The SA National Parks recently hosted the annual Mapungubwe Lecture series at the Mapungubwe National Park in Limpopo. Celebrated artist and cultural activist Azah Mphago delivered his reflections.
Mphago who features among his volume of work, the album Ngoma dza Mapungubwe, said through this abstract he wanted to reflect on how the series catalysed creative and scholarly responses, including Ngoma dza Mapungubwe, while situating Mapungubwe as a site of memory, cultural innovation, and spiritual resonance.
Mphago seeks “to examine the kingdom’s social complexity, historical significance, and continental connections, positioning it within a multidisciplinary, pan-African, and historically informed framework.”
“While drawing on sonic and collaborative artistic practices, the lecture emphasises Mapungubwe’s broader heritage and its place within the continuum of Southern Africa’s epic civilisations, from Inzaloyelanga to Great Zimbabwe, Monomutapa, and beyond.”
Institutional and Scholarly Engagement
The lecture interrogates the role of institutions in shaping historical narratives, including the repatriation of stolen artifacts, the reimagination of discographies, and the responsibilities of custodians in preserving and interpreting heritage.
It critically examines how the academic community has historically participated in erasure, marginalization, and the undermining of indigenous knowledge systems, proposing ways to reimagine Mapungubwe and related civilisations through decolonial, collaborative, and ethically engaged frameworks.
Key Themes Reimagination, Remembrance, and Symbolic Representation
Exploring how creative and scholarly interventions recall ancestral voices, translating memory and anthropological experience embedded in artifacts such as pottery and other excavated material culture.
Oral Tradition and Indigenous Knowledge Systems
Centralising oral histories, nationalist knowledge frameworks, and spiritual and sociological heritage in understanding Mapungubwe and related civilizations.
Gendered and Matriarchal Contributions
Highlighting the often marginalized but central role of women and matriarchs in Mapungubwe’s formation, social structures, and cultural life, challenging prevailing male-centric narratives.
Continental Influences and Historical Continuum
Situating Mapungubwe within broader African movements and civilisations, emphasising spiritual currents, cultural continuities, and the interrelated coexistence of ethnic groups in societal development.
Decolonial Interventions and Institutional Accountability
Critically engaging with colonial assaults, historical erasure, and institutional complicity, while foregrounding the ethical responsibilities of custodians and scholars in reclaiming, restoring, and reinterpreting heritage.
“By integrating reflections on contemporary creative practice with rigorous historical, archaeological, sociological, and philosophical inquiry, this lecture presents an expansive, multidimensional, and critically engaged understanding of Mapungubwe, its place within Africa’s epic civilisations, and its enduring significance in cultural, spiritual, and intellectual life.”
Be First to Comment