By Nkhensani Mthombeni
Multi-award-winning Xitsonga praise poet, Masingita Shambambu, famously known as Ntombi Mutsonga, has published her first book, titled Xewani.
By writing the book, she is hoping to encourage more people to take an interest in indigenous languages.
The young poet from Matiyani Village outside Malamulele in Limpopo believes that the current generation has a role to play in preserving indigenous languages and cultures.
With this book, she said, she is contributing to the preservation of stories in the Xitsonga language.
“Through this poetry book I would like to remedy the identity crisis and cultural issues we face as a nation,” she told Scrolla.Africa.
“I believe that my book will ignite the adoration and culture of reading and writing indigenous books, stimulate interest that will make people keen to read books written in indigenous languages and instil pride and confidence in arts, culture and heritage.”
She described the publication as a journey of tears, sleepless nights, doubts, fears and joy.
The year 2022 has been a big one for her. For the second year in a row, she was named the Best Indigenous Poet at the South African Traditional Music Achievement (Satma) Awards.
She became a national sensation after ushering in President Cyril Ramaphosa with her Xitsonga praise singing during the State of the Nation address in 2020. One of her poems is featured on SAfm’s Beyond the Headlines programme.
On 28 December she will be celebrating her SATMA award and hosting an official book launch at the Malamulele Community Hall.
Pictured above: Masingita Shambambu with her book
Image source: Masingita Shambambu Facebook
