Logo design by Pippa Skotnes
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DocuAfrica features short documentaries of personal accounts on experiences and desires from various African perspectives. The individual film projects derive from our linguistic work and draw on longstanding personal relationships and close friendships with speakers of marginalised African languages. DocuAfrica gives voice to neglected communities as well as to so far unheard members within these communities. It publicises and disseminates the concerns and visions of those fighting against discrimination and injustice on the African continent.
Matthias Brenzinger (University of the Free State) & Sheena Shah (TU Dortmund University & University of the Free State) |
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DocuAfrica 1
EbaPhuthi sive lesihle The beautiful Phuthi nation Composed & performed by Malebela Qaoka |
Malebela is a Phuthi herdsman and poetic activist from southern Lesotho. He composes poems in siPhuthi to raise awareness on the decline of his language and to mobilise the ebaPhuthi to take initiative in jointly fostering the use of their ancestral language. His poems reflect his experiences of living with his livestock in the mountains and they address a wide range of topics related to language, identity and wellbeing. Malebela's poems are well received when he performs them at public events.
In the poem entitled EbaPhuthi sive lesihle, Malebela begins by apologising directly to siPhuthi for being a bad custodian of this ancestral language of his. He then reaches out to the traditional healers and elders for advice and help on how to prevent the Phuthi language and the nation of the ebaPhuthi from perishing. Towards the end of his poem, he stresses the importance of social media for the restoration of siPhuthi as the unifier of the community. Key in reaching this goal is the WhatsApp group Ekhaya le Baphuthi, which translates as 'home of the ebaPhuthi'. The members of the group discuss language matters on and in siPhuthi. Malebela assumes this group to be his home in which he and other ebaPhuthi not only advance their language skills but also foster and spread the use of siPhuthi as the medium of daily communication.
For more information on our siPhuthi project, see here.
In the poem entitled EbaPhuthi sive lesihle, Malebela begins by apologising directly to siPhuthi for being a bad custodian of this ancestral language of his. He then reaches out to the traditional healers and elders for advice and help on how to prevent the Phuthi language and the nation of the ebaPhuthi from perishing. Towards the end of his poem, he stresses the importance of social media for the restoration of siPhuthi as the unifier of the community. Key in reaching this goal is the WhatsApp group Ekhaya le Baphuthi, which translates as 'home of the ebaPhuthi'. The members of the group discuss language matters on and in siPhuthi. Malebela assumes this group to be his home in which he and other ebaPhuthi not only advance their language skills but also foster and spread the use of siPhuthi as the medium of daily communication.
For more information on our siPhuthi project, see here.
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DocuAfrica 2
Kusedjalo Giyaphakama Still I Rise Poem by Maya Angelou Translated into siPhuthi by Letzadzo Kometsi Performed by Khutshalani Kometsi |
Written in 1978 by Maya Angelou, the poem "Still I Rise" continues to resonate across borders and languages with those who feel suppressed. DocuAfrica presents a translation of this poem into siPhuthi, the language of the ebaPhuthi in Lesotho and South Africa. Khutshalani Kometsi performs Kusedjalo Giyaphakama ('Still I Rise') in the mountains of Lesotho, bringing Angelou's powerful message directly to her people.
The documentary shows some aspects of the legacy of Maya Angelou (1928–2014), one of the most influential Black American poets and civil rights activists. Photographs by Namibian documentary photographer Margaret Courtney-Clarke, a close friend of Angelou, capture the intensity and strength that were omnipresent in her life. Courtney-Clarke reflects on the poem's significance for spreading hope by demanding defiance stances against racial and gender oppression.
The film concludes with Letzadzo Kometsi sharing his motives for translating "Still I Rise" into siPhuthi. He hopes that the poem’s powerful message of resilience and the demand for dignity will inspire the ebaPhuthi, who feel marginalised and suppressed, to continue their fight for the recognition of their language and the acknowledgement of their history as the Phuthi nation of Lesotho and South Africa.
For more information on our siPhuthi project, see here.
The documentary shows some aspects of the legacy of Maya Angelou (1928–2014), one of the most influential Black American poets and civil rights activists. Photographs by Namibian documentary photographer Margaret Courtney-Clarke, a close friend of Angelou, capture the intensity and strength that were omnipresent in her life. Courtney-Clarke reflects on the poem's significance for spreading hope by demanding defiance stances against racial and gender oppression.
The film concludes with Letzadzo Kometsi sharing his motives for translating "Still I Rise" into siPhuthi. He hopes that the poem’s powerful message of resilience and the demand for dignity will inspire the ebaPhuthi, who feel marginalised and suppressed, to continue their fight for the recognition of their language and the acknowledgement of their history as the Phuthi nation of Lesotho and South Africa.
For more information on our siPhuthi project, see here.
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DocuAfrica 3
Die deutschsprachigen Südafrikaner von Kroondal The German-speaking South Africans of Kroondal |
Founded over 140 years ago by German missionaries and farmers, the village of Kroondal is situated on the northern edge of the Magaliesberg mountain range. Today, after six generations, many of its 400 residents continue to embrace their German language and cultural heritage as part of their South African identity.
This documentary introduces some key aspects of Kroondal's past, present and future. The German school and the Lutheran church, both established in the late 19th century, are the guardians of the community's linguistic and cultural traditions.
While Kroondal remains a farming area known for its tobacco, grain, and sunflower production, the region also draws visitors to the Cradle of Humankind, a unique paleoanthropological site. In recent decades, it has become a popular destination for recreational activities for visitors from the nearby urban centres of Pretoria/Tshwane and Johannesburg/iGoli.
However, the region also holds the world's largest deposit of platinum, and while mining generates jobs and income to the region, mining activities are gradually encroaching upon the village centre of Kroondal. This expansion not only threatens the future of farming in the area but also poses existential risks to the survival of the Kroondal community.
For more information on our Kroondal German project, see here.
This documentary introduces some key aspects of Kroondal's past, present and future. The German school and the Lutheran church, both established in the late 19th century, are the guardians of the community's linguistic and cultural traditions.
While Kroondal remains a farming area known for its tobacco, grain, and sunflower production, the region also draws visitors to the Cradle of Humankind, a unique paleoanthropological site. In recent decades, it has become a popular destination for recreational activities for visitors from the nearby urban centres of Pretoria/Tshwane and Johannesburg/iGoli.
However, the region also holds the world's largest deposit of platinum, and while mining generates jobs and income to the region, mining activities are gradually encroaching upon the village centre of Kroondal. This expansion not only threatens the future of farming in the area but also poses existential risks to the survival of the Kroondal community.
For more information on our Kroondal German project, see here.
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DocuAfrica 4
Das Kroondal Deutsch von Südafrika The Kroondal German of South Africa |
Kroondal, in the Northwest Province of South Africa, is one of over 25 German-speaking communities in the country. The German variety spoken in Kroondal has preserved distinct features of the Low German variety brought by the village's founders – missionaries and farmers from northern Germany – who settled here more than 140 years ago. A notable Low German feature is the pronunciation of the consonant clusters /sp/ and /st/, as heard in words like spitzer Stein ('sharp stone'), which in Kroondal are pronounced [sp] and [st] as in Low German, in contrast to the Standard German pronunciation [ʃp] and [ʃt]. Furthermore, Kroondal German has been influenced by Afrikaans and, more recently, by English.
Interviews with Kroondal residents resonate with the deep emotional ties that many German-South Africans maintain with their German language, even while living in a highly multilingual environment. In Kroondal, Afrikaans and English, and to a lesser extent Setswana, are commonly spoken alongside German. This documentary offers some personal insights into the use of Kroondal German and other languages, along with reflections from local German-speaking residents on the future of their language in South Africa.
For a linguistic analysis of Kroondal German, please refer to the free online version of the book Sixth-generation contact German in South Africa: The case of Kroondal German.
For more information on our Kroondal German project, see here.
Interviews with Kroondal residents resonate with the deep emotional ties that many German-South Africans maintain with their German language, even while living in a highly multilingual environment. In Kroondal, Afrikaans and English, and to a lesser extent Setswana, are commonly spoken alongside German. This documentary offers some personal insights into the use of Kroondal German and other languages, along with reflections from local German-speaking residents on the future of their language in South Africa.
For a linguistic analysis of Kroondal German, please refer to the free online version of the book Sixth-generation contact German in South Africa: The case of Kroondal German.
For more information on our Kroondal German project, see here.
Seed funding for establishing DocuAfrica and for the production of the first four DocuAfrica films came from Linguapax International and the Government of Catalonia (Ministry for Foreign Action and European Union).
