The social, cultural and historical aspects of Raditladi's Sefalana sa menate

Abstract

This study is an analysis of Raditladi’s poetry with special emphasis on three aspects, namely, social, cultural and the historical perspectives. Raditladi blends indigenous African and Western influenced themes and forms to portray the common and shared ethos, beliefs and practices of the Batswana. He depicts artistic and edifying mechanisms of his people’s culture in remarkable styles. In addition to containing history and historical figures, his poetry also addresses social issues that are of particular significance to Africans who for so long have negotiated and navigated a world of contrasting social norms and values. For example, Selelo sa morati or a ‘A Lover’s Lament’ highlights the tensions and conflict between traditional, Batswana versus modern, Western practices of love and marriage. The poem also raises the deep-seated problem of tribalism, and by extension, racism. In the poem, an attempt to harmonise contrasting ways of living, loving and composing poetry, that resonates with contemporary Africans, and their quest for social change is a recurrent preoccupation. Many modern Batswanas continue to attempt to harmonise their cultural values and norms with what they feel to be useful and relevant from so the called modern norms and values. It is a journey beset with fearful odds. Raditladi’s poetry speaks to these everyday struggles we call life in the post-colonial and post-apartheid setting. An important aspect of Batswana cultural identity that emerges from a reading of Raditladi’s collection Sefalana sa Menate is the frequency of allusion to the significance of cattle. Thes significance that is manifested in considerable number of the poetic allusions or metaphors suggest a common view of cattle as nurture, sustenance, comfort, and possession of wealthy. Traditionally, cattle provided for the everyday needs of the Batswana, and in fiction as in real life, represent wealth and well-being. A strong relationship exists between cattle and the Batswana sensibilities. This strong identification with cattle by those who through countless generations have been shepherds is evidenced in cattle allusions carried forward in language, proverbs and poetry. Historical figures and events are conveyed through poetic aestheticism. These historical events constitute: • Leadership Lessons from the House of Kgama • Teaching Batswana Poetry: an African paradigm • South Africans in European Wars: Re-writing History and setting the record straight Raditladi’s work is based on life, lived as firsthand in the communal experiences of milking and caring for cattle as a child and this is viewed in the Batswana society as providing the foundation for understanding the Batswana sensibilities. There is a gap in in Setswana literary criticism regarding a critical exploration of the three themes mentioned above been analyzed.It is hoped that this research study will go a long way to address this gap