Awakening Social Sessions: Ubunzulwazi

While many are lost and disinterested in understanding their history, young people gathered at the McGregor Museum to bask in the talents and gifts of black young people. What a beautiful sight it was seeing black youth gathered and expressing being African and all that comes with it, without any fear.

The awakening social sessions aims to curate a space that allows young aspiring artists in Kimberley to share their talents. It also seeks to promote entrepreneurial development. This time around, Awakening Social Sessions brought a different element to the session as healing was offered through Ubunzulwazi.

Ubunzulwazi is a search for and recovery of ancient truths and wisdom in a hyper industrial network society. The expression in isiXhosa is aware of the quantum nature of knowledge, it is acquisition and transmission necessitating an expanded state of consciousness in order to navigate the terrain of knowing and unknowing the visible dimensions.

Izanusi offered the audience healing through cleansing the air with Imphepho, taking them on a journey through a short film called Kamwendo.

Thandeka Mfinyongo is a singer-songwriter from Nyanga East, Cape Town, who is also a founding member of Azanian Aesthetics. She performed her song with an indigenous instrument called Chipempem and encouraged the youth to seek and be curious about their culture.

“The youth needs to seek and be curious about their culture because older people are dying and if we don’t take the baton then we’ll be left with nothing. When you seek information about your culture and such events you are getting a chance to know yourself. If you don’t know your culture it means you don’t know who you are”.

Abongile Lerotholi is part of the Ispirli production and is a healer too. He explains the importance of knowing yourself as a young person and healing the earth.

“When we are lost it simply means that we don’t know God, we have so much heritage within us. Our skin speaks because our DNA has a past, therefore the youth needs to be comfortable with knowing who they are; their language, where they come from and also what their purpose is. The problem with the youth is that they don’t know their purpose and that’s why they are lost. They don’t know what to do and are not listening to what God is saying which is to heal the earth. It is contributing to the earth through your purpose. We are the only species in the world that does not contribute but rather only takes from the earth”.

Tshepo Tlhalogang, founder of the Awakening Social Sessions says he started this event because he believes it was a calling for him, “I needed to do these sessions, because I feel that it is very necessary to have a safe space in the city where young people can come and express their feelings and frustrations. With so much violence going on among our youth, I felt like I was called to create these spaces as we needed something to bring us back to our roots and remind us that there is another way”.