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Essences of presence in the construction of identity

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 Southern African Journal for Folklore Studies Vol. 21 (1) July 2011

Essences of presence in the construction of identity

Mashudu C Mashige
Department of Applied Languages
Tshwane University of Technology (Soshanguve South Campus)
Private Bag X680
PRETORIA
0001
E-mail: mashigemc@tut.ac.za
Abstract
This article scrutinizes the role of, and abiding significance of, totems in the expression of
individual and cultural identity, by examining the various trajectories and nuances central to
identity and identity formation. Predicated on African humanism, as a lived experience and
philosophy of human interaction, the article further hopes to vividly evoke a socio-cultural
consciousness and a non-essentialist pride hitherto ‘silenced’ by hegemonic cultural discourses
inherent in both colonialism and apartheid, by exposing the role and cultural relevance of totems in
reasserting and articulating an ‘othered’ identity, an identity that has, over the years, been
subjected to malicious diminution. It is hoped that the employment of the psycho-social, spiritual-
cultural approach to the discussion will help in determining the usefulness of totems as tools for
self-definition and a relevant vehicle towards signification and the affirmation of regenerated
forms of individual and national identities.

Introduction
Celebrated Ghanaian writer Ayi Kwei Armah once opined that a people who are bereft of
their origins are dead while a people who are deaf to purpose are lost. This assertion,
paraphrased as it is, has far reaching implications towards understanding the centrality of
totems in the articulation of both individual and cultural identities, more especially within
the current context of a globaliz(ed)ing world. The question one may posit, from the onset,
is how apposite Armah’s assertion is to an article that purports to (re) examine a
constituent part of identity that has, to a large measure, been relegated to the periphery of
cultural curiosity, at worst, or esoteric expression, at best. Accordant with the foregoing
question would be a concomitant desire to determine the symbolic intertextuality of
totems and identity. However, anecdotal evidence suggests that “the ordinary” needs to be
“rediscovered” (Ndebele, 1991:55) if society is to find a heightened understanding of the
essence and continuing relevance of totems in the construction and articulation of identity
as truths tend to be deceptively couched in ordinariness. In fact, the “ordinary” become so
simple that human beings tend to lose the cultural and aesthetic significance thereof. In the
quest for renewal and the need to foreground African epistemologies towards the
construction and articulation of identities, more especially within the context of the desire
for self-definition that is predicated on a highly charged discursive space of a globalizing
discourse that is insidiously hegemonic, the expression of African cultural identities
continues to be imbrued by such discourses that seek to “otherise” everything African
within a praxis whose purport is the diminution of African world views and expressions. It

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is against this background that this article seeks to examine the theoretical concerns
underlying the global desire and “quest’ for such diminution and then, later on, attempt to
evaluate the contextual and cultural significance of totems - the essence of both individual
and collective presences - in the construction and articulation of identities within the
broader ambit of global discourse.

Cognizant of the debilitative effects of essentialist constructs that have continued to imbrue
global attempts at defining the construction and articulation of identities, (Mashige,2004)
acknowledging the trajectories that inhere in the social need for identity and identification,
this article hopes to shed more light on the need for Africans to inaugurate a socio-cultural
movement or process the aim of which is the expression and validation of identity
formation and identification within a very specific context of African cultural expression.
One is also mindful of the proscriptive quality inherent within attempts to define and
defend concept(ion)s within frameworks that are generally inhabited by contradictions
and discursive binaries. It is herby anticipated this research article shall avoid such
essentialisms in the desire to highlight the need for cultural and spiritual expression in the
context of Africa’s renewal.

The rise of Europe

The emergence of Europe as an economic and political powerhouse in the eighteenth and
nineteenth centuries brought with it that continent’s need to expand further by venturing
toward Africa and other continents in the quest to create colonies for the benefit of Europe
(Rodney, 1983). In this “adventurous” process of conquest, the conflict between the
conqueror and the conquered shifted from the political terrain to the “battlefield” of
identity and cultural expression of the vanquished. In their quest to impose their fetishized
notions of a unipolar world peopled by Europeans as the “self” and the colonized as the
“other”, and in their mistaken belief that unity equaled sameness, colonial powers adopted
a vicious pyscho-physical campaign, towards the denigration of everything African and
branding same as barbaric, in their quest for the ultimate diminution of the identity,
artifacts, totems and other forms of cultural expressions of the colonized. Discursive
constructs that characterized this period were extremely imbrued with a deep and
deliberate sense of malicious othering aimed at the total erasure of any semblance of
cultural and contextual self-expression amongst the colonized. The advent of postcolonial
discourse in the fields of sociology, cultural studies and other fields of study opened up
space for a new desire amongst the colonized to (re) inaugurate the expression of their
sense of identity on their own terms (Mashige, 2004), taking into cognizance the various
cultural, regional and spiritual identity markers that the colonizers had used as
instruments of dividing Africa, in particular, along tribal lines. Through the brutal conquest
of the colonized and / or oppressed societies an identity, which tended to shift in
accordance with each given historical moment and context, was imposed. Cognizant of the
need to (re)construct, (re)assert and articulate their own cultural identities as sine qua non
to full participation within a “globaliz(ing)ed” world, African societies, in particular, have

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begun to live out the idiom crisply encapsulated in the Ibo expression a la Things Fall Apart
that the birds have had to learn “flying without perching since the hunters have learnt to
shoot without missing” (Achebe, 1958). Decontextualised, the foregoing assertions may
appear to be no more than a romanticizing the past and a hankering for the Africa of yore.
But a closer examination thereof reveals the need to examine how African societies
articulated their identities through names, totems, rituals and ceremony as forms of
cultural expressions that distinguished one group from the other. This, to a very large
extent, has to be seen within the broader framework for the need for self-definition, self-
history and self-knowledge, prerequisites for the construction and articulation of a more
cogent and humane society that focuses on mutual co-existence with, and a symbiotic
benefit from, the flora and fauna that are essential components of the universe. It is against
this background that this article examines the role of totems and culture in the expression
of African identity towards the ultimately renewal and revival of the African continent.

Of totems

It has to be emphatically stated, from the onset, that totems are not peculiar only to African
societies. As a matter of fact, they are an essential component of human existence.
Throughout the history of the existence of the human race, totems have been used
variously as means to connect human beings to both the animal and plant worlds, in an
intricately interwoven process that provides evidence of the mutual interdependence of
living organisms within the cosmos. Many cultural

“entities hold the firm view that human beings can work in cooperation with
spirits in the animal kingdom as well as with the plant kingdom, not only for
healing and curative purposes but also towards gaining wisdom and insight to
a better understanding of the universe and its interacting dynamics.
Mythologies claim that certain tribes originated from animal spirit beings, and
thus the tribes continue to honour their totems or ancient ancestors, even
today. Healers in various societies have sacred dreams through totemic links
in which their animal spirit allies give them information to help in the healing
of their patients” (http://www./Totems.definition.culture.meaning.)

An examination of the cultural context of clan nomenclature, totems, and the relationship
between human and animal world in the construction and articulation of cultural identity
will thus be central to this article. This nomenclature, which was negatively employed by
colonialists to impose a false and diminuted identity on the African, in the light of the
preponderance of a deeply hegemonic western epistemology that sought to suppress all
other epistemologies in the name of “science” (Seepe & Dowling, 2000), has serious
implications and far-reaching ramifications for the expression of the “self” of those on
whom the diminution was directed. A critical reflection on the cultural significance, as well
as social relevance, of said nomenclature reveals that such practices were meant to be part
of the process of imposing an ‘othered’ identity the purpose of which was surreptitiously to

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undermine and marginalize the cultural identities of the oppressed and thus, not only
impose within the oppressed a deep sense of mental inferiority but also to emasculate
them beyond self-recognition or to the point where they (the oppressed) appropriate a
framework of reference that is psychological self-defeating. To this end, it is herein argued
that the call for Africa’s renewal, renaissance, or rebirth may be stillborn or remain void
and lacking vis-a-vis its relevance and significance if it does not catalyze an evolutionary
process to revisit, reassert and reclaim the dignity and identity of the African. It further
argues that the renewal and rejuvenation of African culture and identities should start with
a deliberate process of reversing the alienation that has been central to colonialist
discourses. Such a process should start with the re-examination of the role played by
totems towards the expression of an individual’s sense of cultural identity and (re)locating
the space that clans and communities occupy within Africa’s cosmology. It is only through
the concerted efforts of the struggle for the emancipation of Africa that a new sense of
almost vocational commitment can emerge to dispel insidious misrepresentations of Africa
and the Africans in a quest to reclaim dialogical space in the struggle for both political and
cultural renewal. Part of this process should include exposing the lie in the “truth” that,
before its colonisation, Africa had no civilisation, culture, knowledge systems to speak of.

Definition

A totem can be defined as any natural or super-natural object, being or animal which has
personal symbolic meaning to an individual and to whose phenomena and energy one feels
closely associated with during one's life. For some tribes, totems can represent larger
groups than the individual person, and clans and tribes can have a totem. In kinship and
descent, if the apical ancestor of a clan is non human, it is called a totem. Normally this
belief is accompanied by a totem myth. Although the term is of Native American origin,
totemic beliefs are not limited to Native Americans. Similar totemism-like beliefs have been
historically found throughout much of the world, including Western Europe, Eastern
Europe, Africa, Australia and the Arctic polar region (http://www./totems.html) In modern
times, some individuals, not otherwise involved in the practice of a tribal religion, have
chosen to adopt as a personal totem an animal which has some kind of special meaning to
them. This practice was prevalent in, but not limited to, the New Age movement. Beliefs
regarding totems can vary, from merely adopting one as a whim, to adopting an animal that
a person sees representing favourable traits reflected in their own behaviour or
appearance. Other clans believe their totem literally acts as a spirit guide. Some Native
Americans and other followers of tribal religions take a dim view of New Agers’ and others’
adoption of totem animals, arguing that a non-adherents cannot truly understand totemism
apart from the cultural context, and that at worst, such an adoption represents a
commercialization of their religious beliefs even though they are cognisant that ttotems
have different meanings to different people. The meaning of each totem also, to a large
extent, depends on the (body) part of an animal or plant that is used as a totem.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Totem#North-America-totem-poles). To illustrate the
foregoing point one only has to look at the role that animals such as elephants, lions, tigers,

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baboons etc, for example, have played in the totemic identity of Africa’s various
communities.

What of culture?

In an attempt to understand totemic practices, particularly within the contexts of African

renewal it is extremely important to locate the practice within a cultural matrix because
that is where it finds resonance, symbolic significance and contextual meaning. Culture can
be defined as a symbolic system that mediates and regulates belief systems and
relationships. It can be seen as an unfinished presentation of meaning. As Homi Bhabha
contends, culture reaches out

to create a symbolic textuality, to give the alienating everyday an aura of

selfhood, a promise of pleasure. (1994: 172)

The past two decades have seen the concept of cultural identity receiving close attention
from the fields of Sociology, Psychology and Anthropological Studies. The common
denominator amongst these fields of study is the attempt to conceptualise cultural identity
and thereby provide an analytical frame of reference within which individuals and societies
can define themselves. Accordingly, it is important also to pay attention to the role of
colonialism in the construction of cultural identity. As Raditlhalo cogently argues,

colonialism caused so many distortions in the history of African societies that

[these] contemporary societies cannot divest themselves of foundations of
inequality by attempting to avoid the unpalatable past…[C]olonialism worked
primarily on the process of a constructed “Other” to differentiate its victims
from Us, that is, through a process of differentiation and thus identification.
(2002: 38)

It is against the foregoing background that calls made by African scholars and intellectuals
such as Ngugi wa Thiong’o for a “return to the roots” (1992) need to be seen The
implication of this return includes the total rejection of any traces of colonial culture and
traditions in the quest to forge what wa Thiong’o calls an authentic African cultural
regeneration, national pride and dignity. Instead of accommodating difference as a starting
point towards the forging of a new culture, wa Thiong’o sees culture and identity within the
binary construct of the coloniser and the colonised, the oppressed and the oppressor, the
self and the other.

Culture encompasses, on the one hand, what and how some people do or feel about certain
issues (as opposed to those who may not feel or do anything about the same things). This is
what is termed culture’s particularistic point of reference (Wallerstein, 1991). On the other
hand there is the recognition that cultural values and practices are validated when
predicated against a universalistic matrix. Within this context, Wallerstein further warns

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against the essentialisation of the values and practices of particular groups as this may lead
to “an absolutely paralyzing cultural relativism (since the argument would hold equally for
any other group’s values and / or practices) or to an absolutely murderous xenophobia
(since no other group’s values and / or practices could be good and therefore could be
tolerated)” (92). These assertions suggest that culture should never be thought of in terms
of absolute diversity. Instead, diversity should include a certain correlation “between
cultures”, what Bhabha calls “culture’s in-between” (1996: 53). The “in-between-ness” of
culture has to be seen as important in the articulation of identity.

Identity

This research paper moves from the premise that there is an interlinking relationship
between totems, culture and identity. Even within the context of South Africa’s unfolding
quest for the creation of a new national identity within the context of the continent of
Africa, issues of individual identities and culture have become the major socio-political
issues occupying centre stage in political, social, cultural and even economic discourses. In
a South Africa characterised by a diversity of languages and cultures, a country with a
history of racial tensions, political discontent and social inequalities, a country that is in the
process of constructing and articulating its identity as well as defining its role both within
the context of the African continent and within global society at large, questions of identity
and culture have become, more than ever before, as pertinent as they are contentious. At
issue is the relationship between identity and culture within the social reality of South
Africa’s diversity, and the relationship between cultural identity and racial and / or
political configurations (Mashige, 2004). Identity is constituted on the basis of shared
characteristics and symbolic representations such as languages and cultural values in
relation to other groups with different symbolic representations. Its provisional nature
makes it adaptable and amenable to markers such as black, South African, Tshivenda-
speaking and / or Setswana-speaking etc, cosmopolitan and citizen-of-the-world. Identity
arises from historically determined expedients such as culture and language in the process
of unfolding. It is about who a particular group of a people are, where they come from, what
they want to be and may ultimately become, how they are represented and how they
represent themselves. Identity is constructed within and against such a realm of
representation. It is as much about sameness as it is about difference, and concerns
processes of identification, that is, expressions of intellectual, emotional and spiritual
connection of one to the other within a relational system. As Hall rightly maintains, identity
is

constructed on the back of a recognition of some common origin or shared

characteristics with another person and / or group, or with an ideal, and with
the natural closure of solidarity and allegiance established on this foundation.
(1996a: 2)

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Kwame Anthony Appiah warns against the essentialisation of identity on the narrow basis
of sharing what he calls “a common group history” (1992: 32). In his critique of Du Bois’
conception of identity, Appiah illustrates the futility of a binary construct of racial identity
where moral and metaphysical significances are assigned to a specific racial group at the
expense of the other. The danger of adopting such an approach, Appiah further argues, lies
in the fact that it opens up a space for the appropriation of difference and elevates it almost
to a biological fetish. What one infers from the foregoing argument is that in dealing with
issues of identity, it is important to understand that differences in “language, moral
affections, aesthetic attitudes, or political ideology – those differences that most deeply
affect us in our dealing with each other” (35) are not products of biological determinism,
but should rather be seen as instances which illustrate that identities are provisional and
multifaceted. The implication of the above is that identities should not, a result of some
convenient issues of political and racial expediency, be forced upon individuals and / or
groups.

To illustrate the foregoing expostulations the Vhavenda families under the same patrilineal
line are regarded as a clan. This practice is not exclusive to the Vhavenda people, and needs
to be seen as a system of differentiation, a system that has far-reaching implications, for
example, as to whom one can get into matrimonial unity etc. As Muloiwa points out “when
a child is born, it is born into a particular sub-group which is patrilineally determined”
(1975:11) The sub-group name is called, in Tshivenda, “mutupo”. Of interest here is the fact
that the Shona people in Zimbabwe use the same concept for totems, further pointing the
relational interlink, historical connection and cross-border cultural affinity between the
Vhavenda and Shona people. In Zimbabwe totems (mitupo) have been in use among the
Shona people from the initial stages of their culture to identify the different clans that
historically made up the ancient civilizations of the dynasties that presided over the Shona
people from Great Zimbabwe. Most notably these symbols were associated with animal
names. The purpose of the totem was meant to encapsulate the unity, pride and general
aspirations of a clan and its ancestry, to protect the clan against acts that were most likely
to contaminate such a clan through, for example, anti-social tendencies and morally
reprehensible practices such as incest and so forth (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/totem).
The above example from a Shona perspective holds sway amongst many communities and
societies in Africa. For example, amongst the Vatsonga, Vhavenda, Northern Sotho,
Amandebele, Amazulu and Shona people, to mention just but a few, sexual relationships
and marriages are strictly prohibited between men and women who have the same totem
because they are seen as related. It is also important to note that clans may have the same
“mutupo” whilst they come from different geographical locations. Thus totems become a
binding mark of identity which does only serve as a mark of distinction but also as a point
of reference in terms of identification and relational bonds. Within this context the
“mutupo” becomes an allocator of identity that determines even the manner in which an
individual has to carry themselves in relation to other human beings. The provisional
nature of this type of identity has mutated to a level where some families have taken their
“mitupo” and adopted them as their surnames. While some “Mitupo” have apostrophised to

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human beings, their point of reference is generally the animal or a plant that sits at the
apex of totemic praise. The people who populate a particular sub-group, headed by one
traditional leader, have various tributaries characterised by various zwikhodo (praise
names) which narrate their lineage and connection to each clan’s totem. For example,
amongst the Vhavenda there are the Vhatavhatsindi, Vhaluadzi, Vhanyai, Vhakwevho,
Vhadau, whilst amongst the Vatsonga there are the Mkansi, Magigwana, and Baloyi etc.
Amongst the Ndebeles there will be the Nyathis, Dubes, and Ndlovus etc. And amongst the
Basotho ba Leboa there will the Tlous, Nokos, Taus, Kolobes and so on.

Totems are used, furthermore, for the social cohesion and identity of the clan as well as to
praise someone in recitation form. When, for example, a member of such a clan has done
something worthy to be praised people, usually the Makhadzi (paternal aunt) invokes the
spirit world of the clan through totemic praise as in

Vhe ri a dzhena-na Sheshe

Ha Manngo wa Ndou
Ha Lidiavhathu?
Vhe ri a dzhena-na Tshifume
Tsha ndilo ya tombo tshifume?
Vhe ri a dzhena-na Hagumbi dzindouni
Vha pfuralesa dzivha la vhembe
Vha migodini ya home?

Totems, by their very nature, are a cultural and clan reflection generally couched in a
crypto-idiomatic language that may not be easily understood by those who do not form
part of the cultural-tribal sanctum of a particular clan. This is part of the bigger picture
within which totems can be used as a means of exclusion. Consequently, it becomes
challenging to translate a totemic praise from say, Tshivenda or Xitsonga, into English or
any other language, for that matter, in a manner that will carry the same cultural force and
critical effect as the original. The following attempt is meant only to give the audience as
close a translation and / or interpretation as is possible.

They ask whether we may enter Sheshe (name of a place)

A place of Manngo of the elephants
A place of Ludiavhathu
The ask whether we may enter the place of Gumbu, the hive of
Elephants
A place coterminous with the lake Vhembe
Of those who stay in graphite mines (graphite is smeared on clay pots to give them a
shiny black finish).

As alluded to hitherto, the translated version can never carry the same effect as the original
because when such totemic praises are recited and or chanted, there are various gestures

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 Southern African Journal for Folklore Studies Vol. 21 (1) July 2011

that accompany such processes. To this end, the rendition tends to oscillate as Mashige
(2004) avers “between the oratorical, the local, the heroic and the ordinary in an attempt to
locate and articulate their [cultural] identity” (132) within a context that is deeply
inscribed with cultural nuances and performative significance. This way the totemic praises
further attain contextual significance and cultural relevance. It is further interesting to
realise that such narrative affirmations of identity are dialectically related with the realm of
experience and thus confirm what has been central to the struggle for the articulation of
cultural identity, the need to belong to a group within the broader context of identification,
the essence of any individual’s presence.

Interesting within the politics of totemic identity and African cultural expression are the
various trajectories and dimensions taken by various subgroups within a given clan, to
articulate their sense of self and to express their relational space within the cosmos vis-à-
vis other subgroups.

Ndou (The Elephant)

While the elephant, for example, is the broader totemic animal of the people who answer to
the “mutupo” of Ndou (elephant), there are several subgroups and / or categories within
this larger body who swear their allegiance to a particular part of the elephant’s body.
Consequently it becomes possible, for example, to talk of Singo derived from Musingo
(trunk), Kwinda derived from “shimba la ndou”, (the footprint of an elephant) etc. all
relating to different parts of the same animal. Furthermore such identification serves not
only as an allocator of identity but also as an indicator of the geographical space that each
group has occupied and thus come to be identified with over a period of time. The totemic
significance of the elephant towards the expression of a cultural identity will be dealt with
later in this presentation when totemic examples are given from the various linguistic
communities of the Limpopo province. For example, the Vhakwevho will be grouped into
the Matidza who as part of their totemic identity use the following:

Ri vhakwevho vha ha Matidza ntswu mulomo

Zwibvamutada zwi Luvhola
Nguluvhe khulu dzi Luonde

and the Vhakwevho who are Vhafamadi. These are the Vhakwevho who crossed the
Luvuvhu river and, while spread all over the Vhembe region of the Limpopo Province, are
generally associated with the area that is known as Ha-Mashau, an area that is in the south
eastern side of the Luvuvhu (Levubu) valley. Available evidence suggests that all these
vhakwevho originally come from Tshiendeulu. Identity is central to cultural expression.
Therefore, a human being becomes identified by a name or names and / or surname which
become his / her identity marker. And it is these identity markers that form a central part
of indicating the clan to which an individual belongs, to this end further prescribing and to
some extent, even proscribing the manner such an individual should and can relate to

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others. Mutswairo correctly asserts “each member of the clan is addressed appropriately
by its unique epithet, thereby enhancing its dignity and singularity” (1981: 194). Within the
context of African mythology and signification, and in many other cultures, animals such
elephants and lions are used as symbols of strength, virility, greatness, leadership etc. This
symbolic signification has stood the test of time and persists even within the current
context. This not only suggests the symbolism’s abiding influence but also highlights the
continued relevance of the interface between human beings as well as the animal and plant
worlds.

Pfeņe (The baboon)

The baboon is another animal which has been appropriated as a totem amongst certain
clans in the Vhavenda groups. The clan which generally identifies with this totem calls itself
Vhanyai. Although some clans have since appropriated “Munyai” as their surname, it
actually remains a clan name indicating its totemic origins. Amongst the “vhanyai” there
are the “vhakalanga” and “vhalozwi”. Something that is of historical significance and
cultural relevance is the that the nomenclature “vhakalanga” is closely related not only to
the geographical location of these people’s origins, but is also illustrative of the very close
cultural ties that still exists, national borders notwithstanding. “Vhukalanga” in Tshivenda
refers to the part of the continent north of the Vhembe (Limpopo) river. This will mainly be
areas in the current Zimbabwe such as Masvingo, Mutare, Nyangombe, Chipise etc. There
continues to be a very strong cultural link between the Vhavenda people, some of whom
can trace their origins to certain parts of, and sections of the Shona people of, Zimbabwe.
The totemic praise of the Vhanyai vhakalanga attests to this link.

A hee, Munyai Mukalanga

wa Ha Nyamutsangadavhi
wa sa farelela davhi u a wa
wa vhutambetambe o tambaho vhalembetu
a tamba na thukha la matavhi
wa Ha Nyavhulungu vhutete
vhu lunzhedzwa nga a re na nzhele
a si na nzhele u a fhaladza
Ndi munyai wa dekwende la galanga
li sa gumi – li no guma nga gungwa
Ndi munyai wa tshinoya a tshi vhuyi
Tshi no vhuya munyai u vhuya o tamiwa matongo
Mutsinda a ya o ya.

Once more translating or transliterating the chant renders nugatory its cultural impact and
symbolic significance. However an attempt at any such a process would yield something
akin to

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Hurrah, munyai from Vhukalanga (north)

one who alights from a tree by its branches and not its trunk
s/he of vhutambetambe (tricks) that misled the vhalembetu
and ended befriending the young of the mountains
s/he of the craft of finer beadwork threading
the craft threading beads is for those with experience
those without experience spill the beads as they try to thread

It is the Munyai of the Northern dekwende

that has no end – its end is the boat (where the sky seems to
join with the sea)

the Munyai for whom that which goes never returns

that which returns is a Munyai who comes back embellished
Once a stranger leaves s/he disappears forever.

The above transl(iter)ation is a crude attempt to bring the non-Tshivenda speaking

individual as close as is possible to access this ditty-like rendition. This rendition also
highlights that members of this particular clan take pride in their being associated with the
agility of the baboon as it dangles from one branch of a tree to the other. In terms of
identity and outlook, these are some of the qualities expected from members of this clan
even as they deal with the vicissitudes of life. They are expected to shows principled
flexibility and quickness. A sense of urgency becomes the hallmark of their approach to
challenges and the many issues that form part of their daily lives.

Totems and totemic praises are statements of identity in community, an expression of the
self in relation to one’s position in a given geographical space as well as in relation to the
next person as well as with the universe. It is furthermore a statement the aim of which is
also to connect an individual with the natural environment and phenomena such as the
flora and fauna of creation. It also gives credence to the notion of a symbiotic relationship
between human beings, animals and plants. At a cultural level totems have an important
function of determining the kinds of relationships that are created. Totems become
symbols of identity and identification. People who originally may have been hostile to each
other become cordial once they realise that they are bound to each other not only by their
sense of humanity but also by the fact that they share the same totem and are, therefore
related. Relationships, within this African context need to be understood differently from
the Eurocentric individualistic conception. Totems, within the African context, can also be
seen as an essential component of the bedrock upon which the concept “muthu ndi muthu
nga vhanwe vhathu” (A person is a person through other people), a concept that,
interestingly, finds expression in all South Africa’s indigenous languages. This concept
recognises humanity’s mutual interdependence and thus, the need to be constantly
interlocked within this dialectically related system of identification.

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Amongst the Basotho ba Leboa, for example, there are also totems which serve the same
purpose as in other groups. Hereunder follows an example of the totems and their cultural
identity contexts.

Noko (The Porcupine)

Noko is one of the smallest wild animals in terms of size and appearance. However, its size
belies its never-give-up spirit and sense of determination, particularly when it has to
protect itself even against physically bigger animals. It becomes very dangerous and will
easily withstand and foil an attack even from a lion, one of the big five, by using its quills to
protect itself against the enemy. When a porcupine is angry, very few animals, no matter
how big, can come closer for fear of being stung by these quills. The totem, noko, is
predominantly found among the main clan of Malatji which generally populates the eastern
part of the Limpopo province, in areas such Phalaborwa. Within this main clan of Malatji
there are sub-clans such as: Makgopa, Seerane, Mojela and Rapatsa.

When members of these sub-clans praise themselves the use the following totemic chant

Ke dinoko, ke Baphalaborwa
bao ba boago khealeng kha mamokhula
dingwe go khe bukwa mafothe.

Tše ke dinoko tše,

ka meetlwa di a hlaba.
Ebile ge di hlaba
ga di boele morago.

The clan thus prides itself by being associated with one of the smallest animal which,
nonetheless, exhibits a great sense of courage and will to survive even in the face of threats
from bigger animals. This sense of pride subsequently permeates all aspects of the clan’s
life. Members are expected to move with a sense of dignity, of knowing that they have to
face up to whatever challenges life may visit upon them without retreating, inasmuch as the
porcupine does in its quest for survival and self-protection. To this end, members of the
clan have an in-built attitude of never surrendering in the face of challenges, as they
emulate the characteristics of their animal totem. When members of this clan are wronged,
challenged or even angry, they are not given to retreating as the live out, consciously or
unconsciously, the message of never surrendering as encapsulated in,

Noko ge elwa ga e boele morago

(A porcupine does not retreat when engaged in battle),

more especially when surrounded by enemies.

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Conclusion

Long before the colonial “adventures” in sub-Saharan Africa, Africans lived lives
characterised by the organic relationship between human beings and their surrounding
environment. Life was organised in such a manner that it constantly factored in matters
pertaining to the conservation of the environment. This was observed through a
complicated system that was presided over by the traditional leader in close consultation
with diviners and traditional healers and with the express guidance of ancestral spirits.

From a very tender age members of the community were taught the material and spiritual
value of trees, forests, animals, water, snakes, birds and all other natural resources. As a
result indiscriminate mowing down of trees, for example, was taboo. Some trees like the
mutavhatsindi that is found in the Mutale area of the Vhembe district of the Limpopo
Province, were sacred. It is the sacred nature and the curative qualities embedded in the
tree that became known as the cultural foundation of and spiritual source of strength for
the Vhatavhatsindi clan. It is also under its protective shade that clans gathered to invoke
that ancestors intercede on their behalf for rain and other needs from Nwali (The supreme
one). Some of the trees that are totems for particular clans are so valued and sacred that it
was taboo to even think of cutting them down. In some instances these trees formed a
thicket in a sacred space called Zwifho (the holy forest). This is a sacred space whose
hallowed grounds are trodden by special traditional healers who go there either to
propitiate the ancestors or perform rituals on behalf of the clan. This space is so sacred that
even dry wood from the area cannot be picked up for use as fuel. Failure to observe this
unwritten regulation was generally known to anger the gods who would then visit
collective punishment on the whole clan. The sacred nature of this space is such that any
human being who trespasses runs the risk of disappearing from society forever. In some
instances traditional leaders are buried in these sacred forests and as Stephen Kasere
correctly avers “certain protocol had to be applied before any human encroachment could
be allowed” (http://www.unsystem.org.ngls/documents/publication.en/voice.Africa).

It is germane to round off this article by asserting that matters pertaining to identity,
identification and culture are, without any shred of doubt, deeply invested with symbolic
signification, as has been illustrated in this presentation. Totems, as has been hopefully
herein illustrated, are not just symbols of identity but also determine the life view and
outlook a particular individual adopts. This has the psychological impact of ensuring that
individuals walk in life with a great sense of self-knowledge, an amiable disposition to life
and the myriad challenges it presents. Totems not only help create a network of
relationships, but also moral cultural boundaries which should never be overstepped if
communities are to live in harmony and peace. It is only a people who know their history
and identity, and totems form an essential part of this double-edged presence, that can
make a meaningful contribution towards rebuilding the nation and continent by
unapologetically preserving those aspects of their self-definition that contribute in

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reiterating who they are, even within the context of a world that has seen globalization
being misused as a tool for imposing western hegemony technologically, spiritually,
morally and otherwise.

Acknowledgement: I am indebted to Prof MA Makgopa for generously providing me with

valuable information on, and insights into, totems from a Sesotho sa Leboa perspective.

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