin

ed b

y a

stro

ng tr

aditi

onal

incl

inat

ion,

sho

wed

itsel

f. T

he m

en d

rank

toge

ther

acc

ordi

ngto

thei

rpl

aces

of

orig

in. D

on't

mis

take

this

for

a re

flec

tion

oftr

ibal

ism

. It w

as o

nly

thei

r re

colle

ctio

n of

how

they

used

to s

pend

thei

r Su

nday

s in

the

diff

eren

t cou

ntry

area

s th

ey c

ame

from

not n

eces

sari

ly S

unda

ys, b

utth

ose

days

that

wer

e tr

aditi

onal

ly s

et a

side

for

soc

ial

gath

erin

gs w

here

the

youn

g an

d ni

mbl

e en

tert

aine

dth

eir

elde

rs w

ith d

ance

s to

the

soun

d of

tom

-tom

san

d so

ngs

whi

chw

ere

sung

by

the

grea

t-gr

andf

athe

rsan

d ha

nded

dow

n fr

om f

athe

r to

son.

Sund

ay m

orni

ng w

as n

o di

ffer

ent f

rom

a Sa

turd

ayex

cept

that

you

cou

ld s

ee th

at s

omet

hing

impo

rtan

tw

as b

eing

pre

pare

d fo

r. T

he f

ew c

onve

rts

wor

e th

eir

`Zio

nist

' uni

form

s of

blu

e on

sno

w-w

hite

and

clu

tch-

el 7

202

TO

.KIL

L A

MA

N'S

PR

IDE

ed th

eir

staf

fs a

nd b

ible

s to

join

oth

erw

orsh

ippe

rs in

the

loca

tions

. Gro

ups

of d

ance

rs w

eari

ngdi

stin

ctiv

ega

rb le

ft th

e ho

stel

sin

ging

, whi

stlin

g,w

avin

g th

eir

danc

ing

stic

ks ,a

nd p

ausi

ng a

tev

ery

busy

str

eet c

orne

rto

trea

t the

loca

tion

peop

le to

som

e da

ncin

g an

dsi

ngin

g. T

he d

isap

poin

ting

part

was

that

man

y lo

catio

npe

ople

reg

arde

d it

as b

ackw

ardn

ess.

'You

'll n

ever

see

whi

tes

doin

g su

ch th

ings

whe

reth

ey s

tay,

' the

yw

ould

say

. Why

sho

uld

the

whi

tes

do th

em?

Mos

they

're n

ot b

lack

like

Iam

. And

who

told

you

that

your

whi

tes

are

the

mea

suri

ng s

tand

ard

of r

ight

and

wro

ng?

I w

ante

d to

ask

the

criti

csbu

t cho

se n

ot to

beca

use

I kn

ew th

eir

min

dsha

d be

en s

tole

n fr

omth

em in

ord

er to

'civ

ilize

' the

m.

Oth

er g

roup

s ca

me

from

oth

er h

oste

ls to

ours

in th

e sa

me

fash

ion,

thei

rso

rrow

s fo

rgot

ten

for

a w

hile

.A

t tw

o in

the

afte

rnoo

n, a

fter

pre

pari

ngth

emse

lves

,th

e gr

oups

wen

t out

to th

e`m

arke

t-pl

ace'

(an

ope

nsp

ace

near

whe

re th

e be

erha

ll us

ed to

be

and

whe

rem

ost o

f th

e ve

ndor

s so

ld th

eir

asso

rtm

ents

of

good

s).

The

fir

st s

ound

of

the

tom

-tom

and

the

flut

es o

f th

ePe

dis

brou

ght p

eopl

e to

wat

chfr

om a

ll co

rner

s of

the

host

el.

The

baP

edi f

orm

eda

line

and

sway

ed g

race

fully

from

sid

e to

sid

e, b

low

ing

thei

rfl

utes

in ty

pica

lfa

shio

n w

hile

oth

ers

play

ed th

edr

ums

of d

imin

ishi

ngsi

ze, t

he b

igge

st o

f th

em m

ade

out o

f pa

raff

in d

rum

san

d th

e sm

alle

st th

e si

ze o

f a g

allo

n of

pai

nt.

A m

ost e

xciti

ng e

nter

tain

men

tw

as p

rovi

ded

by th

efo

ot -

sto

mpi

ng. Z

ulus

. The

y dr

esse

din

trad

ition

al a

ttire

and

danc

ed to

the

soun

dof

a s

ingl

e dr

um w

itham

azin

g rh

ythm

. The

y sa

tor

kne

lt in

for

mat

ions

of

four

, fiv

e or

six

, acc

ordi

ngto

the

size

of

the

com

petin

ggr

oups

, cla

ppin

g ha

nds

in u

niso

n w

ith th

e dr

uman

dsi

ngin

g or

hum

min

g in

hig

h sp

irits

. The

y ke

pt th

em-

48

TO

KIL

L A

MA

N'S

PR

IDE

203

selv

es g

oing

with

long

dra

ught

s fr

om a

big

bla

ck c

lay

vess

el w

hich

-was

ref

illed

fro

m la

rge

plas

tic c

onta

iner

s.T

he c

ompe

titor

s to

ok th

e 's

tage

' lik

e w

aves

, tho

se in

fron

t vig

orou

sly

stom

ping

the

grou

nd w

ith th

eir

tyre

sand

als

until

you

thou

ght y

ou c

ould

fee

l it v

ibra

ting.

The

ir f

eet r

ose

abov

e th

eir

head

s an

d ca

me

dow

nth

unde

rous

ly. E

ndur

ance

and

phy

sica

l fitn

ess

is b

asic

to th

e A

fric

an 'b

alle

t', a

nd a

wea

klin

g do

es n

ot w

aste

his

time

goin

g on

the

stag

e. A

s I

say,

the

danc

ew

aspe

rfor

med

with

sup

erb

rhyt

hm. I

fyo

u m

isse

d a

step

you

wer

e pe

naliz

ed b

y ha

ving

to le

ave

the

stag

e to

awai

t you

r pa

rtne

rs, a

nd y

our

grou

p lo

st p

oint

s fo

rth

at.

The

dru

m, t

he c

lapp

ing

hand

s, th

e's

ongs

, sho

uts

of`U

suth

u!' a

nd th

e ri

sing

and

fal

ling

legs

wen

t on

and

on, t

he m

uscu

lar

and

wir

y bl

ack

bodi

es g

liste

ning

with

sw

eat u

ntil

suns

et, '

whe

n th

esu

n w

ould

lie

onM

eado

wla

nds

like

a gl

owin

g ha

lf-c

ircl

e, a

nd th

e sm

oke

from

the

chim

neys

wou

ld b

lank

et th

e sl

umbe

ring

Sow

eto.

I? 9

"To Ki illi A Man's ?ride - Study Questio s and Act-Miles

1. This story is told from the point of view of the narrator, Mtutu, who has a very different lifefrom his friend,Somdali. Rewrite the narrative from the point-of-view of Somdali, makingsure to include descriptive details that create a strong picture of what his life is like.

2. Construct a chronology of events Mtutu had to go through in order to secure a full-time, paidjob. You may choose to incorporate illustrations to accompany your narrative.

3. Mtutu more than once in the story compares the conditions in the hostels to the conditions inthe concentration camps at Auschwitz. Do you feels this is a legitimate comparison? Why orwhy not? Support your opinion by alluding to Mtutus descriptions of the conditions in thehostel and from your knowledge of the camps.

4. The story's title is illustrated throughout the story with accounts of the indignities the menwere subjected to every day of their lives. Using the cause and effect diagram connect theseindignities to the apartheid laws which caused them to exist. (Hint: use your portfolioreferences to help you make the connections)

LAW (CAUSE) EFFECT ON THE MEN

The Act of Union

The Land Act

Group Areas Act

Bantu Education Act

Pass Laws

5. The men find relief from their difficult lives by playing and listening to listening mbaqanga.On occasion they also get to watch the Zulu dancing competitions. Using one of your musictapes from the portfolio listen to the music (check out a tape player from the listening center)How does the music make you feel? Describe the instruments you hear. What about thismusic would cheer the men up? Using this information provide a definition of mbaqanga.

50

SEVEN STEPS TO DEMOCRACY - STUDY GU E

One of the factors contributing to the success of peaceful transition in South Africa was thecommitment to negotiation between key players in DeKlerk's government and the ANC. Thesenegotiations came as a result of organized resistance in the form of boycotts, work-stoppages,and international pressure. Beginning in 1987 Nelson Mandela met with the apartheidgovernment representatives in his prison cell. These talks would begin a series of furtherdiscussions which finally resulted in action by the DeKlerk government. The ANC wasunbanned in 1990, and with this gesture the ANC gave up the tactics of armed struggle in favorof discussions and negotiation.

The representaives agreed on basic terms which included an open election where all citizenscould vote, as well as the writing and adapting of a new Constitution which would guarantee therights of all South Africans. This process is examined more closely in this pamphlet included inthe student portfolio.

Using this pamphlet and classroom resources complete the following questions/activities.

Activities

1. What groups were involved in the multiparty talks ?

2. What activities were initiated in order to educate and mobilize potential voters.

3. Describe the type of safeguards that were implemented to insure that the ruling partycomplied with the changes mandated by the elction. (Remember: the ruling party stillcontrolled the army, as well as the executive and legislative branches of government).

4. Explain why the new government was called the Government of National Unity? Also explainwhy this structure did not last.

Acitivity - Imagine that your group is entrusted with writing the Constitution for the New SouthAfrica. What freedoms and provisions would you insure are included. You may usethe U.S. Constitution as well as the United Nations' Universal Declaration of HumanRights to help provoke ideas. Remember you represent the people and their

51

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The portfolio contains several examples of traditional and contemporary art in several mediums.There are postcards of Zulu and Xhosa beadwork, of both traditional and more contemporarydesigns. There are examples of woodcuts using traditional tribal motifs. Included also arepictures of Ndebele geometric painted houses, with their startling colors and beauty.

Contemporary art in South Africa can be as diverse as the people who create it. Compare andcontrast the protest art of murals and posters with the telephone wire basket made by settlers at asquatters camp just outside of Durban. Each piece is uniquely rich with a story that conveysmeaning, yet each is very distinct in how it speaks a story.

Many traditional people infuse everyday objects with artistry and craftsmanship. Try theseprojects with your group.

Activities

Zulu love letters

There is a lovely history behind this unique form of correspondence. As you know, one of theeffects of apartheid was to separate men from their families and friends. In "To Kill A Man'sPride" Somdali tells his friend Mtutu how much his heart aches to be away from home. The onlyway families could communicate with loved ones was through writing. Many families, eitherbecause they could not afford the postage, or because they did not write, would send messagesthrough men who would come to the villages briefly and return to the gold mines or where theywere employed. Some brought back an ingenious "letter", consisting of colored beads strungtogether, with each color of bead symbolic of a feeling or idea. Red was passion, while greenwas jealousy, black meant anger, while white was peace or comfort. Depending on the patternand color a letter could say "Come home soon, miss you" or say "You are my friend".

You will colored beads, fishing wire, and a large safety pin. Using the model "write" your ownZulu letter to a friend or loved one.

Traditional Designs

You may choose to do woodcuts using a potato instead of the wood to cut out your design.Another option is to cut out a template from the designs provided in your portfolio. Once you dothis either brush the tempera on the potato or over your potato. Regardless of which you use youmay print your design on the paper or on the cotton cloth provided. Many of the traditional printsare white on black, but you may be as creative as you choose.

54

Art of Protest and Change 1Pg.2

Art can be a wonderful vehicle to draw attention to a social ill that a nation or community mustcome to grips with. It can express anger a wrong that must be made right, and it can also expressa hope for the future. The Art of Apartheid, the photographs of the conditions in Soweto's shantytowns, the women's march posters all carry a strong, loud message, although no words arespoken. In our own culture we have the powerful message of the Aids Quilt which stirs deepemotions in those who see it.Choose a theme, idea, or message you would like to convey. For some of us it may be the issueof homelessness, child abuse, the anti-immigrant backlash, or the thread of racism that still lurksin our own society. Once your group has settled on an issue, choose whether you will use aphoto collage or an acrylic painting. Plan out your design or ideas on paper before starting yourproject. Remember, your painting/photos will convey your message to your audience.

Interpreting a Painting

Carefully look at Valente Ngwenya Malangatana's painting titled Apartheid

1. Who are the figures in the painting meant to represent?

2. Interpret the symbolic meaning of the talons and the fish.

3. Why do you think the painter chose the color red? Why does he bring in a small amount ofgreen into the top left corner?

4. On a separate 8x10 card provide a short narrative that discusses the meaning of your ownartwork. List the group member's names (or you name if you chose to work alone), the title ofyou piece, the year it was created, and the medium you used ( ex. Acrylic on canvas). Afterthis information write your narrative.

ZIA

Valente Ngwenya MalangatanaBorn: Mozambique, 1936Apartheid, 1982oil on canvas123 x 102 cm

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In 1955 the governmentannounced that womenmust carry passes. A hugecampaign was mountedby women, countrywide.Women also led a militantcampaign against munici-pal beerhalls. According tothe law it was illegal forwomen to brew traditionalbeer. Police raided homesand destroyed homebrewed liquor so that menwould use municipal beer-halls. In response, womenattacked the beerhalls anddestroyed equipment andbuildings. The women alsoorganised a highly success-ful boycott of the beerhalls.

The highpoint of the women's campaign against passes was themarch on the Union Buildings in Pretoria by 20,000 women. Theirmessage was clear.' Wathint abafazi, wathint imbokodo. Uzokufa! (Youhave struck the women, You have struck a rock. You will be crushed!)

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