08 Wednesday Apr 2015
Posted in Uncategorized
Tags
african union, amazon, Amazon author, anthology, apartheid, Back from the Dead: The Rising of an African Spirit, kenya, poetry
12 Monday Jan 2015
Posted in Uncategorized
04 Sunday Jan 2015
Posted in african author, african writer, book review, indie author, leadership
11 Tuesday Nov 2014
Posted 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.
06 Thursday Nov 2014
Tags
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
02 Sunday Nov 2014
Posted 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
02 Sunday Nov 2014
Posted in book review, writing
Tags
anthology, associated press, atlanta, Back from the Dead: The Rising of an African Spirit, books, ebola, johannesburg, knox mahlaba, london, Martin Luther King, nelson mandela, new dehli, new york city, poetry, press release, reviews, trafford publishing, washington dc
By T. Lawrence on October 16, 2014
Knox’s command of the English language is phenomenal! His vocabulary is top notch! I enjoyed his use of about three levels of language: formal language, everyday language with slang, and “slave” language.
The anthology was full of powerful quotes. The following four sayings are my favorites because they summarize some of the main themes of the book: “You’ll never know how strong you are until being strong is no longer a choice.” “Just ‘cus you been treated like dirt don’t mean you’re dirt.” “Ditch the slave mentality” “Nothing is concrete. We’re all stuck in an emulsion.”
I look forward to reading more from this author!
26 Sunday Oct 2014
Posted 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
