Dust of the Zulu

"Studies of African performance remain far too few; this one sets a very high bar. Essential." -- A. F. Roberts * Choice * "Crackling with energy and erudition, Dust of the Zulu now vivifies ngoma for the academy." -- Benedict Carton * Journal of Modern African Studies * "Louis Meintjes's Dust of the Zulu leaps out at the reader with the same energy and passion as the Ngoma dancers themselves. It is uncanny how deftly Meintjes captures the vibrancy and rhythm of the performers and performances in her writing, and T.J. Lemon's photos are the perfect complement to the descriptions of harmonized bodies and voices." -- Aran Mackinnon * African Studies Quarterly * "Meintjes's fluid ethnographic writing melds analytical precision with a depth of cultural insight gained through long immersion. The book's dialectical force is sustained by the richness and intimacy of Meintjes's collaborations. Zulu voices saturate the book's textures. . . . The prose itself is beautifully wrought. . . . Replete with revelations that are by turns tremendously moving, frightening, disconcerting, and inspiring." -- Thomas M. Pooley * Anthropos * "We travel with Meintjes as she recounts individual narratives of Zulu men maintaining dignity amidst wavering stability in wage-labor, health, and the inconsistent machinations of the international music industry. The humanity, fragility, and mutual constitution of strength through aesthetics is expertly handled in this new classic in the genre of performative ethnography." -- Elizabeth Perrill * International Journal of African Historical Studies * "Louise Meintjes's book provides a captivating introduction to the vibrant and dramatic spirit of this Southern African art form. . . . Dust of the Zulu contributes to the ever-growing literature on indigenous African theatre and performance; its strength is the author's captivating descriptions of the dance and the drama of the competitions." -- Osita Okagbue * Theatre Research International * "Dust of the Zulu is a significant contribution to the scholarship of South African music and Zulu ngoma more specifically. The book will be very useful for students and scholars in the fields of ethnomusicology, anthropology, cultural studies, and African studies. It demonstrates the author's deep and wide knowledge of Zulu ngoma and her mastery of the art of ethnography writing and is strongly recommended for anyone interested in learning this art. Indeed, whereas Meintjes praises Clegg for successfully translating ngoma into terms that are intelligible within the global popular-music circles, she and the photographer T. J. Lemon should be praised for magnificently translating ngoma in terms that are legible within music and cultural scholarly circles." -- Imani Sanga * Notes * "Visceral and immediate. . . . [Meintjes] makes us hear an alternative to mainstream ethnography by leaving it unspoken. She's dancing in the scholar's world." -- Barbara Titus * Ethnomusicology *

Louise Meintjes is Associate Professor of Music and Cultural Anthropology at Duke University and the author of Sound of Africa! Making Music Zulu in a South African Studio, also published by Duke University Press. TJ Lemon is an award-winning photojournalist based in Johannesburg.

Preface ix Acknowledgments xi Introduction. The Politics of Participation in Ngoma Song and Dance 1 1. Turning to Be Kissed: Praise, Flirtation, and the Work of Men 28 2. The Unwavering Voice: Affect, Eloquence, and the Moral Anger of Men 62 3. Feet of the Centipede: Military Aesthetics and the Politics of Reconciliation 94 4. To Quell the Dancer's Dust: Singing Violence during South Africa's Transition 124 5. The Crossing: World Music and Ngoma at Home 151 6. Dancing Around Disease: Silence, Ambiguity, and Brotherhood 182 7. The Digital Homestead: Having a Voice and the Sound of Marginalization 210 8. Brokering the Body: Culture, Heritage, and the Pleasure of Participation 240 Closing. Ngoma's Masculinity, South Africa's Struggle 266 Notes 273 References 307 Index 329