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The poet describes the obscene conditions of living in White City Jabavu. Almost as a metaphor to life
there, he sees a group of scavenging dogs ripping apart the corpse of a baby which had been dumped.
In the meantime, the baby's mother continues with her life without even a care for what she has done.
ABOUT THE POET
Mbuyiseni Oswald Mtshali was born in Vryheid (Natal) in 1940, where he grew up and completed
his schooling.
He desired thereupon to attend Wits University but was unable to do so because the Apartheid laws
forbade Black people studying at "White" institutions except under exceptional circumstances.
Instead, he travelled to the United States where he attended Columbia University, graduating with a
Masters degree in Creative Writing and Education.
On his return to South Africa, he completed his first volume of poetry which he called Sounds of a
Cowhide Drum. It was published in 1971 and had a dramatic impact because it was the first major
work by a Black poet in South Africa.
It was also eagerly studied by liberal White South Africans who were anxious to read poetry from their
Black brothers. The anthology, however, was criticised by fellow Black poets on the grounds
that it was
too conservative and not at all militant.
When Mtshali published Fireflames in 1980, he had responded to his critics. Indeed,
this second
anthology tended to foster open rebellion, being partially inspired by the Soweto youth uprisings
of 1976.
After this second anthology, Mtshali settled down as an educator, first at Pace College in
Soweto where
he became vice-principal, and then at the New York City College of Technology where he
became an
Adjunct Professor, teaching African folklore and modern African history.
In 1971 Mtshali was honoured with South Africa's Olive Schreiner Poetry Prize. In 1973 he was
awarded
the Poetry International Award in London.
"An Abandoned Bundle" is characterised by graphic imagery of appalling savagery. The images
are
meant to shock.
Indeed, the very powerful visual impact instills in the reader a strong feeling of disgust for the
dreadful
conditions under which the people of White City Jabavu lived.
Or is the poet commenting on the people in general who are living under the apartheid regime?
Have you looked at the questions
in the right column?
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TEST YOURSELF!
Read the left column and then answer
the following questions:
What was the "abandoned bundle"? (2)
[Need help?]
The abandoned bundle was a newborn baby left behind at the rubbish dump, abandoned to
whatever fate
might come its way -- in this case to be torn apart and eaten by dogs.
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"The morning mist
and chimney smoke
of White City Jabavu
flowed thick yellow
as pus oozing
from a gigantic sore."
- Where would one find "White City Jabavu"? (2)
[Need help?]
"White City Jabavu" is a particular part of Soweto, a township lying to the south-west of
Johannesburg. This, of course, is ironic because "White City Jabavu" was the home of
Black
people.
SOWETO is an acronym for SOuth WEstern TOwnships.
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- One poetry anthology which has been prescribed as a setwork explains that "White City
Jabavu"
is actually Johannesburg. This is clearly wrong. How do you approach an examination knowing
that the
examiner might demand an incorrect answer to a question?
[Need help?]
This is not easy. Examiners do indeed make mistakes and, when they do, the learners will
suffer
accordingly -- unless, of course, the other markers know the correct answer and put the
examiner right.
In this case, where the textbook itself has clearly made a mistake, you could write something
like, "The
textbook claims that White City Jabavu refers to Johannesburg but in actual fact it is a suburb
of Soweto."
Indeed, this suburb has a Caltex service station called "Caltex Jabavu White City".
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- Why is White City Jabavu said to be "a gigantic sore"? (6)
[Need help?]
The imagery here is particularly graphic. The entire neighbourhood is compared to a gigantic
sore on a
body that is very sick. The body is, of course, Soweto (or perhaps South Africa) -- and the
sore on this
body is White City Jabavu.
The neighbourhood is run down, rubbish everywhere, everything buried in pollution. But this is
merely a
metaphor for the people living there, people whose lives are also run down, spiritually wounded,
a great
cancer eating at the heart of their lives.
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- Why is the mist and smoke of White City Jabavu compared to
"pus"? (4)
[Need help?]
The poet takes the image of the sore to its extreme. The sore itself is infected, oozing with pus.
The mist
and smoke are symptoms of this.
The neighbourhood is heavily polluted, not only with rubbish but the air reeks with smog -- a
combination
of fog and smoke. The mist (white) and the smoke (grey) combine in the early morning light to
form a
thick yellow-grey colour which is the colour of pus.
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"It smothered our little houses
like fish caught in a net."
- Identify and explain two figures of speech used in the above lines. (4)
[Need help?]
The "it" refers to the smog but the smog is given human qualities -- personification --
in that it
smothers the houses, just as a human would smother another human or animal with a thick
blanket and
so kill him / her / it.
The little houses are compared to fish caught in a net (simile).
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- What is the poet's purpose in making these comparisons? (4)
[Need help?]
This comparison gives a graphic idea of the size of the houses (tiny), that they are many in
number (like
thousands of fish in a net) and that they are trapped (like the fish that are trapped in the net,
unable to
escape).
The poet is using the tiny houses and the smog to emphasise the inescapable squalor of life in
White City
Jabavu.
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"Scavenging dogs
draped in red bandanas of blood
fought fiercely
for a squirming bundle."
- How do you know that the baby is still alive? (2)
[Need help?]
One knows that the baby is still alive because the poet uses the word "squirming" to
describe the
bundle.
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[Need help?]
A bandana is a large coloured handkerchief that is worn around the neck or the head.
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- Why are the dogs described as being "draped in red bandanas of
blood"? (4)
[Need help?]
The dogs have been tearing the baby to pieces. Their heads are therefore covered with the
blood of the
baby: they are wearing its blood and looking as if their heads were draped in red bandanas.
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