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Back From The Dead

~ The Rising of an African Spirit

Back From The Dead

Category Archives: african

black christmas

08 Monday Jun 2015

Posted by nativedrum in africa, african, african in america, african writer, black poetry, bob marley, historical figure, history, identity, leadership, opinion piece, pan african, revolutionary poetry, soweto

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1976 soweto riots, africa, african union, afro, apartheid, Back from the Dead: The Rising of an African Spirit, biko, black consciousness, black panthers, black power, civil rights, historically black colleges, steve biko, unity

i’ll never forget
running from school
shoes in hand
hippos roaming the dusty streets
soweto up in flames
teargas in the air
i’ll never forget
the anger of the students
the fears of the parents
the hope of the struggle
though i never threw a stone
i certainly did my part
comprehending the necessity
for a black christmas
i did my part
nurturing my afro
raising my fist in defiance
saluting the power of the people
black power
1976
soweto riots
call it what you may
when black consciousness
planted hope
defeating a complex
i’ll never forget
steve bantu biko
victims of hippos
in the township
and on the border
i’ll never forget….

knox mahlaba
Author – Back From The Dead: The Rising of an African Spirit
Copyright © 2015

african praise poetry – izibongo

11 Tuesday Nov 2014

Posted by nativedrum in africa, african, african author, african in america, african poetry, african writer, articles, blogger, cultural, ethnic identity, historical figure, history, identity, indepedent author, indie author, leadership, national identity, opinion piece, pan african, poetry, self publishing, social commentary, tradition, tribal identity, writing

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africa, ancestors, apartheid, Back from the Dead: The Rising of an African Spirit, biko, clan names, frank talk, freedom, funerals, geography, heritage, history, isindebele, isixhosa, isizulu, lineage, mandela, martin luther king jr, mlk, nat turner, nelson mandela, Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela, poetry, praise poems, praise poetry, rainbow nation, richard sherman, robert sobukwe, sesotho, setswana, siswati, southern africa, struggle, thomas sankara, tributes, weddings

Izibongo is an Nguni term literally meaning ‘clan names’. In SeSotho it is referred to as Dithoko, in SeTswana as Diboko and in SePedi as Diretho.

African oral poetry, the izibongo, are ancient praise poems which are a popular indigenous oral tradition in Southern Africa. Traditionally, it is used to praise kings, queens and all royalty; praise poetry is an essential part of our essence as African people.

It is the vessel of our history, our cultural heritage and our reference point on how to express ourselves.

Africans in general rely on praise poetry to identify themselves because many Africans have clan names which form the basis of our identity. These clan names are bound together in sequence or hierarchy relative to geography, history, lineage and major historical events.

Praise poetry is used to compile and narrate the history, heritage and lineage of a people, family, a nation, etc.

During the struggle against Apartheid in South Africa this ancient tradition was revived and widely used for protest poetry at large public gatherings.

This ancient tradition is also used to praise and celebrate the legacy of individuals of note and record events of great importance – battles, wars, famine, floods, marriage, births, deaths, arrivals of foreigners, freedom, etc.

Excerpt from a translation of Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela praises:
It’s a dream of the dead
It’s a dream that people thought would never come true
People have cried till they gave up
How many souls are under the ground?
How many corpses because of Mandela
Mandela Mandela
Mandela Mandela…

In my recently published book, Back From The Dead: The Rising of an African Spirit, I have included three praise poems dedicated to Nelson Mandela (Caught Forever), Martin Luther King Jr (Schooling Us) and Steve Biko (Urban Legend).

I have also written tribute pieces to celebrate the legacies of Thomas Sankara and Robert Sobukwe, and I am currently researching Nat Turner with the intention of writing a tribute piece based on his contribution to the struggle for freedom for all.

Praise poetry is often used to invoke the presence of the ancestors in healing ceremonies, funerals and weddings.

coming back from the dead

06 Thursday Nov 2014

Posted by nativedrum in africa, african, african in america, african poetry, cultural, freestyle poetry, identity, indepedent author, indie author, leadership, poetry, self publishing

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1976 soweto riots, africa, amazon, apartheid, associated press, atlanta, back from the dead Rising from the ashes, biko, black panthers, books, civil rights, congress, democrats, dona richards, ebola, ebooks, historically black colleges, i have a dream, johannesburg, khafre, kilimanjaro, kunta kente, library of congress, malcolm x, marimba ani, martin luther king jr, mbeki, mid term elections, middle passage, nelson mandela, obama, poetry, racism, reading, republicans, segregation, slavery, stevie wonder, stokely carmichael, tommie smith, trafford publishing, washington dc, washington march, west africa

Coming back from the dead
Rising from the ashes
The earth rumbling from within
From within the hearts of a few good men
Sons of mummies
Soldiers of reason…..

An excerpt from  “Coming back from the dead”  – complete poem can be found in the anthology of poetry – Back From The Dead: The Rising of an African Spirit

Copyright © knox mahlaba 2014
Author – Back From The Dead: The Rising of an African Spirit

Link

amazon author page

02 Sunday Nov 2014

Posted by nativedrum in africa, african, african author, african in america, african poetry, african writer, articles, black, black poetry, blogger, book review, erotic poetry, ethnic identity, freestyle poetry, history, identity, indepedent author, indie author, khafre, leadership, national identity, opinion piece, pan african, poetry, revolutionary poetry, self publishing, sensual poetry, social commentary, urban poetry, writing

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1976 soweto riots, africa, afro, amazon, Amazon author, anthology, apartheid, Back from the Dead: The Rising of an African Spirit, biko, black panthers, book reviews, burkina faso, chris brown, dona richards, ebola, freedom of speech, hector peterson, historically black colleges, i have a dream, john f kennedy, khafre, knox mahlaba, kunta kente, love, malcolm x, martin luther king jr, middle passage, muhammad ali, nelson mandela, obama, poetry, racism, reading, sankara, segregation, south africa, soweto, spoken word, tommie smith, trials and tribulations, washington dc

visit my Amazon author page

and learn more about the author of

Back From The Dead: The Rising of an African Spirit

 

Quote

26 Sunday Oct 2014

Posted by nativedrum in africa, african, african author, african in america, african writer, black, blogger, citizenship, cultural, ethnic identity, identity, indepedent author, indie author, khafre, leadership, national identity, pan african, poetry, self publishing, social commentary, tradition, tribal identity, writing

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abet, abuja, amsterdam, atlanta, beijing, books, cairo, delai lama, dublin, ebola, ebooks, johannesburg, khafre, literacy, london, mumbai, nairobi, new dehli, new york, obama, poetry, reading, shanghai, sydney, tokyo, washington dc

“All I hope to accomplish

is to challenge you to use your talents

for the betterment of mankind!”

………knox mahlaba

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