“Nang’ ubhuti!” said my little sister (11). “We Ma! Nang’ ubhutiza!” said my ecstatic little brother (8). He is just like me in every way, except character: He is a rather reserved little man. Conscious of everything around him, and more analytical than most children. When I showed them what I was carrying behind me, I saw something in him that I hadn’t noticed in a while: CHILDISH ECSTACY!
Christmas! Why do we celebrate it? They say it’s the day that Christ was born (don’t ask me who “they” is/are). However, if my bible knowledge doesn’t deceive me, three wise men followed a star to the place of Our Saviour’s birth. Jerusalem is in the NORTHERN HEMISPHERE and, unless the “A” I got for Geography was as a result of my female teacher’s passionate desire to fornicate with her charming minor, it’s winter around those parts at this time of year and I doubt the skies would be THAT clear. So that automatically dismantles that excuse for me. And what about that obese white man with that glistening white beard that is too perfect for any mortal senior? Scratch him out! The concept of elves/dwarfs in the North Pole and flying reindeer is too “Matrix” for me. Besides, I know a few Boer friends of mine who would shoot the crap out of those things if they ever landed on their roofs. LEKKER BRAAI IN DIE MORE EKSE! It’s all a scam! All of these things contradict. Hell, the bible contradicts itself many a time in the same testament! And why are there different Testaments with different views? If the first one was bull, what makes THIS one any better? Everything we’ve been told can be disproven and, if you look hard enough, you can find the negativity in it. IF YOU LOOK HARD ENOUGH. But, WHY ARE YOU LOOKING.
When I bought those gifts for my brother and sister, I was thinking about how much this time of year is just another way to con us out of our money. It’s just another scam! However, when I gave them to my siblings, looked as their eyes lit up and had the best group hug with wet kisses in ages, I realised something more important: We spend too much time trying to disprove the truth, discredit the noble, denounce the valiant, find hidden agendas in good deeds and, FIND NEGATIVITY IN BEAUTIFUL SPACES. The truth is, everything is balanced with good AND bad. Every comment can be interpreted both ways and every teaching can potentially lead to a non-desirable outcome. The greatest gift that God ever gave Man, is also the most dangerous: CHOICE! My brother and sister CHOSE to be happy for Christmas. They probably know that Santa Clause doesn’t exist, but they CHOSE to see him in me. Even if only for a brief moment. Jesus was probably NOT born on the 25th, but those who CHOOSE to accept that as their only truth usually have the most intimate day of their family’s year on that day while us, the cynics and sceptics, spend every waking moment trying to find the hard horrendous hidden hatred in the flourishing fruity forest of love. When someone is happy, we ask ourselves “Why?’ instead of accepting the reality that one feels good just because. We try too hard to find reason for the good and forget to enjoy the outcomes thereof.
I choose to believe. I choose to believe in humanity. In God. In love. In the Santa Clause within all of us. I choose not to focus the droplets of evil, lest I forget to swim in the pool of good intentions. I choose to find beauty in negative spaces. Not the other way around. And so, this Christmas, what choice have you made?
Tuesday, December 15, 2009
Friday, December 11, 2009
"THE ZULU BULL RITUAL"
"It's all bullshit", someone said. "It's time to adjust your culture rather than live in the past", said another. Many more carried on rambling about "Europeans" and "Slave drivers" and "Uncivilized Africa" that pretty soon the topic was lost and this, like every other internet debate, became a race and hate-speech theme park. I give this article 15 comments before the same thing happens.
Let's get into the MEAT of the whole issue: You're probably wondering what's all the BEEF about. Why is everyone suddenly jabbing HORNS at each other. Why are the "Europeans" shoving their elbows into the "African's" RIBS. Why are a bunch of people continuously throwing hate-speech at each other when it's clear that with each word they utter, their integrity is at STEAK? The answer is simple: SOME ZULUs KILLED A BULL.
Last week at the office, while I was busy dreaming about the days when me and McFeast Deluxe were still married (we divorced after I found out that she had plans to kill me with her cholesterol time-bomb. All the pretty ones are evil), a few of my friends asked me if I had done "the ritual". I stereotypically replied: "no, I haven't been to the mountain. I'm Zulu!", under the prolonged assumption that they were asking me about the Xhosa ritual, which so many of my vegetarian white friends have asked me about over the years. They went on to explain about a particularly "strange" custom that we, the Zulus, have apparently had for centuries that involves the "bare-hand killing of a bull" by a group of 16 to 20 year olds. NO. I've never done it. Curious, I decided to do some research. Hello GOOGLE!
I found out that, like every other topic, there are multiple and contradicting sources on the net. Many stated it was a ceremonial "killing" called "Ukweshwama" to celebrate the "first fruits festival", while others said it was the "Zulu's initiation". Some went as far as to say it is to determine the strongest warrior. That's when Hip Hop kicked in and I zoned out, imagining me and the bull battling it out on Emcee FarmFrica. Two heartless punchlines from my side and the bull's head fell off clean. I was quickly snapped back to reality when I started reading the comments in a few interesting articles. WHAT A SAD WORLD WE LIVE IN.
When I saw comments like: "Let them kill bulls and dance naked in the dust with bouncing breasts and stomachs. They enjoy it. Let them practise their loosing culture. Let them fight aids and poverty" and: "It is a savage tradition and anyone who wants to keep it going is a savage, finish and klaar!" or my personal favorite: "this country, like the rest of Africa, will forever remain uncivilised as long as these barbaric "rituals", in the name of "culture" continue", I realized something:
We have a long way to go on our road to tolerance and racial recovery. I would never participate in that ritual. Partly because I've seen what bulls can do and I wouldn't wanna be caught in the wake of it's swinging hoof, and also because it just doesn't feel right by me. It doesn't FEEL RIGHT by ME! ME! It's a PERSONAL thing! So why would I impose my PERSONAL feelings on others?! I do not wish the tradition to stop and I do not want to be called a barbarian because of it. The Zulu Nation is the respected Nation it is because of it's customs. If we do away with them, we will have done away with what makes our world beautiful: Our diversity. Many young people are losing touch with their roots in an attempt to keep up with modern life. It is very possible to strike a balance, yet often easier to just forget about the dung-covered path behind you and focus on the colorful one ahead. the fact that I, a 100% Zulu South African, had to rely on Google to tell me something about MY culture, is testimony to this. We are losing more and more of where we came from and 3 generations from now, there will be no differences to celebrate.
Opinion is an important thing in the human agenda. The beauty of it is that it is purely individual. The sadness of it, is that too often it is used to determine what OTHERS can and cannot do. If you think about it, topics like morality, "realness" and wrong or right, are all based on opinion. You might share that opinion with a tribe or a nation, but it doesn't give us the right to call others barbarians for thinking different. The only opinion that I am against is one that directly affects another person negatively. In my opinion, no-one should impose their opinion on another. But that's just my opinion. What's yours?
Let's get into the MEAT of the whole issue: You're probably wondering what's all the BEEF about. Why is everyone suddenly jabbing HORNS at each other. Why are the "Europeans" shoving their elbows into the "African's" RIBS. Why are a bunch of people continuously throwing hate-speech at each other when it's clear that with each word they utter, their integrity is at STEAK? The answer is simple: SOME ZULUs KILLED A BULL.
Last week at the office, while I was busy dreaming about the days when me and McFeast Deluxe were still married (we divorced after I found out that she had plans to kill me with her cholesterol time-bomb. All the pretty ones are evil), a few of my friends asked me if I had done "the ritual". I stereotypically replied: "no, I haven't been to the mountain. I'm Zulu!", under the prolonged assumption that they were asking me about the Xhosa ritual, which so many of my vegetarian white friends have asked me about over the years. They went on to explain about a particularly "strange" custom that we, the Zulus, have apparently had for centuries that involves the "bare-hand killing of a bull" by a group of 16 to 20 year olds. NO. I've never done it. Curious, I decided to do some research. Hello GOOGLE!
I found out that, like every other topic, there are multiple and contradicting sources on the net. Many stated it was a ceremonial "killing" called "Ukweshwama" to celebrate the "first fruits festival", while others said it was the "Zulu's initiation". Some went as far as to say it is to determine the strongest warrior. That's when Hip Hop kicked in and I zoned out, imagining me and the bull battling it out on Emcee FarmFrica. Two heartless punchlines from my side and the bull's head fell off clean. I was quickly snapped back to reality when I started reading the comments in a few interesting articles. WHAT A SAD WORLD WE LIVE IN.
When I saw comments like: "Let them kill bulls and dance naked in the dust with bouncing breasts and stomachs. They enjoy it. Let them practise their loosing culture. Let them fight aids and poverty" and: "It is a savage tradition and anyone who wants to keep it going is a savage, finish and klaar!" or my personal favorite: "this country, like the rest of Africa, will forever remain uncivilised as long as these barbaric "rituals", in the name of "culture" continue", I realized something:
We have a long way to go on our road to tolerance and racial recovery. I would never participate in that ritual. Partly because I've seen what bulls can do and I wouldn't wanna be caught in the wake of it's swinging hoof, and also because it just doesn't feel right by me. It doesn't FEEL RIGHT by ME! ME! It's a PERSONAL thing! So why would I impose my PERSONAL feelings on others?! I do not wish the tradition to stop and I do not want to be called a barbarian because of it. The Zulu Nation is the respected Nation it is because of it's customs. If we do away with them, we will have done away with what makes our world beautiful: Our diversity. Many young people are losing touch with their roots in an attempt to keep up with modern life. It is very possible to strike a balance, yet often easier to just forget about the dung-covered path behind you and focus on the colorful one ahead. the fact that I, a 100% Zulu South African, had to rely on Google to tell me something about MY culture, is testimony to this. We are losing more and more of where we came from and 3 generations from now, there will be no differences to celebrate.
Opinion is an important thing in the human agenda. The beauty of it is that it is purely individual. The sadness of it, is that too often it is used to determine what OTHERS can and cannot do. If you think about it, topics like morality, "realness" and wrong or right, are all based on opinion. You might share that opinion with a tribe or a nation, but it doesn't give us the right to call others barbarians for thinking different. The only opinion that I am against is one that directly affects another person negatively. In my opinion, no-one should impose their opinion on another. But that's just my opinion. What's yours?
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