Bafo evokes divine kindred spirit
Arts Roots, Identity, VoicePosted by sangweni on 2026-03-19 17:02:20 | Last Updated by sangweni on 2026-09-02 06:52:19
Very few people, if not none, are anointed a divine kindred spirit in their lifetime as opposed to at the cemetery, when one is spoken of in glowing terms, but sadly unable to hear the moving speech.
This happened live in this rare radio interview that was a one-man show, at the SABC's Cape Town Auditorium.
The host, Koketso Sachane, was the only member of the audience.
Koketso to Madala - "How are you, Bafo?
Madala to Koketso, chuckling, rather calling him Kokee. Kokee. "Ngiphila njengo-sheleni (sic) - I am alive like a shilling."
Madala is accompanied by one of his young contemporary fraternal collaborators, Sibusile Xaba.
Koketso to Sibusile - "How far do you come with Bafo, this father of mine?"
“Ei, I come a long way, so grateful for dad (sic) to accept me and breastfeed(sic) me, and teach me a lot, not only in music but in life as a whole.
For me, it’s a long way but a humble beginning. I want to work with the grandmaster.
Koketso to Sibusile - As a student of Bafo, what have you learned from Bafo, besides the guitar?
Yoh, where does one start in trying to articulate the role of a Baobab tree? It’s so big. It’s so important. It's extraordinary. It’s iconic. It gives so much.
I see Mtimande in that light - as a person who also loves planting and does a lot of research on plants.
Xaba is one of the many students of late Dr Madala Kunene, affectionately known as Bafo (Big brother) in the universal music circles. Mtimande is the Kunene clan’s name.
Xaba continues his philosophical description of Bafo, highlighting that the colossal Baobab 'really grows for a long time in its life.'
"What is amazing about the tree is that every part of it can be used. So Mtimande is that.
He is not just a great guitarist but also a great father. He is not just a great father, but he is a great friend.
He is not just super-disciplined; he is also super funny. He is just truly, not just for me, but many others are learning from him like me, really a special being.
I personally feel God took time when he created him, and focused on his heart, and obviously gave him these fingers that play amazing guitar.
So, to us, Bafo is really beyond a diamond in the rough, beyond university, encyclopedia. He is just a divine kindred spirit."
Kokee to Madala - “He is talking very well about you, Bafo. He respects you a lot."
Madala to Kokee - "Is that so? Thanks. The problem is, he is talking in English, I don’t understand, I would be laughing too.”
He then plays the typical Bafo tune Baboon on the Tree (Imfene Emthini), a song rooted in Zulu folklore.
He strums his amazing guitar, emitting haunting, howling, animal-like sounds interspersed with seemingly ghastly echoes permeating the stillness of an expansive forest.
It is, this writer imagines, a forest replete with indigenous knowledge in these two of a kind guitar magicians dispensing ancestral gifts that can only enlighten the world to a be a better place for the sake of humanity.
It remains a travesty of heritage that Kunene is accorded a standing ovation in premiere stages but was missing in defunct Radio Bantu and Radio Zulu, and still sadly so in the present-day Ukhozi FM.
Is it out of ignorance or negligence that latter-day Ukhozi FM is denying Bafo airplay of his Zulu folklore - maskandi music, tinged with jazz and Blues in Sigiya Ngengoma every Saturday morning?
The University of KwaZulu-Natal, in a 'late is better than never' bestowed him an honorary doctorate to recognize his cogent contribution to heritage, culture, and Zulu ethos after more than 50 years doing it locally and abroad.
His flowers out of a lifetime thorny bunch, given or withheld, was his inclusion in the inaugural Montreal Jazz Festival in Northern Cape, South Africa, 2026.
Is it true, maybe, that good things come to those who wait? Patience is a virtue.
Kunene is a proponent of Mkhumbane (Cato Manor) kwela and marabi days in Durban. His contemporaries include Fana Mokoena, Alan Kwela, and Sandile Shange.
Bafo has, more than wine, matured with time but endurance and intent to stick to his roots to find his purpose.
