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Cecile Mella

!Bushwomen


Country: South Africa



Biography:

Sisters Tereska Muishond and Laverne Da Silva form !Bushwomen, a name that resonates with their deep pride in inheriting the wisdom and spirituality of the indigenous people of South Africa - the Khoi, San and the Bushmen. Their poetry is interpreted through word, song and movement. Both are fluent in the language of dance and their musical repertoire ranges from classical to jazz, R&B to Hip-Hop. They see themselves as cultural activists who promote the empowerment of women and people of mixed race.

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Delinquent Tongue

My mother speaks a wondrous tongue
Its intonations and expressions I suckled from her breast
My father speaks the tongue of a proud Griqua man
Rich with wisdom and serenity but neither xi nor xe

My sister, though, speaks a foreign tongue
Beautiful to hear
Its sovereignty bragging in my ear

My beloved grandmother talks to me from her grave
She whispers softly, lovingly, tenderly
In a familiar tongue that makes me feel safe
I fear her words will soon reach me incoherently

See I too speak an alien tongue
Beautiful to hear
Its sovereignty brag, brag, bragging in my ear

Ashamed to speak my own
Afraid to make myself known
Despite feeling disjointed
Alone

Ag here Ma!
Ek word somtyds so moeg
Heeldag moet ek vissies spoeg
But just like the bible you held close to your heart
From Afrikaans I will never part!

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