What if it’s Culture? A Closer Look at the Gender Situation in Sepedi ‘Manyalo’ Songs

Abstract

The traditional trademark for Sepedi weddings is the ‘manyalo’ songs. For decades, the lyrics of manyalo songs have been crafted to serve a functional and educational purpose. This chapter aimed to explore if manyalo songs, as tools of empowerment, uphold gender equality. The newly gazetted Green Paper on marriages in South Africa envisages that all people in South Africa would conclude marriages in an equitable, non-discriminatory manner irrespective of their sexual orientations and cultural persuasions. Following qualitative discourse analysis, the chapter analysed data from the lyrics of 25 manyalo songs. The songs were selected through purposive sampling. Data were collected from the audios of the songs and transcribed. Examples of traditional gender order that the chapter identified as unequal and discriminatory were drawn from the lyrics, and generalisations were made based on literal and satirical interpretations. The analysis revealed patriarchal practices that do not reflect the values of equality, and the findings reflected gender hierarchy, heteronormativity, kinship norms and gender subversions. Therefore, the chapter contributes to the existing knowledge of gender order and adds to the understanding of the patriarchal constructions within Sepedi society.