Diturupa Exhibition

28/07/2024

World War I broke out on this day in 1914. African men from South Africa served on the side of the Allied Forces. They were however not allowed to carry guns and served instead as labourers. You can watch our documentary on the subject, Troupes of War - Diturupa on this link

Diturupa excavates the awful plight of black South African soldiers known as the South African Native Labour Contingent (SANLC) during World War One or the Great…

21/04/2024

A Desire to Return to the Ruins...In this extract from the book A Desire to Return to the Ruins – author Lucas Ledwaba explores the link between land and spirituality.
It is common practice in Molele’s society and culture that a process of spiritual diagnosis, exorcism and cleansing be undertaken after one has experienced a life-threatening incident of trauma like he had suffered in far-away Soweto.
While at face value it appeared the attack may have been driven by pure criminality, any life-threatening incident should be probed for deeper spiritual meaning. The attack on Molele had presented such an opportunity...
https://sundayworld.co.za/news/opinion/an-ancestral-and-spiritual-call-to-return-to-the-ruins/

23/12/2023

I have been fascinated by Diturupa since my childhood when I watched them perform in my grandmother's village Makapanstad. Then I was just fascinated by the choreography and the songs and costumes, and had no idea they originated from a tragic period in the history of Africa and the world. Sometime in the early 90s I read a book about African men who served alongside the allied forces during World War I leading to more than 600 of them drowning when the SS Mendi sank in the English Channel in 1917. The book by Norman Clothier titled Black Valour, opened my mind to an important historical fact I had not known and gave me the first link to the origins of Diturupa. I have since written extensively on Diturupa and documented them photographically on various platforms both locally and internationally.
In 2013 Mukurukuru Media in collaboration with Mvura Ya Afrika- MYA-Productions worked on a documentary which we called Troupes of War: Diturupa. The doccie traces the origins and evolution of Diturupa. The doccie has since been showcased at local and international film festivals. But most importantly it was also screened at the Diturupa Exhibition in Makapanstad where the bulk of the story was shot. Our dream remains that the story which continues to reach many other communities through public screenings. You can watch a trailer of the production on this link:

Diturupa excavates the awful plight of black South African soldiers known as the South African Native Labour Contingent (SANLC) during World War One or the Great…

23/12/2023

Take a look at the documentary Troupes of War: Diturupa which we shot in Makapansta and Europe. You can access it via this link:

Diturupa excavates the awful plight of black South African soldiers known as the South African Native Labour Contingent (SANLC) during World War One or the Great…

29/12/2022

The annual Diturupa carnival which was halted two years ago following the outbreak of Covid-19 made a colourful return when more than a dozen troupes converged to pit their skills against one another at the Makapanstad Sports Ground in Makapanstad on Boxing Day. See more images here:
https://mukurukurumedia.co.za/2022/12/29/diturupa-bounces-back-after-covid-19-enforced-break/

02/12/2022

23/05/2022

WHEN the hearse carrying Frans Rocker Monaledi’s body to his home ahead of his funeral a bow shaped rainbow loomed across Makapanstad village...

WHEN the hearse carrying Frans Rocker Monaledi’s body to his home ahead of his funeral was heading towards his home a bow shaped rainbow loomed across Makapanstad village where he had enterta…

18/05/2022

Rocker weeeeee
dumedisaaaaa bomme ko gaeeeeee
Rocker weeeeeee
Rocker dumeeeeelaaaa...
https://vimeo.com/118221415

17/05/2022

"I can't think of a day that I will stop [diturupa]. Turupa is my life." Frans Rocker Monaledi, leader of the Shining Star troupe established in Makapanstad in 1975.

21/02/2022

More than 600 of the 25 000 men who served in the South African Native Labour Contingent during World War I between September 1916 and January 1918, perished in what remains South Africa’s biggest naval tragedy.
This was on February 21 1917, when the SS Mendi, the ship taking them to France crashed with another and sank off the Isle of Wight.
The SANLC men whose work in Europe included building of roads, railways, cooking, working at the port and general labour were lauded by British army officers for having a 'splendid reputation for good work under the hardest conditions conceivable.'
Even the whites only Union of South Africa Parliament rose in honour of the fallen men weeks after the tragedy on 10 March 1917. Yet on their return home the men found that their time in Europe had not been worth the effort and putting their lives on the line.
Primer Minister General Louis Botha told Parliament: "If we have ever lived in times when the Native people of South Africa have shown great and true loyalty, it is in times like the present… I have all my life dealt with the Natives, but at no other time have they displayed greater loyalty than they have done in the difficult, dark days through which we are now passing… they have shown their loyalty to their flag, their King, and country, and what they have done will redound to their everlasting credit."
Five months later, on 17 July 1917, Britain’s King George V, described the SANLC men in a speech as ‘part of my great Armies which are fighting for the liberty and freedom of my subjects of all races and creed throughout the Empire.'

Diturupa excavates the awful plight of black South African soldiers known as the South African Native Labour Contingent (SANLC) during World War One or the Great…

10/07/2021

Diturupa now forms part of South Africa's academic discourse thanks to a study by Wits University historian and student Mojuta Motlamme. He writes in an extract published in Mukurukuru Media: 'Diturupa is important as a carnival because it changes our perceptions of events and the politics of commemoration. It challenges our thinking about who and what we commemorate when we re-member the fallen of the First and Second World War. The word Diturupa is taken from the English word “troop” which means a group of soldiers. When translated into Setswana it also sounds like the French word troupe which means a theatrical performance. Diturupa started in 1918 after the WWI when black South African soldiers came back from the war and wanted to commemorate their wartime experience.' Read it here:
https://www.mukurukurumedia.co.za/2021/07/10/academic-study-interrogates-soul-and-origins-of-ditrupa/

22/12/2020

Year of the mask...I don't suppose anyone among the thousands of people who watched the Diturupa carnival in December 2019 expected that the mask would come to define our everyday life this year.
The Sefikantsoe troupe took to the field all kitted out in white face masks as part of their efforts to impress the judges who also consider appearance when awarding points to competing ensembles.
Three months later in March 2020, in an effort to curb the spread of the corona virus government made it mandatory for every citizen to wear a face mask in public. Was this some sort of premonition on the part of Sefikantsoe or was it just another innocent addition to their style of dress?
The Bakgatla Ba Mosetlha traditional authority has since issued a notice cancelling this year's carnival owing to the covid-19 regulations forbidding mass gatherings.
However the strict lockdown restrictions didn't stop us from hosting a successful virtual exhibition titled: Diturupa x Photography: visual narratives exploring SA’s untold past. The exhibition curated by Phumzile Nombuso Twala features a collection of my photographs documenting the century old tradition celebrating the heroics of African men who served on the side of the allied forces during World War I. It is available to watch for free on this link:
https://youtu.be/AAbVebZObVo