Beautiful, for a dark skinned girl… - By Nomsa Lusanda Mbuli

How many of you have heard the phrases, ‘Nkhwishinga’, ‘Mnyamane’ or ‘Untima’? I have, many times growing up and I still hear them today. All these gross and offensive words are used to describe a dark-skinned person. And the words used to describe a light-skinned person are nothing less than endearments, ‘ntombemhlophe’, ‘ntombenhle’ or ‘umlungu’. We live in a country and world that perceives dark skin as evil, as something that people should not be proud of. And anything light-skinned is respectable, beautiful, and what everyone should aspire to be. That is how this yellow-bone controversy was born. Women, young and old seek societal validation by bleaching their skin to reach the appropriate pretty that is perceived by the media and society. Many fall under this pressure.

It is sickening to have to watch someone being shamed for the colour of their skin, and society expecting dark skinned women to be apologetic about the amount of melanin their skin is able to produce. Global sales for skin-lightening cream remain steady. Photo-shopped images in which the model’s skin has been lightened are commonplace, and the portrayal of this kind of beauty is the reason why most people run helter skater looking for ‘ikekesi’.

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Not only are companies that make skin-lightening products making money, the market has extended to technology as well. There are applications that can be downloaded that edit photos to give you lighter skin. On Facebook the ‘filter’ feature is used constantly when uploading pictures, and the prettier the picture, meaning the more ‘filtered’ it is, the more ‘likes’ that picture will receive. But growing up as a child who knew little more than the fact that we were all Black and shared that basic commonality, and knowing even now that we will always share that commonality, I was and still am deeply confused and pained by the lack of acceptance and the bullying that darker skinned people, especially women, experience. Women do not need this. They are already facing many different challenges, being killed and violated, being discriminated against in the workplace and being left to care for children while the father is out gallivanting with other women. Worrying about their skin and spending way too much money on products that will make them ‘prettier’ is an unnecessary burden to their already unbearable struggles.

When a few years ago came this woman, Alek Wek, proud and confident in embracing her flawless skin in her absolute beauty. Even though she was still objectified sexually, she showed everyone that being dark skinned is not what defines an individual. A person’s beauty cannot be summed up by the colour of her skin. In fact, no matter how ‘yellow-bone’ one may be, it does not change the fact that they are still Black, it does not make you White, it only makes you ‘light skinned’, and being light skinned does not make you superior.

A conversation about phrases like ‘You are really beautiful for a Black girl’, or ‘For a fat chick, you are prettier than some skinny girls’, needs to start soon. The truth is, we all equally matter. And the beauty of it is that we are all Black, all resilient, and we are committed to learning and unlearning all of these complex stereotypes. In order to be able to move forward and heal, we need to start addressing the ways that some of us get privilege at each other’s expense. And this yellow-bone trend must stop. 

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Who created Mvelinchanti?

(By Pius Vilakati, writing as Mr Pius Rinto)

PART A – When Mvelinchanti features nowhere in the people’s lives

Some Swazis present the Swazi “religion” as belief in, and worship of, Mvelinchanti who is the Almighty God, the same Christian God who “created the heavens, the earth and everything else.” The same seems to obtain in some other African countries, especially in Southern Africa. They claim that Africans strictly worship Mvelinchanti, but only that labaphansi (ancestors) intercede for them. That is, they send their prayers to God (Mvelinchanti) through the ancestors (labaphansi), just like Christians have Jesus Christ and the Saints.

When we trace what actually takes place in the people’s regular activities, however, we find no mention of Mvelinchanti in any part of the Swazi people’s way of life. By “way of life” we presuppose a group of people who have not yet received or accepted Christianity; traditionalists. Even king Mswati in his speeches sometimes says he thanks “God and the ancestors” for whatever event he is grateful for.

Ancestors protect us

Using our own experiences, and through the vast SiSwati literature that we have had the liberty of reading, we trace how Swazis have been living. Every time we always find that when a family member is undertaking a long journey, the family elders request that labaphansi go with her or him and protect that individual member from dangers along the way. They never say, “May Mvelinchanti protect you.” No! They specifically mention labaphansi. Neither do they request that labaphansi should request Mvelinchanti to protect you.

Ancestors welcome us when we die

When a family member dies, the ancestors are alerted of the death. Throughout the funeral and mourning process, they are updated about what is happening and what step will take place next. Mvelinchanti is never mentioned. When the body leaves the home, the elders speak to labaphansi, alert them that one of their own is leaving the home for good and then ask them to welcome her or him with warm arms. Where, when, how, and by whom, was this Mvelinchanti created then? Surely she or he should be mentioned somewhere if she or he is known by Swazis. Not so?

All events are reported to the ancestors

When Swazis have events coming up, such as a wedding ceremony, they never forget to alert the ancestors and request that the event be a success. Sometimes they simply slaughter a beast for the ancestors to remember and celebrate them. But somehow, Mvelinchanti never gets any mention. Neither does she or he even get a small party. Not even a small goat is slaughtered for Mvelinchanti.

When ancestors are angry

Sometimes it happens that natural disasters happen and people’s houses get blown off, amongst other things. Sometimes a whole family or community gets attacked by a killer disease. We see again here that the people interpret this as a sign of anger from the ancestors for some wrong that has been committed by them, or by some amongst them which has been allowed to continue. When these things happen, Swazis again slaughter a beast in order to appease and calm down the anger of the ancestors (labaphansi). Yet they never appease the “real creator” of everything, Mvelinchanti! Does it not make you ask why?

PART B: Investigating the real creator of Mvelinchanti

In Part A we found that Mvelinchanti is not known to the people of Swaziland. We must now investigate the roots of Mvelinchanti.

Emergence of the word

The first point is to investigate when the word “Mvelinchanti” actually started appearing. Was it there, for instance, before colonialism? Was it there before the arrival of Christian missionaries? If our investigation finds that the word “Mvelinchanti” was non-existent before these events, it will add to evidence that the “Mvelinchanti” title was either coined by the Christian missionaries in trying to convince Swazis to accept Christianity as an equal to the Swazi “religion” or was designed by Swazis to “upgrade” their “religion” to that of the Christians so that it can be acceptable to the new powerful white masters (colonisers). This “upgrading” may show that when the colonialists overpowered the Swazis and thereafter imposed their “superior” religion, Swazis had no choice but to either unreservedly accept the colonialists’ religion or upgrade their own by polluting it with the new more powerful religion or both.

This is only a beginning of our investigation. We will continue, as the days go, to search for Mvelinchanti’s roots. If we cannot find her or him, then we must find the one who created her or him.

NB: In this article, we use “Swazis” because that is the society in which the primary author of the article has lived most of his life in Swaziland and thus has actual knowledge of the place. It may as well refer to other societies where “Mvelinchanti” or a similar being “exists.”

An important advice to all lovers: Don't miss this important talk

(By Pius Vilakati, writing as Mr Pius Rinto)

So you fall in love, perhaps get married. But then in any relationship you must be able to freely talk to each other. I’m not referring to talking when there are problems between the two of you. I’m about everyday talk. Let’s see how you will fare as I help you build your relationship.

Soapies

Let’s say that you will talk about Generations, Isidingo, Skeem Saam, Isibaya, Bold & The Beautiful, Scandal, etc. Oops! Your partner does not like soapies. Then, no talks about soapies for the two of you. Let’s quickly move on.

Sports

Since soapies don’t provide a meeting place for the two of you, I suggest you talk about sports. Then you’ll have some interesting thoughts about the weekend games, who’ll be the next world player of the year, and who’ll win the South African premiership this season. Hey, you can even talk about whether Collins Mbesuma will be the top goal scorer this year. Interesting discussions, I can already foresee.

Ooh no! Now I remember that your partner wants nothing to do with sports. Soccer is even worse! Your partner, if I recall, just loves soapies. If you can love soapies too, you can be the best of lovers, joined at the hip. Your partner simply thinks that Christiano Ronaldo was once a contestant in America’s Next Top Model and always wonders why the Swaziland national team coach never plays Didier Drogba when he is so good. So, I guess sports are a definite no for the both of you. So let’s move on.

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News and politics

Yep! Now I’ve figured it out. You both have brains, right? Good! Speak about the news and politics. Speak about the ongoing USA elections processes. Donald Trump is getting on everybody’s nerves, except the white supremacists. That’s a good start. Go on and talk about the influence of the Gupta family in South African politics. How about the recent African Union summit? I’m sure it will work. It’s still fresh in your minds. Zimbabwe president, Robert Mugabe, is a very interesting leader. Don’t you think?

Well, I see your face frowning and then I remember that by the way your partner gets easily bored by news and politics, whether community, regional, national or world.

Your partner, by the way, doesn’t care whether the Syrian war is still continuing or not, and literally doesn’t even know where Syria is. Yes, you can talk a lot about the atomic bomb that was dropped by the USA on Japan and killed hundreds of thousands of innocent Japanese people, but your partner doesn’t even know that there was ever a war of such magnitude! Sorry, I didn’t mean to be this blunt.  

Showbiz and entertainment

Now, here is an area where the both of you can meet. You’ve both gone through teenage years, and thus have a wealth of knowledge in these issues. You’ve sang along R Kelly’s songs from track 1 to the last in every album, marvelled at the magnificent voice of Whitney Houston.

But let’s face it, the only reason you are talking about the Oscar Awards is because you feel that black people are marginalised in these awards, although you don’t even know half the black actors and actresses that have actually been overlooked (Eish you and I are in the same boat on this one). But then your partner is a direct opposite of you in this regard; cares little about some ‘non-existent’ Hollywood racism, but knows almost all the top actors and actresses.

Speaking of opposites…

Opposites attract

Opposites attract, right? This should be it. The fact that you are opposites on all the above-mentioned fields is the reason for your spark. Isn’t it? Well, but even if you are opposites, which ought to attract the two of you to each other, you’ll still have to talk, just talk, nothing more. What will you talk about? Or you will allow your “opposites” get you to interact? When you are sitting on your couch, as you watch Karabo on Generations saying she wants to marry two husbands or when you watch Suffocate’s little brother on Rhythm City having some secret good times with his big brother’s wife, what will you be saying to each other? Oh you’ll be reading the newspaper? I see.

Alright, if everything else fails, you’ll speak about Eritrea then! Eish, but this might not work out very well.

Today’s session is over. Let’s investigate other areas of interaction tomorrow because today we couldn’t find any meeting point except…