Keynote address by KwaZulu-Natal Premier Sibusiso Ndebele at the Inkosi Albert Luthuli Choral Music Eisteddfod 2007

Greetings

Thank you, Master of Ceremonies. It gives me great pleasure to deliver the keynote address on this august occasion, the Inkosi Albert Luthuli Choral Music Eisteddfod, 2007, held in honour of the legacy of Inkosi Albert Luthuli.

Today marks forty years since the tragic death of Inkosi Albert Luthuli near his home in Groutville, on the KwaZulu-Natal North Coast. It is common cause that Inkosi Albert Luthuli sailed through life as a political leader, being the President-General of the African National Congress (ANC) from 1952 until his death and as a traditional leader being an elected Inkosi of the AmaKholwa people of Groutville, a position he held from 1935 until he was deposed for by the apartheid regime for his active organisational role in the struggle for liberation especially during the Defiance Campaign in 1952.

He was a lay preacher, having been influenced by the strong Christian background of his upbringing. He was a farmer, businessman and teacher of music and isiZulu.

It is therefore befitting that as we remember and re-enact the script of Inkosi Albert Luthuli's life, we hold a Choral Music Eisteddfod of this magnitude. Inkosi Albert Luthuli was himself a choir conductor and a teacher trade unionist.

As an internationalist he was the first African to be awarded with the Nobel Peace Prize in 1960, which he received in 1961 in Oslo, Norway. He lived and led through the most tumultuous times of the country when apartheid was at its most enthusiastic stage and yet he stayed calm, collected and focused.

It is appropriate in describing Luthuli's time and his experience of it, that we start with this story that reflects life's experiences of ordinary people in KwaZulu-Natal.

In 1987, 20 years ago, this province experienced some of the worst floods over a long period. Legend has it that those who have a fascination for the life here after eavesdropped one of the victims of the floods arriving in heaven and telling the story of the floods in the most dramatic of fashions. He had everyone spellbound as he went through a vivid description of the floods, bridges falling, buildings crumbling, cars and houses being swept away and how areas were cut off from other areas. In his mind nothing of this scale and magnitude had ever happened before and his experience, as a victim, was unique.

As he became more dramatic with his story telling techniques, someone in his spellbound audience cautioned him to be circumspect because in the audience there was old man, biblical Noah. Noah had experienced and gone through the worst floods in recorded human history. Without taking anything away from the 1987 floods, it was clear in the minds of all that the floods of Noah's time were simply incomparable to any.

These are the thoughts that come to mind when, in 2007, we commemorate 40 years since the death of Inkosi Albert Luthuli. Luthuli lived through one of the most troubled eras in South Africa's recorded history. Yet he never lost his head.

Forty is a magical number. Recorded biblical history tells us that the walk from exile in Egypt to the promised land in Canaan took the Israelites 40 years. Jesus Christ spent 40 days without food and water in his most illustrious demonstration of how to defeat the devil. And the same Jesus Christ spent forty days after resurrection, trying to convince unbelieving followers that he had risen from the dead, that he had conquered death and that death could be conquered.

Inkosi Albert Luthuli experienced and saw it all. He lived through and defeated the most brutal period of the apartheid regime. He was President-General of the ANC when the Freedom Charter was adopted on 26 June 1955. He presided over a period that saw the adoption and vigorous pursuance of non-racialism by those seeking freedom, at the height of statutory racialism in the 1950s. He presided over a period that saw the role of women being elevated and strengthened by those seeking freedom in our society. He himself crisscrossed the country, relentlessly preaching the gospel of the ANC, as the Parliament of the people. He spoke not only to local African audiences but to international and de-racialised audiences. He was available to address anyone on the policies and practices of the struggle for liberation and did not try to adjust these policies to suite the audience of the day.

This was a man driven by humility, a man who sacrificed his personal ambitions, in favour of the ambitions of the collective. He was much hated by the apartheid regime. In the worst of times, in the two treason trials, he stood for the policies and principles of a non-sexist, non -racial, democratic society and saw trial and imprisonment as an opportunity to propagate the birth of this new society.

Luthuli was much in demand as a public speaker. He had fine tuned the philosophical basis of the envisaged new society, into public prose and allowed the liberation movement to be open to people from all walks of life: intellectuals, trade unionists, communists, preachers, traders, teachers and career politicians. He was able to simplify the prose or raise the bar as the situation so demanded but never departing from the script.

His continuous bans and trials led to the transmogrification of the village of Groutville. In line with the tradition of African resolve, the people did not abandon him. They walked, drove, flew and even crawled in the still of the night, to Groutville, to concur and consult with their leader. The village was a beehive of activity as international visitors including Robert Kennedy insisted that they could not leave the country without talking to Luthuli.

It is therefore propitious that as we commemorate 40 years since Albert John Mvumbi Luthuli's death, we pause to think about his legacy of non-racialism, non-sexism, good governance, equality across all races, humility, peace and goal-orientation as well as putting the interests of others above ours. It is a time for teachers, intellectuals, politicians, music lovers, traditional leaders, farmers and the masses to say he taught us these values and we are implementing them.

The KwaZulu-Natal Premiers Choral Music Project under which this Eisteddfod is run was started in 2006, when we honoured the lives and works of both Inkosi Bhambatha kaMancinza Zondi and Mahatma Ghandi, through song. Through this project government encourages our composers and other creative people like poets and writers, to compose new texts and songs which record our history and heritage in perspective.

The government of KwaZulu-Natal values choral music because of its dignity and the role that it can play in the normalisation of society, the renewal of our heritage, moral regeneration as well as social development and the anti-crime and anti-drug campaigns.

Chief Albert Luthuli cherished choral and classical music. Remarking about his love for choral music, in his book "Let my People Go", he said:

'With one other African teacher I was appointed to the staff at Adams. The subjects in which I specialised were isiZulu and music. At the end of my time at Adams, 13 years later, I had become supervisor of teachers in training at outlying schools. Throughout these years, one job, which I enjoyed immensely, persisted I was college choirmaster.'

I wish to comment that the song, 'Silusapho or 1 Land Act' which our choirs are singing today was once the anthem of the liberation movement used to open and close meetings. This was before it was replaced by Nkosi Sikele'iAfrica in the 1920s.

It is equally significant that we have included songs in our programme which, composed by RT Caluza (1895 - 1969) talk about Dr JL Dube. Caluza lived and taught with Dube at Ohlange Institute. He observed Dube's every move and recorded them through choral music. The short songs, "Vulindlela Mntaka Dube" and "Bashuka Ndabazini abaka Congress" are specifically aimed at highlighting the role of one of the founding fathers of our liberation, Dr JL Dube, uMafukuzela, a self less, hard working community developer who was driven by a belief that only hard work and self help will ultimately liberate the oppressed. Composer, SS Manqele has composed a song sung by the choirs today on Dube.

Two new songs have been composed which talk about the life and works of Inkosi Albert Luthuli. The song "Indiva ka Mvumbi" by composer Simon Ntombela outlines a story of determination. As we know, all the time, once Luthuli had made up his mind about something, he simply focused on the task at hand. He never relented. Ntombela captures this through song.

The second song, "Zabalaza Madlanduna" by composer Professor Musa Xulu is a historic epic which relates Inkosi Albert Luthuli's highlights in a melodic format that can only be described as innovative and nostalgic. It is encouraging that our composers are coming forward to record our heritage because it is through creativity and innovation that the heritage of choral music can be revived and sustained. Choral music is living heritage.

Today we are singing about a man who saw it all. Long live the spirit of Inkosi Albert Luthuli. With these words, I declare this Inkosi Albert Luthuli Choral Music Provincial Eisteddfod 2007, open.

Masisukume sakhe!

I thank you!

Issued by: Department of Transport
21 July 2007