Camagu!

Here is an offering by Driemanskap, a Cape Town Band from Gugulethu! It is superb, and is the epitome and the true spirit of Inkokhelo.
Vumani Bo, SIYAVUMA!
This song, takes one home, wherever home is.
Sibamba ngazo zozibini, bantu bakuthi.
Masihloniphe amasiko nezithethe zakwantu.

click here to watch the video

Camagu!!!

Identity matters

Shaqir Erasmus walking the beaches of his Khoi Khoi ancestors.

A very big Thank You for coming to Inkokhelo.com and for your support. You might have heard us interviewed on Umhlobo Wenene and Bush Radio recently about this project. These interviews have contributed to the expansion of our project to celebrate more cultures, and in future, we hope to explore all identities of South Africa and beyond.

Our latest portrait is of Shaqir Erasmus whose ancestors are a mixture of Khoi Khoi, Javanese and French Hugenots. We talked to Shaqir to find out more about his unique heritage and sense of identity.

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Shaqir talks about the importance of finding out where you come from.

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He also talks about having pride in who you are

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He gives his take on the culture of his own community.

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Shaqir explains the divisions that exist in his community.

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Finally, he highlights the differences and similarities between South Africans.

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Distinctly South African.

We shot a portrait of Shaqir Erasmus earlier this week, and had an interesting chat with him about his identity. Shaqir has his ancestry from Khoi Khoi, Java and France (Hugenot) which makes him quite uniquely South African. We will upload some interview clips later to this blog so keep on coming back to hear what his views are on his community and South African identity in general.

More information on our portraits and how to commission one you can email amkelwa@voxpopafrica.com

More interviews.

Bulelani Zantsi collects his portrait.

Imbongi Bulelani Zantsi came to collect his portrait and we wanted to upload some more interview clips from him. First he explains the difference between regular poets and praise singers.

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He also talked about other signifigances of the clan names.

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Interview at Umhlobo Wenene

Tomorrow, Saturday 18th of April, early in the morning Amkelwa is going to be talking at Umhlobo Wenene about Inkokhelo.com. Set the alarm clock for 5am and listen from your radio (fm frequencies here) or online.

Aah! Bhele, Dlambulo, Khuboni...

Bulelani Zantsi portrait with his clan names by Inkokhelo

The Imbongi - praise singer - who welcomes you to our web site on the top of the side column is Bulelani Zantsi. We went up to the mountain with him to take photographs for his portrait and talked about praise singing and clan names. You can listen to his explanation of his specialisation and the meaning of praise singing, ukubonga, in African culture.

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Bulelani Zantsi praises Madiba

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Dr Abner Nyamende speaks about Clan names

Dr Nyamende from UCT talking about Iziduko - the Clan names

In order to explore the context within which our portraits exist, we talked to Dr Abner Nyamende, one of the custodians of African heritage. You can listen to his insight on the value of the Clan names, the meaning of ancestors and a host of other topics regarding Iziduko.

Dr Nyamende introduces himself

To put Clan names in context and gain some perspective, Dr Nyamende explained about African indigenous knowledge.

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Dr Nyamende explains the concept of Clan names.

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Dr Nyamende explains the practicalities of Clan names and marriage.

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Clan names as source for identity.

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Dr Nyamende explains the signifigance of Ancestors.

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Dr Nyamende explains the relevance of ancestors in modern day society.

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Thank You for Coming.

We have been extremely positively surprised and humbled by the amount of people that have visited this blog in a very short time. Thank you for coming and please feel free to keep on coming. It is part of the a web blog that it keeps on being updated regularly and we are currently collecting more content as well and organising photo shoots.

Inkokhelo.com is not exclusively Xhosa- based idea; it just so happens (as we are based in Cape Town), that this is where it has started. We are more than happy to work with anyone who sees the value of these services.

We want to be able to provide information around our services and the heritage behind it, but we are no authorities in the field. We have the utmost respect and appreciation for them and we are talking to people who have more information so we can share it with you , and encourage the pride, gratefullness and everything, that your heritage means to you.

You can commission a portrait of you by contacting us at amkelwa@voxpopafrica.com

Thank You.

Aah! Gaba, Thithiba, Nozinga...

Click here to listen to Masixole Nkumbesi (in picture) talking about the Gaba clan and its significance to him.

To Get Your Portrait Done...

You can contact Amkelwa for more information amkelwa@voxpopafrica.com .

Our philosophy behind these images are to make them represent you in the best possible way; to symbolise the meaning of ancestors and clan name. Together with you we can find the best location and concept for the photo shoot to ensure that you will be happy with it.

When you commission a portrait, we discuss which aspects of you and your heritage, you would like to see translated into your portrait, in what context you would like the picture to be taken, and then arrange a photo shoot.

After the photo shoot, we shortlist different options for you to choose the final image. On that image we add graphics of your clan names. The portrait is then professionally printed on canvas on a size that you like, and mounted with wood and protected with removable wrapping before you receive it.

Aah! Madiba, Sopitsho, Ngqolomsila...

Clan names are a proud tradition that should survive the times from generation to another. Printed on a poster size (A1) and mounted with a strong wood they look rather grand.



For more information about these Clan name portraits and how you can get one for yourself, you can email us to info@voxpopafrica.com


Portraits come packaged in a protective wrap as seen in this image.


Subject of the portrait admiring himself on a bigger size than ever.

Photo shoot with Gaba

Masixole getting ready for the photo shoot by the river

While shooting a portrait for Masixole Nkumbesi we talked about the signifigance of the Clan names for him and their relevance in today's world.

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Masixole talks about his family and and the Gaba clan

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Masixole talking about values, youth and the concept of iziduko - the clan names.

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