Sphesihle Zulu, Khanyisani Mtshali and Sakhile Dlomo are young people from the community of eBhekuzulu who formed the Izingonyama traditional group in May 2019.
They formed the group when they realised the only things that matter to them are performing art, music, and their traditional and cultural background. Spshesihle explained that they were once in another singing group, but it was ‘time for us to grow and be ourselves’.
‘’Now we are a group of 20 members. We recruit mostly young people from the age of 16 upwards. We sing, dance and perform because it is something that is really close to our hearts, not forgetting the fact that we make a living out of it.”
Sphesihle says they had an opportunity to perform in competitions the same year the group was created. ‘’We performed in a well-known competition by the Department of Arts & Culture called Umbelowethu, where different traditional and cultural groups participate, and we claimed first position. Then we moved to the next level and performed at Cecil Emmet, where we again took first prize. When it was time to perform against groups around the Zululand District in Ulundi, we came third, which was our biggest achievement as a group.
‘’During that year, we were still looking forward to performing in other places and in other competitions, but lockdown happened and it was really quiet. Nothing was happening and only now things are looking up for the group again.’’
Sphesihle says now they are performing at weddings, funerals, schools, formal and informal events, and also places like Richards Bay and Standerton to entertain audiences. ‘’We are still looking out for young people to join our group; this helps them stay out of trouble. We have rehearsals every Tuesday, Thursday and Friday from 16:00 to 18:00. On Saturdays we normally perform. While rehearsing, one knows that one is focused on the positive things in life.’’
Sphesihle says they still have plans to grow the group by giving back to their community. In the month of June, a lot will be happening to celebrate the youth. If anyone would like to join this traditional music group or book the group for a performance, they can contact 081 412 7818 or 076 135 5624, or email is sphesihlez@gmail.com. They are Izingonyama Traditional Group on all social media platforms.
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