Mbali Mandy Ngube
Growing up in a township, I had the inevitable opportunity to witness and live in the era of a popular dance culture that took the world by storm. It is important that I note that I also wished to have participated in this, but having strict parents somehow saved me as I would have taken it a little too far.
The streets would be painted with a lot of colour, fashion, class, money and you would never guess what else… custard. Izikhothane were everywhere in the year 2012 , that for me was the year of self discovery.
Izikhothane or Skhothane is a subculture rank of wealth and a display of fashion statement. The term Skhothane is local terminology for hustlers according to , the word itself is from the Isizulu language word “ukukhothana” which means to lick each other. According to fellow people in the Zulu culture we seemingly understand why the term Skhothane comes from this word. Uskhotheni, which in isiZulu refers to a misbehaving adolescent with homelessness undertones, is the most similar in terms of meaning. ‘Ubukhotheni’ then refers to a way of life in which anyone who shows such behavior may be accused of being ‘uskhotheni’ or living in such a manner . This as a result makes calling Izikhothane as oskhotheni and their behaviour as ubukhotheni quite common, because it implies that the young people participating in being izikhothane are essentially untidy and do not have manners
Background
Crews in townships around the year 2012 in the East Rand would meet in parks, where gatherings or parties would happen and compete in dance off challenges wearing designer shirts, Italian made shoes, bucket hats and carrying either Ultramel custard or Johnnie Walker Blue label bottles. Some of the most well-known labels include Carvela, Sfarzo couture jeans, Nike, Adidas, and Versace. The skhothane became a symbol for this. The goods, interests, trends, and activities were all focused on one overarching belief: “Look at me; I can have it.”
Izikhothane as an active concept has reshaped the way in which new trends or subcultures in the townships are introduced and what purpose they serve. The difference between izikhothane and amabujwa (which is where the dance styles of izikhothane is derived from) as kasi street style is that amabujwa or isibujwa was more about fashion and dance as a statement not a competition.
Sbujwa is a subculture of Pantsula that is characterized as a dance in which every muscle in your body must engage in order to perform moves according to an article in The Guardian (2012). Pantsula is a depiction of the black identity from townships using dance, movement and music. It appears to be a tap-and-slide dance with flat feet. Pantsula-dance is heavily influenced by tap-dance and incorporates a wide range of completely conflicting influences. A dance that involves elements of South African dances, specifically mime and pace, it brings together a set of movements derived from modern African-American urban dances, as well as clowning, contortion, acrobatics, and magic tricks
The street serves as the primary source of inspiration for the pantsula movements: scenes from daily life are translated into dance, and the majority of the movements depict ordinary, everyday gestures that refer to a specific situation. The township uprisings in South Africa during the 1970s were significant. These movements were led by a generation whose parents had been removed from their homes and who grew up in the new township context.
The first set of questions to ask is:
- Why do the youth feel the need to show off to each other
- Why show off in this manner
- What purpose does it fulfil?
These questions may be answered by referencing the historical aspects related to the race in which izikhothane are from and with that we are practising observation as philosophy makes us. Black people historically have always been disadvantaged, and we see this in the apartheid regime where they were segregated and left in poverty. Their ‘salvation’ comes in the form of a black president which and this pushes them to want to imitate wealth, being well off and of higher class by means of showing off.
Components
The components that create this concept of izikhothane are, poverty, peer pressure, ego/masculinity. Poverty, as stated above is a historical contribution to the way in which black people, especially the youth, circle their life’s purpose. The idea is to make others feel less of themselves by the way they present their supposed wealth. What the parents regard as a way of living and sustaining themselves, their children regard as a means of competition.
Peer pressure links directly with poverty. Some of the people who participate in ubukhothane are just doing it because a friend is doing it, disregarding their families situation. Granted, some of them come from well established homes and can afford to do the lavish and extravagant things needed to compete, but majority according to Langa Richards come from the poorest of homes, leading to crime being the only way to participate and maintain status constantly and consistently.
With these two mentioned then comes ego. Ego as a concept on its own stems from a lot of things, some may argue that it is an act of preserving embarrassment or shielding low confidence/self-esteem. In the context we are discussing, this concept is a part of the mobilization of meaning and the discovery of a feeling of purpose and worth amid a disorienting and debilitating post-apartheid urban environment whose built form is equally empty of significance and haphazardly thrown together. The feeling of pride when one teams defeats another is what propels the ego to want to do more.
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