Wednesday was a great day. I went down to the Valley of Maphephete-ni to meet up with Mdu and to take video footage and photos of his new and aspiring Zulu choir and dance troupe.
He'd done a good job of telling all his friends and neighbours and when I arrived there were about 50 people hanging around, either to perform or just watch.
It was an exceedingly hot and sunny day and I have never been so sunburnt on my back (grrr) but it will soon change to tan so that's not too bad. Half-way through filming I had to take a break and give my camera to Khaye, Mdu's brother, while I sat in very long (and probably snake infested!!) grass under an umbrella to get some shade from the blazing heat... I managed, by some miracle, not to get bitten by anything. We walked through some very long grass afterwards and I survived that too! (You never know how many snakes, ticks etc are lurking!)
Anyway, it was really cool as the 25 strong group were practising in a rondavel when I arrived and I managed to get some good footage of them in there, although the dust that arose every time they stomped was quite incredible. Then we met up with the Gogos, all dressed in traditional beaded costumes, and walked down to a grassy area by the river Duzi. Once there a man had to hack down some long grass with a machete type knife to make room for dancing. Then they choir began. They just love dancing and are so good at it, and singing. I got some great footage which I'll be editing as soon as I can get the right equipment sorted to do it.
It was so great to be able to come to an area like this in the middle of nowhere and to be a part of the local culture. Watch out for the DVD when I get back to the UK!
