Characters
Phephelaphi: young and ambitious protagonist Fumbatha: Phephelaphi’s lover; works in construction; father hanged with 16 others in First Chimurenga Getrude: adopted mother of Phephelaphi; worked as a prostitute; murdered by one of her clients Zandile: birth mother of Phephelaphi; friends with Getrude Deliwe: shebeen queen; confidant of Phephelaphi and Fumbatha Boyidi: Zandile’s husband |
Definitions
Chimurenga: the Shona word for struggle, is frequently used to designate specific periods of resistance to colonial rule in what was previously Southern Rhodesia. What is commonly referred to as the First Chimurenga took place in 1896-1897 when the medium Mbuya Nehanda—a woman—encouraged the indigenous population to combat British colonial rule, and the Second Chimurenga, which ultimately resulted in Independence, took place between 1965 and 1980
Shebeen: an unlicensed establishment that sold alcoholic liquor Kwela: a penny whistle based street music from Southern Africa with a jazzy, skiffle like beat Shona: Bantu-speaking people inhabiting Bulawayo Knobkerrie: a short stick with a knob at the top, traditionally used as a weapon by the indigenous peoples of South Africa Phephelaphi: a Ndebele name that means “Where do we seek refuge?” Umguza River: river located in Matabeleland North, Zimbabwe and next to Bonnyvale. It is about 7 miles in length Sidojiwe E2: low-cost housing scheme in Bulawayo Paraffin: kerosene |
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VERA:Important Scenes
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The Belabored Self-Abortion Scene (“Push. She has pushed it in. Sharp and piercing. No fear. No excitement. This must be it. In and out of a watery sac...”)
Fumbatha’s Infidelity (“When he walked back into the room Fumbatha saw her holding the flute and Phephelaphi asked him why the flute, why Deliwe, why the secret of his father...”) Deliwe’s Den (“Her small house on Sidojiwe E2 was a hive of activity even in the small hours of the morning...”) Phephelaphi’s Death (“A touch, her own genuine touch; to love her own body now, after he has loved and left it, to love her own eyebrows and her own knees, finally she has done so, embracing each part of herself with flame, deeply and specially...”) |