Ubuciko bomlomo: Verbal art (in print) in Zulu

Abstract

Aspects of the nature and usefulness of verbal art in printed form are assessed, commencing with a review of the earliest works. Closer attention is then paid to the works that have been written for school use, and finally (or intermittently), a look is taken at aspects of the work of David Rycroft, a remarkable scholar who was taught by such figures as B.W. Vilakazi, Mntwana (Princess) Constance Magogo kaDinizulu, and her son Ndunankulu (Chief Minister) Mangosuthu Buthelezi. Rycroft also composed the music for Swaziland's National Anthem, and, although he is primarily a musicologist, can speak with the same ease about Zulu grammar and tonology. It so happenes that the questions of performance and of terminology are some of the main issues in this contribution.