When he was a kid, Mandisi Mafu used to watch the older boys retreat up the Eastern Cape mountains. As they visited different villages in celebration of the umguyo ceremonies, community members danced and sang joyously. Mafu was fascinated by their vocals synchronised with claps, rhythmic whistles, and chants. He didn’t know it yet, but he’d fallen in love with music, and one day he would be known as the Digital Sangoma.
After moving to the Western Cape to study sound engineering, Mafu became a singer and songwriter. His alias, the Digital Sangoma, defines his traditionally influenced sound. “I was shaped by my environment and my surroundings,” Mafu says. Many people leave their homes to create a life elsewhere, and find it increasingly difficult to maintain their customs. But Mafu situates his Xhosa culture as an integral part of his creative process, enabling tradition to be at the foundation of his craft.
Mafu is creating a synergy between his own expressive vocals and the genres of kwaito, house, and West African beats. Once the tune builds up, listeners hear the undertone of electronic synthesizers in the same instance as traditional melodies. “My music is pure and it’s honest,” Mafu says. He is bridging the divide between the old and the novel, and proving that the two can produce a one-of-a-kind fusion. By celebrating his cultural identity in his music, Mafu is preserving Xhosa heritage.
Footage by Digital Sangoma was used in the creation of this film.
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