Literature is highly influenced by society and cultural contexts in which it is produced or read. It is a reflection of how a particular society constructs reality. The values, beliefs and norms transferred from one generation to another reflect, in the main, that society’s way of life. When creative writers use verbal art forms like novels, short stories or drama, they do so in order to create an allusive and fictitious setting which enable them to comment on contemporary issues without blatantly seeming to do so. In this sense it becomes a prerogative for artists to remark on what is happening in communities without being directly confrontational. In our view, it is also their responsibility to approach literature from an angle that reflects changing times, thus challenging anything that is contrary. In 2013 we involved our final year undergrad literature class in a project whose aim was to sensitize them on gender disparities still affecting our society today. Five of nine groups comprising ten students each – both men and women-chose to study the work of an acclaimed Zulu writer, D.B.Z. Ntuli (
As a result of post-independence and widespread gender activists in the world, the question of male supremacy over women is rapidly receiving attention in African societies generally and Zulu culture in particular. In patriarchal societies, for instance, where people are socialised to believe that masculine gender is superior to feminine gender, literary works have come to be employed as one of the tools to shift mindsets from oppressive cultures that have stood the test of time by challenging status quo. Talbot (
Therefore, in the article we set to do the following:
Unpack and discuss the short story,
Present male responses to their reading of the selected short story with particular reference to Mbuthuma, the main character, and
Provide a sound analysis of the views of our respondents.
The short story entitled ‘NguMbuthuma-ke lowo’ (This then is Mbuthuma) is about Mbuthuma, a polygamist with three wives: MaKheswa, MaHlengwa and MaMfeka. A man of unpredictable temper, he exposes his wives to various forms of atrocities as punishment whenever he feels they have annoyed him. As a result, the wives constantly live in fear as they do not know what to expect each time he summons them. The short story comes from
There are several levels at which this short story could be interpreted. Because of the nature of the language used in this short story, some critics might consider it as satire. Simpson (cited in Phiddian
In the article we focus on the features of the main character and his actions towards his wives as a way of arriving at the theme of how the title ‘NguMbuthuma-ke lowo’ (This then is Mbuthuma) encompasses not only what he looks like and what he has done to his wives but also what his final state is. Thus, we view it as appropriate to provide a complete overview of the story, albeit with focus on Mbuthuma, the main character.
As the story begins, the author describes Mbuthuma in this fashion:
Ngumdududla wakwabo. Yinkwishela. Izitho ngamagqikolo. Umkhaba ungaka. Izihlathi zingaka. Amehlo ayalokoza. Ngumshashadu. (Ntuli & Ntuli
(He is an extremely fat man with legs that resemble those of an elephant. His stomach is very big. He has big cheeks. The eyes are small. He has no hair on his head.)
This portrayal of Mbuthuma might be one of the techniques the author uses to give readers freedom to construct their opinion of this character. The title, which could be translated in several ways, such as ‘This is Mbuthuma by the way’ or ‘This could only be Mbuthuma’ or even ‘This then is Mbuthuma’, evokes suspense. We have opted for the latter meaning as it is more neutral. Descriptive translation theorists maintain that translations can never be exact equivalents of their originals because every translation involves a certain amount of manipulation for a certain purpose (Hermans
Writers of extended fictional prose often use particular devices to give shape to their ideas and to give them structure or form. These include setting, character, protagonist, narrator and narrative technique (Murray
The short story being explored is a story that tackles issues of domestic violence, which, in the 21st century, continue to affect women the African continent over. This is attested to through recent anecdotal evidence covered in numerous media, which reveal, amongst other atrocities, the raping of elderly women and young girls in the Province of KwaZulu-Natal [
The article examines inherent gender-oppressive practices well explained through an exploration of men’s violent behaviours prevalent in Zulu culture. The fact that this state of affairs is presented from the male author’s perspective makes for an even stronger case for gender activists like us to engage with such texts with an aim of eliciting a discussion on these matters. Through analysis of the short story, ‘entrenched’ ways of thinking about gender oppression are brought forward with a purpose of contributing towards prospects of moulding transformed men who do not view culture as something to be followed blindly even where women’s self-worth is compromised. Furthermore, in the twenty-first century, and within the context of the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights, this deep-rooted issue should not even be a constant subject of debate.
Buikema and Smelik (
As the argument focuses on gender-based violence, an excerpt from a former UN Secretary General Kofi Annan (Annan
Gender based violence is rooted in the historically unequal power relations (social, economic, cultural and political) between males and females. It takes many forms and can include physical, emotional or sexual abuse. It can occur in wartime or in times of peace. While both males and females can suffer from gender based violence, studies show that women, young women and children of both sexes are most often the victims. Violence against women is perhaps the most shameful human rights violation. As long as it continues we cannot claim to be making real progress towards equality, development and peace.
Coming back to the question of gender-based violence, practices such as polygyny render women in such unions precarious, and polygamy is not fundamentally restricted to African countries as it is also practised in the Middle East and America, for example (Philips & Jones
The author has used a symbolic metaphor of fire, in naming his main character, Mbuthuma meaning furnace,
Through good choice of words, given in the following excerpt, we are made aware in the beginning of the story that Mbuthuma’s wives were used to beating as a form of punishment:
Abe emcasulile lamakhosikazi amathathu. Kunokuba afake induku wathi uzowabophela. Wathatha intambo ende ….wababophela emaqakaleni ….Ubabophela maqede wathi abagijime bazungeze isibaya kathathu …Bazungeza. Bazungeza. (Ntuli & Ntuli
The word
The last and worst form of punishment sustained by Mbuthumas’s wives happen as a result of their noncompliance with tradition, which expects them to treat the utensils and crockery (amongst other things) belonging to the head of the family
He summoned them. They were so frightened. They never knew what to expect when his rage took the better of him. Amongst three forms of gender-based violence identified by Annan (
Even though the author presents the women’s predicaments in a humorous manner (satire), it is apparent that they are fearful of their husband. What punishment did he resort to? Mbuthuma’s blazing temper drove him to physically manipulate his wives’ maternal organs; their breasts: a revolting form of brutality. This is what he declared and put into effect:
Namuhla ngizonisenga…. Eqinisweni kuthi angingene nani esibayeni ngiyonisengela khona njengazo zonke izinkomo. Nifana nazo nje nani ngaphandle kokuthi nina ningezikhulumayo. (Ntuli and Ntuli
The above scenario illustrates Mbuthuma’s wayward character where, in anger, he transgresses one of the key cultural norms, where it is taboo for women to be found near cattle kraals. Whilst this action may be viewed as satire, it is actually unacceptable in the present context.
Mbuthuma also levies verbal abuse of a large degree to his wives when he uses derogatory language whilst ‘milking them’. When he cannot get milk out of MaKheswa’s breasts because of the fact that as an older wife she is beyond breastfeeding years, he refers to her as
It is also worth noting that for every evil Mbuthuma inflicts on his wives, he lays the blame on them. It is always all about him and the respect he commands from his wives. Before the horrendous act on the day of milking his wives, he had sarcastically said to them:
Ngiyabona ukuthi niyedelela. Kokunye anelulekwanga kahle mhla niphuma emakini. …Kumele ukuba baniyale ngokuthi izitsha zomnumzane ziyahlonishwa, noma ngabe lowo mnumzane mncanyana uyedeleleka njengami nje. [I can see that you are rude. Perhaps you were not taught in your families how to behave … they were supposed to teach you when you got married that the utensils of
In saying the above words, though sarcastic, Mbuthuma acknowledges that he does not deserve the respect of his wives for his brutality towards them; from beating them up to tying them with a rope like a span of cattle eventually milking them like cows. These women were literally treated like animals devoid of human dignity portraying gross domestic violence and gender-based violence. As maintained by De Klerk, Klazinga and McNeil (
It cannot be contested that the various abusive forms exerted by Mbuthuma towards his wives constitute the theme of gender-based violence as reflected in the short story. By portraying Mbuthuma as some kind of a monster through his physical appearance and behaviour, the author of the selected short story paints a picture of a man who is ugly through and through. By creatively attending to detail in his appearance and behaviour, it seems that the author wants to prepare his readers for the downfall of this character. A person like that cannot go unpunished after the gross humiliation he has put his wives through. The fact that one of the wives’ brothers confronts him when he finds him red-handed manipulating his sister’s reproductive organs shows that he is not invincible. In shock, Ngqeku says:
Wenzani kodwa mkhwenyawethu?…Wenzani mkhwenyawethu kudadewethu? (Ntuli & Ntuli
(What are you doing my brother-in-law?… What are you doing my brother-in-law to my sister?).
Mbuthuma’s violent reaction towards his brother-in-law when he asked him a relevant question is the direct cause of his downfall and ultimately his change of heart. After an altercation that ensues between the two men and the wives’ support of Ngqeku, Mbuthuma finds himself humiliated beyond words when Ngqeku, taking a cue from his sister, takes the milk jar (with the contents from the women’s breasts) and pours it into Mbuthuma’s mouth. Even though he spits it out, an amount thereof had gone down his throat because he was breathing through his mouth when Ngqeku overpowered him. Powerless, he goes to sit under the shade—the place symbolically meant to suggest his transformation and ultimately his wives’ emancipation. In the same way that a shade provides fresh air, Mbuthuma’s wives were finally free from his bullying tendencies. Even though in anger he had threatened Ngqeku with a court order for coming to fight him in his homestead, in the finale the author leaves us with these words of hope:
Usathanda ukuzihlalela ngaphansi komthunzi. Akakaze amangale. Akukaze kwenzeke okunye (Ntuli & Ntuli
(He now loves to sit under the shade. He has never taken anyone to court. He has never repeated his cruel actions).
After understanding gender issues found in the short story just presented, we now offer some remarks from male respondents to the question guiding the discussion. The question was: In a sentence share what your views on Mbuthuma are with regards the way he treats his wives in the short story studied.
In the class of 40 male students and 60 female students, more than 30 male students (constituting over 75%) gave negative responses to the question posed. They were either sarcastic or did not take the issue of violence against women seriously. We also observed, to our dismay, that 12 female students aligned themselves with the male students who had negative notions about the women in the story. Even though they make only 20% of the entire female group in class, that does not warrant silence. However, in the article, it is with responses from the masculine gender that we confine ourselves because it is their insolence during the class discussion that was the reason behind the conception of the article in the first place. Without being exhaustive, the 15 verbatim comments reproduced below serve as samples of responses obtained. Whilst the following remarks were made in isiZulu, for brevity they have been translated into and presented in English taking into account what was described earlier about the nature of translations:
‘But surely Mbuthuma’s wives knew what provoked their husband’s fury and as such should have stayed away from doing those things’.
‘They were not coerced into marrying their husband and therefore they were right to tolerate him’.
‘Mbuthuma did them a favour by marrying all of them in light of there being more women than males in all societies anyway’.
‘Mbuthuma loved his wives. Some form of physical abuse makes women respect their partners and take them seriously’.
‘The conversation that takes place among Mbuthuma’s wives where they raise their fears about possible punishment they might get is an indication that they knew exactly what their husband expected of them at all times. His outrageous behaviour was not out of context. If you love your partner you must work hard to keep them happy so that there will be peace at all times’.
‘If only you knew what the ladies in our group said about Mbuthuma’s actions towards his wives, you would be surprised to know that they do not think he is such a monster themselves’.
‘Well, Mbuthuma’s punishment that he imposes on his wives was rather extreme. However, they were supposed to avoid anything that would trigger his anger’.
‘A woman who is properly raised in her family would not have met with the kind of wrath demonstrated by Mbuthuma. They call it upon themselves’.
‘Women must tolerate men because the ratio between men and women is disproportional. Even in this class the ratio of women to men is almost 2:1; an indication that if men focused on one woman other women would feel neglected’.
‘Oh give a man a break. He is practicing his manhood’.
’Why are we making a storm out of a tea-cup? Women in this story have no problem with what they go through or they would abandon their men and return to their parents’ homesteads. Also, does the bible not say women must humble themselves before their men?’
‘The women stand there staring at him when he suggests he will send them back to their homesteads. If they really thought he was a monster that was an opportunity to flee. But did they?’
‘As for me I am indifferent towards Mbuthuma’s actions. I have nothing to say’.
‘It is a pity that the actions of women in this story are overlooked. Surely they are not 100% innocent’.
‘I think Mbuthuma is a funny man’.
Current research suggests that there is a wide difference in attitudes and values about gender issues in sexual education from formative ages (Halstead & Waite
It follows that in a discussion of this nature, it would seem legitimate to provide an analysis of the views of my respondents with an objective of exposing and cautioning against a ‘culture of silence’ around sexuality in South Africa, which is partly responsible for gender violence and continuing stereotypes that disempower women and young girls (Morrell
The male responses are discussed within the themes of misogyny and patriarchy that run through them. The ignorance amongst male respondents towards hate speech such as ‘Thula! Ngithi vala lo mlonyana wakho!’ (Ntuli & Ntuli
The first ever conference on gender-based violence held in Windhoek, Namibia, in 2007 revealed that women in the Southern African Development Community are continually victims of domestic violence inflicted on them usually by intimate partners (Kiremire
The views of the respondents may be summed up as speaking of aspects of misogyny and patriarchy in that women are supposed to obey the rules of their husbands; once married, women are supposed to endure marriage rather than enjoy it; the man has the prerogative to choose his wives and that the man is the rescuer of the woman.
It has been established in this study that African cultures epitomise patriarchy in which cultural practices are inherent and in that way translated through certain practices. Some of the patriarchal beliefs, whilst present in African cultures in general, do sometimes put emphasis on the relationship between men and women. It would thus be folly for any critical debate on patriarchal gender discourse not to mitigate women’s grief. The article has illustrated that whilst gender issues are a universal concern, some societies are far more deeply affected by them than others as illustrated in the short story analysed and remarks by its Zulu male student readers. Through literature as a ‘mirror’ of society, the article has highlighted how issues of culture can be seen to perpetrate and justify violence against women. From the foregoing discussion, it has become apparent that all women deserve to be treated with fairness and justice, even in traditions where women play subservient roles, like the one depicted in the selected short story. Finally, fully aware that one of the characteristics of literary texts is that ’they never quite fit the critical grids that readers try to place over them’ (Murray
The authors declare that they have no financial or personal relationships which may have inappropriately influenced them in writing the article.
N.B.Z. and T.J.M. contributed equally to the writing of this article.