Risky dialogues: the performative state and the nature of power in a postcolony

Abstract

Arguments on the performative state often treat performance as a practice that the state forces upon its citizens in rather monologic fashion. However, this contradicts the fundamentally fluid nature of performance, always evolving, malleable and never fixed or static. Focusing on the state-sponsored televised music gala and the genre of ‘urban grooves’, which emerged in the context of a broader revival of cultural nationalism in Zimbabwe in the early 2000s, I discuss the complex and ambivalent ways in which these spaces operated as platforms of co-optation and resistance. Performance, therefore, is an inherently risky practice that does not always prove reliable in furthering the status quo. While the state was able to discipline musicians to a certain extent, restraint was limited and musicians had the ability to shape events in their own way. The practice of performance did not only present risks to those in power, but also offered opportunities to the state to solidify its affiliation with musicians, and to frame them as natural allies or supporters of the state. Ultimately, this proves that a dialogic understanding of power and resistance is crucial in order to make sense of the convergence between politics and performance in the postcolony.

Keywords:

• performance
• power
• agency
• resistance
• postcolonial studies
• cultural nationalism
• music and politics
• Zimbabwe

Acknowledgements

I am grateful to comments and feedback on earlier versions of this article from members of the ‘Performance and Social Meaning’ reading group that I was privileged to be part of during my stay at the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg, South Africa. This article is very much a product of my conversations with members of the group in the past and present, and particularly with Liz Gunner, Maria Suriano, Innocentia Mhlambi, Anne Schumann, Jendele Hungbo, Neo Musangi and Kelly Askew.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Notes

1. Interview with former CEO of ZBC, Mr Munyaradzi Hwengwere, 31 January 2011, Harare, Zimbabwe.

2. In this article, all references to, and translations of, vernacular languages in Zimbabwe are to chiShona, which is spoken by the majority of Zimbabweans. The second most important language in the country is siNdebele, which is the dominant language in the western part of Zimbabwe. Most of the songs part of both the Chimurenga and ‘urban grooves’ genre is sung in chiShona. Songs in the siNdebele language were not as visible at the music gala although contributions were made by musicians such as Sandra Ndebele and Albert Nyathi, and dance group IYASA. Music genres in Zimbabwe are strongly associated with certain languages which reflect the broader politics of ethnicity (see also Ndlovu-Gatsheni 2009a, 2009b).

3. Apart from ‘Hondo Yeminda’, Moyo coordinated two more music albums: ‘Come to Victoria Falls Down in Zimbabwe', which was launched in 2003 and sought to revive Victoria Falls as a prime tourist attraction, and ‘Back2Black', which Moyo produced for the group Pax Afro and contained a number of Pan-Africanist songs. Other albums in the Third Chimurenga Series were ‘Mwana Wevhu’ (literally ‘children of the soil', but often problematically translated as ‘sons of the soil', hereby failing to recognize the contribution of women to the liberation struggle) which was coordinated by the Minister of Youth and Employment Creation, Elliot Manyika, and musician Bryn Mteki; ‘Nhaka Yedu’ (‘Our Heritage’) by the Air Force of Zimbabwe Band; ‘Rangarirai’ (‘Remember how it was in the past') by musician Peter Majoni; ‘Hoko’ (‘Peg!’) by musician Simon Chimbetu and ‘More Fire’ by musician Andy Brown.

4. ‘Hondo Yeminda’ album doing well on local market, The Herald, 8 September 2001, 5.

5. See BSA, available from Kubatana website: http://www.kubatana.net/html/archive/legisl/010404broa.asp?orgcode=par001&year=2001&range_start=1 (last accessed 9 February 2008).

6. Vision 30 also introduced six new strategic business units within ZBC's overarching structure which now became known as Zimbabwe Broadcasting Holdings (ZBH): Television Services, Radio Services, Production Services, Kidznet, Sportnet and Newsnews. As part of Vision 30, ZBC also renamed its radio stations: Radio 1 became Spot FM; Radio 2 was renamed to Radio Zimbabwe; Radio 3 was changed to 3FM and Radio 4 was now termed National Radio.

7. Mapfumo's exile – longing for home, The Zimbabwean, 9 September 2005, quoted in Bere (2005).

8. Hosiah Chipanga's music is hard to classify within existing Zimbabwean music genres. While he is generally not associated with popular Zimbabwean gospel musicians such as Olivia and Charles Charamba, Fungisa Zvakavapano or Ivy Kombo, his music style is strongly inspired by sungura, but he self-identifies as a gospel musician who actively spreads the word not only through his music but also through the church, known as Messiah Apostolic Prophetically Inspired Peoples Institution (MAPIPI), which he established in 2011 (see also Magosvongwe 2008).

9. Secret agents quiz musician over Mugabe jibe, ZimOnline, 12 August 2005.

10. See note 9.

11. Nyathi, Magugu, State agents threaten top musician Hosea Chipanga, Association of Zimbabwe Journalists website, 1 May 2006, http://www.zimbabwejournalists.com/story.php?art_id=336&cat=9 (last accessed: 15 March 2008).

12. Outrage as Tuku backs Mugabe, NewZimbabwe, March 2005, http://www.newzimbabwe.com/pages/tuku15.12411.html (last accessed: 15 March 2008).

13. Oliver Mtukudzi sings for Zanu PF, The Standard, March 2005, available from NewZimbabwe website, http://www.newzimbabwe.com/pages/tuku13.12407.html (last accessed: 15 March 2008).

14. Oliver Mtukudzi sings for Zanu PF, The Standard, March 2005, available from NewZimbabwe website, http://www.newzimbabwe.com/pages/tuku13.12407.html (last accessed: 15 March 2008).

15. Mnangagwa booed At Nkomo gala, The Standard, 4 July 2004.