Malika Ndlovu born in
Durban but much hailed in Cape Town and around the world, she is an inspiration
to many young and experienced poets, writers and performers, well-travelled and
a beautiful representation of mother earth.
She is a word smith she is
a weaver of stories, she is a mother and a creator of several multimedia productions,
she is well travelled UK, Ireland, the Philippines, Austria and other several
places.
The Beauty about sis
Malika is her collaboration work with other artists which is part of what
motivates her personal mantra:Healing through creating
this here is one of my favourite poems
The Tower
by Malika Ndlovu
Dedicated to our mothers who participated
in the Women’s Anti-Pass March on 9th August 1956
Sung Intro: I can hear Mama Ngoyi say
My mother believed only death
Would wipe our tears away
But Mama we could not wait
We were not born to live this way
Over twenty thousand warrior women
Transcending poverty, distance and difference
Aware of the dangers yet marching on in the heat
Forty thousand angry determined feet
Pounding the capital streets
One hundred thousand burning signatures
Flaming voices rising from paper
Two hundred thousand women’s hands
Tearing open an oppressive sky
No wonder the Lion of the North
Disappeared before they arrived
And finding his absence
Still delivered their message of mass defiance
They did not turn away or to violence
Instead in that moment
Built a thirty-minute tower of silence
A tower to honour their effort and intentions
Their victorious presence in that site
Their soles sinking deep roots
Into that stolen piece of land
Hand in hand these mothers
Built that tower for all of us
For the sons and daughters on their backs
The generations still to come
That tower still stands in the minds
Of those who remember
Niyakhumbula?
Here and now that tower built in 1956
Continues to transmit
Its message of unity and courage
Urging us to speak and act in solidarity
So we all have the opportunity to rise
Open your eyes, recognise this tower in our times
Hear its unmistakeable call
Penetrating glass ceilings and domestic walls
So every woman, young and old reclaims her voice, her space
So we all see ourselves mirrored in each other
Rediscover this inheritance and in the potency of silence
Cross new thresholds, birth new visions for our lives
Open your eyes, recognise this tower in our times
How it still vibrates the earth like the thunder of their feet
How it resonates with their names:
Lilian Ngoyi, Albertina Sisulu
Sophia Williams-De Bruyn, Charlotte Manye-Maxeke
Helen Joseph, Rahima Moosa
Ruth First, Dora Tamana
Annie Silinga, Florence Matomela
Winifred Kgoare, Dorothy Nyembe
Ray Alexander-Simons, Madie Hall-Xuma
Ellen Khuzwayo, Cissy Gool, Ida Mntwana
Winifred Siqwana, Mam Dube, Dr. Chuene
Hear that tower roar
In the name of thousands more
Across the landscape of our history
So we remember their fire
So we prosper in the spirit of their song
Wathint’ abafazi, Wathint’ imbokodo – uzokufa
Dedicated to our mothers who participated
in the Women’s Anti-Pass March on 9th August 1956
Sung Intro: I can hear Mama Ngoyi say
My mother believed only death
Would wipe our tears away
But Mama we could not wait
We were not born to live this way
Over twenty thousand warrior women
Transcending poverty, distance and difference
Aware of the dangers yet marching on in the heat
Forty thousand angry determined feet
Pounding the capital streets
One hundred thousand burning signatures
Flaming voices rising from paper
Two hundred thousand women’s hands
Tearing open an oppressive sky
No wonder the Lion of the North
Disappeared before they arrived
And finding his absence
Still delivered their message of mass defiance
They did not turn away or to violence
Instead in that moment
Built a thirty-minute tower of silence
A tower to honour their effort and intentions
Their victorious presence in that site
Their soles sinking deep roots
Into that stolen piece of land
Hand in hand these mothers
Built that tower for all of us
For the sons and daughters on their backs
The generations still to come
That tower still stands in the minds
Of those who remember
Niyakhumbula?
Here and now that tower built in 1956
Continues to transmit
Its message of unity and courage
Urging us to speak and act in solidarity
So we all have the opportunity to rise
Open your eyes, recognise this tower in our times
Hear its unmistakeable call
Penetrating glass ceilings and domestic walls
So every woman, young and old reclaims her voice, her space
So we all see ourselves mirrored in each other
Rediscover this inheritance and in the potency of silence
Cross new thresholds, birth new visions for our lives
Open your eyes, recognise this tower in our times
How it still vibrates the earth like the thunder of their feet
How it resonates with their names:
Lilian Ngoyi, Albertina Sisulu
Sophia Williams-De Bruyn, Charlotte Manye-Maxeke
Helen Joseph, Rahima Moosa
Ruth First, Dora Tamana
Annie Silinga, Florence Matomela
Winifred Kgoare, Dorothy Nyembe
Ray Alexander-Simons, Madie Hall-Xuma
Ellen Khuzwayo, Cissy Gool, Ida Mntwana
Winifred Siqwana, Mam Dube, Dr. Chuene
Hear that tower roar
In the name of thousands more
Across the landscape of our history
So we remember their fire
So we prosper in the spirit of their song
Wathint’ abafazi, Wathint’ imbokodo – uzokufa
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