ARCHIE MAFEJE

I am here suggesting a similarity between the role of the Celtic bardsand that of the South African bard, despite the fact that some linguists such as [A. C.] Jordan believe[s] that the South African traditional bards are a genre Œfor which no exact parallel is to be found either in classical or in modern Western poetry¹. I think institutionally there are parallels and this can be seen from the way the South African bard arose. He was self-appointed, and his success was determined by the response of the people to what he had to say. If the people felt that what he said was representative or reflective of their interests and aspirations, then he was generally accepted as the Œnational poet¹, imbongi yakomkhulu (the poet of the main residence), or, more recently, imbongi yesizwe (the poet of the nation). It is, therefore, apparent that the main function of the South African bardis to interpret public opinion and to organize it (once he has been firmly established), failing that, he does not achieve the status of Œnational poet¹. I have heard elders in the Transkei in South Africa, impressed by the words of the bard, remark, ŒIyathetha le mbongi, madoda¹ meaning ŒMen, this bard is saying worthwhile things¹. The method of the South African bard, in carrying out his duties, is not unlike that of the European bards. Like them, he celebrates the victories of the nation, he sings songs of praise, chants the laws and custonms of the nation, he recites the genealogies of the royal families; and, in addition, he criticizes the chiefs for perverting the laws and the customs of the nation and laments their abuse of power and neglect of their responsibilities and obligations to the people. The only important difference between the European and the South African bard is that the position of the latter, unlike that of his European counterpart, is not hereditary and whatever privileges he enjoys, in view of his services at the main residence, are not heritable. Secondly, there is no evidence that the South African bards ever organized themselves into special socities; the vocation has always been pone followed by lone individuals. In summary it may be stated that (i) both the European and the South African bards came from the commoner rank; (ii) their positions depended on their general acceptance by the people; (iii) the roles of both types are characterized by some measure of freedom to criticize, whether subtly or openly, those in authority, i.e. Kings and Chiefs. In contemporary western societies this role seems to have been taken over by the newspaper cartoonist. The significanceod all these publiuc Œcritics¹ (the European bard, the medieval court jester, the South African bard, and the newspaper cartoonist) is considerable, sincethey serve as a check against abuse of power by those in authority; they represent the opinions of the ruled.

---Archie Mafeje, "The Role of the Bard in a Contemporary African Community", Journal of African Languages, vol. 6 no. 3 (1967).