Lenyalo or wedding as some call it is no longer a normal platform of eternal union. Unlike with past generations, the word marriage is no longer synonymous with sharing, love, kindness and friendship; it has become for our generation; an antonym to all the virtues it used to bring. Getting married is now feared by many and everyone has different explanations and plenty opinions about it. While some use plain words in normal conversations to say this, some use sermons in church to preach, some go with music as an instrument. We are all in need of answers and as everyone continues to try in vain to find a solution, somewhere in Sekhukhune land; Limpopo province - a new artform has emerged amid all the distress and confusion. Started by young energetic artists turned musicians; this genre is something to take notice of. It doesn't have to be in your collection; at least try to listen and engage on the messages embedded in this music. Perhaps the answer to some of the questions you have been asking yourself for many years within this century might just be found herein.
The music; simply known as "Txa Manyalo" by those who dance to and take advice has become a household name after the now quite genre of the early '90's Kwaito came and went to God knows where with the emergence of the House music entourage led by Radio station DJ's and later almost anyone who concurred. Txa manyalo is a combination of traditional Sesotho sa Lebowa/Sepedi songs given a facelift by studio mixed electronic beats and a rhythm that leaves the typical rural village resident "stepping" ecstatically when the music plays. Among the household names of this genre is artist turned musician known as Pleasure.
The first time i heard about this new sound was coincidentally at a relative's wedding somewhere in the dungeons of Ga Molepo. Being naive like anyone who spends 80 percent of his life in the concrete jungles of the city i initially took this genre for a joke. But it wasn't the music that i initially took for granted - it was the music video shoots these artists take to compliment the sound that is recorded on compact disc. Since most of them use home studios and the locations in the videos are usually real and live events and scenes from rural villages across Sekhukhune land, i guess i was fooled into believing that they had no chance of making it to the mainstream music platform until i heard the music play on SABC radio stations such as Thobela FM. Plus this music has a following.......jerrrrr...and errr.....before i get carried away allow me to mention that it isn't the quality of the music and motion which i want to emphasize here.
I took interest in this music and began paying greater attention when i heard most songs are orgy with social commentary which might sound somehow controversial in post apartheid South Africa where the institution of marriage as we have come to know it; has completely collapsed. Or has it not? Ever wondered why couples get married this month and file papers of divorce three months later? Has it ever occurred to you that something has gone terribly wrong with young males and females of our generation? Black Eyed Peas's "Where is the Love" might not be relevant here; however with the high rate of divorce, constant violence between the genders escalating we really need to ask where is the love. What happened to the love displayed by our grannies and gran-dads who took it up to 90 years plus of marriage? Is that a possibility or mere fantasy for you my brother and sister? Yes i am aware "times have changed" and we live in different era and YES; the challenges might be different but are we so obsessed with material things that the focus is no longer on grooming a society that one can be proud of to call their own? Whats going on?
As many of us continue to pose these questions in a quest for answers Txa Manyalo music is also here to offer us a perspective. From songs such as mosadi ke lefotwana(a woman is bird ling), sekgametse, sebodu just to mention a few; artist turned musician Pleasure and many others have dug deep into current societal thinking and are surely offering a perspective which could help explain the challenges we face as a generation. As some refer to it, tying the knot isn't about tying anymore; its disastrous, coercive; short lived and you just need to look around where you live at present to know this. No one wants to get married anymore? Those who do go into it with wild; misguided intentions? The message to those who attempt or plan to get married in the near future is usually nyala o nyele. Is that really true?
