Thato Iniesta Mzizi, Oct. 30, 2022
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This video title/summary doesn't identify who is singing this gwijo and where they are located.
Edited by Azizi Powell
Latest Revision: Nov. 21, 2021
This pancocojams post showcases seven videos of the South African gwijo entitled "Halala Indoda".
The lyrics for this gwijo and their English translation are quoted from the comment sections for two of these YouTube videos. My editorial notes are also included in this post..
The content of this post is presented for folkloric, cultural, entertainment, and aesthetic purposes.
All copyrights remain with their owners.
Thanks to the composer/s of this gwijo and thanks to all those who are featured in this post.
Thanks also to all those who are quoted in this post and thanks to the publishers of these videos on YouTube.
Click http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2021/09/what-do-xhosa-south-africa-words-gwijo.html for the related pancocojams post entitled "What Does The Xhosa (South Africa) Words "Amagwijo" & "Igwijo" Mean?"
Also, click https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2022/11/black-faced-minstrelsy-in-south-africas.html for a related pancocojams post entitled "Black Faced Minstrelsy In South Africa's Influence On The Custom Of Isicathamiya Groups Wearing White Gloves And Sometimes Making The "Jazz Hands" Gesture."
I am African American and unfortunately, I don't speak or read any other language but English. I've never been to any Africa country and I know very little about those cultures besides what I've read (online and offline) and what I've gleaned from watching and listening to YouTube videos. Consequently, I'm aware that what little I think I know about these cultures may be wrong.
My notes in this post are written from the perspective of an American.
PANCOCOJAMS EDITOR'S NOTES
Pancocojams posts about the cultures of Black people throughout Africa and the African Diaspora are published in part to document what I've found online and in large part to motivate people who are knowledgeable about these cultures to add to the small amount and often erroneous, shallow, and outdated information that is now available online about these cultures.
In addition to the music itself, this post focuses on the hand gestures that many of the singers make while singing this song. I'm particularly interested in learning about the origins and meanings of two gestures that I've found in these and in some other gwijo videos:
1, the gesture that is made by rubbing the palms of the hands together . The hands are held up in a praying gesture near the person's chest but not directly over his heart.
and
2. the gesture that is made by holding up both hands and wiggling your fingers. This last gesture appears to be similar to what people in the United States call "jazz hands" or "spirit fingers", except that in the United States (and elsewhere) "jazz hands" are done with both arms extended to the side and the fingers wiggled.
I've noticed some of these South African hand gestures in several YouTube videos of other South African choral music performances.* In my notes in those post I wondered if the "jazz hand-like" gesture had their source in the black faced minstrel groups (including a Black American minstrel group) which toured South Africa in the late 19th and early 20th century. Those minstrel groups greatly influenced the sound of South African choral music and the ways that music was performed and is still performed,
I'm very interested in learning whether that particular hand gesture was lifted from traditional Xhosa or Zulu cultures (or any other traditional South African cultures) and what was/is its meaning in those cultures.
I realize that the same or similar hand gestures might have different meanings among the same population at different periods of time and/or in different situations. What a particular hand gesture might signify can have even more interpretations when it is done by people from different populations throughout the world. Furthermore, I realize that some hand gestures have secret meanings. Nevertheless, I hope that this post motivates some people who know the meanings of the hand gestures that are done in these amagwijo videos to share online what those gestures mean for the cultural and historical record.
This compilation is only a sample of the YouTube videos of "Halala Indoda". The lyrics for this gwijo and the tempo in which it is sung may vary.
Except for showcase video #1, these videos are given in chronological order with the oldest video given first. Number are added for referencing purposes only.
My notes after some of these videos provide time stamps that identify when in the video a particular hand gesture is made. However, that hand gesture could be made elsewhere in that video. Also, videos that aren't followed by any of my editorial notes can have hand gestures throughout whose time stamps I haven't identified.
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SHOWCASE VIDEO #2: Halala indonda gwijo by Queens College #queenscollege #gwijo #rugby
Amagwijo Provider, Premiered Mar 28, 2022
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Here are the lyrics for this song that were posted in that video's discussion thread by Petje Lepipi, 2022
"ndithe mna nda ba yindoda ndasuka ndanxila 🍺🍺🍻🍻
halala"
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Google translation from Xhosa (and Zulu) to English:
"when I became a man I got drunk 🍺🍺🍻🍻
congrats"
SHOWCASE VIDEO #4: Dale College gwijo~halala indoda❤🖤🙌
Dale College amadoda, June 17, 2022
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Since amgwijo is traditionally (and still almost entirely) a male singing form, the South African colleges that are featured in pancocojams amagwijo posts are attended by males only.
Notice that the most of the students wear face masks because of the Covid-19 pandemic.
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A student is shown rubbing the palms of his hands together around 1:30 in this video. His hands are held in what Americans (from the United States) would call a praying gesture. What does that hand gesture mean in South African cultures or South African amagwijo in particular?
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SHOWCASE VIDEO #5: Selborne College Gwijo - Halala
Anele Sokomani,
“iyoh halala” veske uqonde ba liyatsho eligwijo🥺
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Google translate from Zulu to English:
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Yes, congratulations, just understand that it’s a joke.
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Here's a comment exchange about the lyrics for this song:
1. Wanele Gasa, 2022
"What are the lyrics to this song 🤲"
**
Reply
2. vusie njamela, 2022
"Iyhoo halala x2 halala x4
Ndide mna ndabayi ndoba ndasuke ndanxila
I yhoo le ndoda x2 yasuka yanxilax2 le ndoda"
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Google translate from Xhosa to English;
"
Even I was drunk
Wow, this man just got drunk"
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Additions and corrections are welcome.
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SHOWCASE VIDEO #6: PORT REX T.H.S 'Halala' Gwijo
iGwijo Liyaphilisa, Oct 3, 2022
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Throughout this video students singing are shown rubbing the palms of their hands and raising their arms above their head and wiggling their fingers (This last motion isn't the same as waving their arms back and forth which is much more familiar to people in the United States.)
SIBONGISIPHO JOLA, Nov 6, 2022
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