Sabinet | Protest against social inequalities in B.W. Vilakazi&apos;s poem "Ngoba ... sewuthi" ("Because ... you now say") : research article
n Literator : Journal of Literary Criticism, Comparative Linguistics and Literary Studies - Protest against social inequalities in B.W. Vilakazi&apos;s poem "Ngoba ... sewuthi" ("Because ... you now say") : research article Navigate this Journal About Current issue Previous issues Submit a paper Contact the editor ISSN :
Nompumelelo Zondi and
Class struggle, Klassestryd, Miners&apos; exploitation, Mynwerkers se uitbuiting, Protesliteratuur - Zoeloe, Protest literature - Zulu and Vilakazi, Benedikt Wallet
Abstract HTML Metrics Related Content Abstract Protes teen sosiale ongelykheid in B.W. Vilakazi se gedig "Ngoba ... sewuthi" ("Want ... nou sê jy")
Lank voor die Nasionale Party apartheid na 1948 geïnstitusionaliseer het, het individue en organisasies probeer om die onregverdighedevan die koloniale kapitalistiese sisteem in Suid-Afrika na vore te bring, maar soos Lodge (1983-1986) dit stel, "it all ended in speeches". Hierdie artikel toon aan hoe Benedict Wallet Vilakazi die stilte doeltreffend verbreek het deur die lot van die swart massas onder die aandag van die wêreld te bring. Hy het heftig protes aangeteken omdat swart arbeiders soos slawe behandel is in veral die goud- en diamantmyne, wat hy uitbeeld as die instansies wat verantwoordelik was vir die menslike, sielkundige en fisieke vernietiging van die swart werkersklas. As &apos;n selfaangestelde woordvoerder van die onder-druktes het hy deur medium van sy poësie beswaar gemaak teen die onregverdighede. Een van die dinge waaroor hy veral besorgd was, was die feit dat swart werkers gereduseer is tot &apos;n klas sonder naam, sonder regte - &apos;n klas wat prakties geen lewe en siel gehad het nie. Die gekose gedig "Ngoba ... Sewuthi" (Want ... nou sêê jy) is dus verteenwoordigend van die gedigte waarin B.W Vilakazi sy be-trokkenheid by die welsyn van die swart werkers en sy protes teen die ongevoeligheid van wit werkgewers uitgedruk het.
Long before the National Party institutionalised apartheid in 1948, individuals and organisations tried to highlight the injustices of the colonial capitalist system in South Africa, but, as Lodge (1983:6) puts it, "it all ended in speeches". This article seeks to demonstrate how Benedict Wallet Vilakazi effectively broke the silence by bringing the plight of the black masses to the attention of the world. He strongly protested against the enslavement of black labourers, especially in the gold and diamond mines, that he depicts as responsible for the human, psychological and physical destruction of the black working classes. As a self-appointed spokesperson of the oppressed, he protested against the injustices through the medium of his poetry. One of his grave concerns was the fact that black workers had been reduced to a class with no name, no rights, practically with no life and no soul. The chosen poem "Ngoba ... sewuthi" (Because ... you now say) is thus representative of the poems in which B.W Vilakazi externalised his commitment to the well-being of the black workers, and his protest against the insensitivity of white employers.