article
IZIBOBGO -- the political art of praising: poetical socio-regulative discourse in Zulu society
Journal of African cultural studies • 11 (2) • Published In 1998 • Pages: 171-196
By: Kresse, Kai.
AbstractBrief abstract written by HRAF anthropologists who have done the subject indexing for the document
This paper presents Zulu praise-poetry, IZIBONGO, as a genre of fundamental political and socio-regulative relevance, an interpretation which with Zulu society seems to have been continually valid until today [1990s]. The central feature of IZIBONGO in this perspective concerns the ambiguous status of language in praising: in one and the same poem, it can also be used for the sake of public criticism. This is not only due to the logical possibilities of wordplay (i.e. using verbal artistry to ironize etc.) but is also enforced by the principle of 'poetic licence' which applies to most south-east African societies, granting freedom of expression to public statements made in the form of praise poetry.…This principle, in combination with the poet's obligation (a) to paint a full and true picture of the praised and the social life involved, and (b) to contribute to a socially accepted, just progression of social life, leads to IZIBONGO being regarded as documenting and forming a self-descriptive and normative social discourse of Zulu society (p. 171).
- SubjectsDocument-level OCM identifiers given by the anthropology subject indexers at HRAF
- Theoretical orientation in research and its results
- Functional and adaptational interpretations
- Verbal arts
- Personal names
- Status, role, and prestige
- Social control
- cultureCulture name from the Outline of World Cultures (OWC)
- Zulu
- HRAF PubDateThe date HRAF published the document
- 2005
- RegionThe area the document pertains to
- Africa
- Sub RegionThe more specific area the document pertains to, which is located within the Region
- Southern Africa
- Document TypeMay include journal articles, essays, collections of essays, monographs, or chapters/parts of monographs
- article
- Evaluation
- Creator TypeThe type of person writing the document, e.g. Ethnographer, Missionary, Archaeologist, Folklorist, Linguist, Indigenous Person, and so on.
- Ethnologist
- Document Rating A ranking done by HRAF anthropologists based on the strength of the source material on a scale of 1 to 5, as follows: 1 - poor; 2 - fair; 3 - good, useful data, but not uniformly excellent; 4 - excellent secondary data; 5 - excellent primary data.
- 4: Excellent Secondary Data
- AnalystThe HRAF anthropologist who subject indexed the document and prepared other materials for the eHRAF culture/tradition collection
- John Beierle ; 2004
- Field DateThe date the researcher conducted the fieldwork or archival research that produced the document
- no date
- Coverage DateThe date or dates that the information in the document pertains to
- ca.1820-1990s
- Coverage PlaceLocation of the research culture or tradition (often a smaller unit such as a band, community, or archaeological site)
- KwaZulu-Natal Province, South Africa
- NotesAdditional notes
- Kai Kresse
- Includes bibliographical references (p.194-196)
- LCSHLibrary of Congress Subject Headings
- Zulu (African people)