The Bang-Bang Club
Page 27
Nando’s: fast food franchise, slang for necklace.
National Party, NP, Nats: party formed in 1914 to represent Afrikaner interests. Went through various splits, fusions and name changes until it came to power in 1948. Introduced apartheid. Ruled until 1994. Now renamed the New National Party, and has opened its doors to race groups other than whites. Incorporated in the Democratic Party in June 2000.
Nats: sometimes derogatory abbreviation for National Party.
necklace: rubber tyre fitted with petrol, forced over a victim’s head and then set alight.
Nguni: group of south-east Bantu people and languages, including Zulu, Xhosa, Pondo, Ndebele, Swazi.
Nkosi Sikelel’ iAfrika: (Xhosa) ‘God bless Africa’, a hymn of which first verse was written by Enoch Sontonga in 1897. Adopted by the ANC in 1925 and now one of two national anthems with ‘Die Stem’, which was the white regime’s anthem.
non-white: apartheid term for person falling into race classification other than white, i.e. black, coloured, Indian, etc.
NPKF: National Peace-Keeping Force, a transitional force made up of members of the SA Defence Force, the SA police force, former homeland armies and guerrillas from the liberation movements. Plagued by racial and political infighting. Was disbanded after Thokoza April 1994 fiasco. Most members now in renamed and reformed army, the SA National Defence Force.
nyaga-nyaga: Tsotsietaal slang for trouble, as in ‘nyaga-nyaga with the fokken amaZulu’ - ‘trouble with the fucking Zulus’.
ous: (Afrikaans) slang for boys, in reference to colleagues or members.
PAC: Pan-Africanist Congress, established 1959 by break-away Africanist members of the ANC. Followers of Black Consciousness, an ideology that preaches psychological liberation from white racism and white liberalism. Non Charterist. Commonly perceived as a racist organization.
paparazzi: Italian term referring to overly-persistent celebrity photographers. After the death of Princess Diana in 1997, it became a byword for photographers as scavengers.
pass book: document that Africans were required to carry by law to prove they had permission to be in a white area. (See dompas.)
pass laws: restricting black people’s movements. Repealed 1986.
panga: (poss. Nguni) machete, broad bladed slashing knife.
peckies: derogatory term for blacks, origin obscure.
penny-whistle: cheap flute used by shepherds and cowherds; made famous as primary instrument in 50s kwela music. Used to cost one penny.
people’s court: unofficial township court set up by activists to try criminals and political offenders, especially impimpis.
petty apartheid: enforced segregation of public and private amenities, buses, beaches, toilets. For example, architects designed banks to allow the separation of entrances and exits for blacks and whites.
poyisa: (Xhosa) police.
Rain Queen: queen of the BaLobedu tribe in the Northern Province of South Africa, whose great-grandmother had been the model for novelist Rider Haggard’s heroine Ayesha. Widely believed to be able to control the rains.
rand: South African unit of currency. 100 cents in one rand.
Rand: common abbreviation of Witwatersrand, the gold bearing ‘ridge of white waters’, upon which Johannesburg and the other Reef towns were built.
Reef, the: South Africa’s most highly industrialized region, from the reef of gold that followed the Witwatersrand.
rinderpest: (German + Latin) virulent, highly infectious cattle disease that swept through South Africa in 1896. Likened to the plague.
RSA: Republic of South Africa.
SAP: South African Police, former police force now called the SAPS.
sangoma: (Nguni) traditional African diviner/herbalist, ‘witchdoctor’.
self-defence unit (SDU): neighbourhood-based underground liberation-movement-aligned vigilantes, often youths; some were members of MK, APLA.
separate development: euphemism for apartheid.
shebeen: (Irish) place where liquor is sold and often consumed; informal and/or illegal bar.
shebeen queen: owner of shebeen, often larger-than-life character referred to as magrizza, ‘grandmother’ in Tsotsitaal.
shisanyama: (Nguni) burnt or cooked meat, slang for necklace.
‘Shoota, baas, shoota us’: (pidgin Zulu) ‘Take a picture of us, boss.’
skip: large open garbage container that can be picked up by truck.
skuif: (Afrikaans) joint, or a hit on a white pipe.
slivovic: potent Yugoslav plum brandy, often home-distilled.
South West Africa: former German colony that was given to SA by the UN as a protectorate after the First World War; gained independence as Namibia in 1990.
State of Emergency: suspension of certain civil liberties in order to strengthen the arm of the executive in controlling a perceived threat to the state. Also gives police and military extended powers which often contravene basic human rights.
stoep: veranda, stoop.
stringer: freelancer working regularly for publication or agency.
Struggle, the: opposition to apartheid, from the struggle to be free.
SWAPO: South West African People’s Organization, now ruling party in Namibia.
swartgevaar: (Afrikaans) literally ‘black peril’ - rallying cry for white South Africans fearing majority rule.
takkies: rubber-soled laced canvas shoes (sneakers/tennis shoe).
terr: abbreviation of ‘terrorist’, refers to guerrilla in liberation movement armies. White SA slang.
third force: shadowy elements of the intelligence community, as well as the security forces and government officials, who colluded with Inkatha and right-wing white extremists to undermine the transition to democratic rule.
three cents: at one time the price of a box of matches, slang for necklace.
Total Onslaught: term used by SA government under P.W. Botha to describe an international conspiracy to force one-person, one-vote on white South Africa. His regime devised a Total Strategy to counteract this.
toyi-toyi: high-stepping militant dance used at protest rallies and funerals, allegedly started by exiles in the military training camps outside SA.
Transkei: former homeland, the first to take independence. One of two for the Xhosa people. The other was Ciskei.
tsotsis: petty street thugs, small-time township criminals. Perhaps refers to the stove-pipe trousers fashionable in the 40s.
Tsotsitaal: The constantly changing informal but ubiquitous township language that is a mixture of Afrikaans, English and several African languages, with different languages predominating from place to place.
Transvaal & Free State Boer Republics: short-lived independent Afrikaner republics, now an ideal that a minority of secessionist Afrikaners yearn for - see Boer Wars.
UN: United Nations.
United Democratic Front (UDF): umbrella organization of anti-apartheid movements, many of which were, in practice, internal organs of the then-banned ANC. Disbanded after ANC legalized in 1990.
United Democratic Movement (UDM): Political party formed and led by former NP minister Roelf Meyer and former Transkei military dictator General Bantu Holomisa. Meyer resigned his leadership position in 2000.
Umkhonto we Sizwe: (Nguni) ‘spear of the nation’ - ANC’s military wing, abbreviated as MK.
‘Umlunghu shoota’: (pidgin Zulu) ‘The white man is shooting.’
usuthu: traditional Zulu war cry.
Vaal Triangle: a roughly triangular grouping of towns and townships in the industrial area some 60 kilometres south of Johannesburg; from the Vaal River.
veld: (Afrikaans) rural South African countryside or landscape; grazing land.
vierkleur: (Afrikaans) ‘four-colour’ flag of the South African Republic and the Transvaal, symbol of Afrikaner yearning for a homeland. Still occasionally waved at rugby and cricket matches by racist white fans.
Volk: (Afrikaans) people, nation, usually Afrikaner nationalists.
vula: (Nguni) open.
white pipe: mixture of Mandrax and dagga in a broken-off bottle neck.
Witwatersrand: the gold-bearing ‘ridge of white waters’ (Afrikaans) upon which Johannesburg and the other Reef towns were built - see Rand, Reef.
young lions: youthful ANC supporting militants, upon whom the duty fell to make the townships ungovernable in the 80s as part of the ANC’s strategy to topple the apartheid regime.
Zaïre: large central African state now Democratic Republic of Congo, formerly the Congo-aBelgian colony.
Zionist: separatist African churches or cults. No affiliation to Judaism or Israel. The name is from the desire to find a promised land, usually spiritual.
zol: marijuana cigarette, or reference to the marijuana itself.
zombie: undead, believed to be a person under the spell of a sorcerer.
Zulu: collective name for the northern Nguni who were forged into a militaristic tribe by Shaka Zulu in the 19th century.
SOUTH AFRICAN TIMELINE
1910 Union of South Africa formed.
1912 SANNC, later ANC, founded.
1913 Natives’ Land Act passed.
1914 NP founded.
1920 Native Affairs Act creates separate administration for blacks living in Native Reserves.
1923 Natives (Urban Areas) Act extends segregation to towns.
1925 Afrikaans becomes an official language alongside English.
1948 (Reunited) National Party (HNP) wins election.
1949 Prohibition of mixed marriages.
1950 Population registration (to determine a person’s race), Immorality and Group Areas Acts; Suppression of Communism Act.
1951 Separate Representation of Voters Bill enacted.
1952 Native Laws Amendment Act, Abolition of Passes Act starts reference book (dompas) for Africans. ANC launched Defiance Campaign.
1953 Government wins election with mandate to remove coloureds from common voters’ roll in the Cape. Bantu Education Act passed. Reservation of Separate Amenities Act.
1955 Forced removals from Johannesburg’s non-white Sofiatown suburb continues through to 1958 from other suburbs. Freedom Charter adopted.
1956 Coloureds removed from common voters’ roll. Treason Trial of 156 anti-apartheid activists.
1958 Hendrik Verwoerd becomes Prime Minister.
1959 PAC breaks away from ANC.
1960 Anti Pass Law campaign; Sharpeville shootings. ANC and PAC banned, both set up military wings. State of Emergency declared. White referendum of forming a Republic.
1961 Mandela proposes the adoption of an armed struggle.
1962 Mandela arrested.
1966 Verwoerd assassinated in parliament, B.J. Vorster takes over.
1975-6 South Africa invades Angola, then withdraws, but SA continues to side with UNITA in civil war until 1989.
1976 Soweto riots. Many teenagers flee the country for military training. Internal Security Act passed.
1977 Seventeen organizations and two newspapers banned.
1978 P.W. Botha succeeds Vorster after he resigns over funding scandal.
1980 Zimbabwe wins independence. ANC breaks with Chief Mangosuthu Buthelezi and Inkatha.
1984 Tricameral parliaments formed, no representation for blacks. Widespread rioting begins.
1985 State of Emergency in 36 magisterial districts declared.
1986 Pass Laws abolished.
1988 Seventeen anti-apartheid organizations banned, including UDF.
1989 P.W. Botha has stroke, resigns, succeeded by F.W. de Klerk. NP wins general election. Anti-apartheid demonstrations permitted in major cities.
1990 Mandela released from prison. ANC, PAC, SACP unbanned. Namibia gains independence. Separate Amenities Act repealed. Fighting between Inkatha and ANC spreads to the Transvaal. NP allows all races to join.
1991 National Peace accord signed. Talks on relinquishing white hold on power begin. Group Areas Act, Population Registration Act, Native Land and Trust Act repealed.
1992 Forty-five people killed in Boipatong massacre.
1993 Chris Hani assassinated by white right-winger. Election date announced.
1994 ANC wins first democratic election by massive majority. Homelands reincorporated.
1998 October: Truth and Reconciliation report published.
2000 June: The New National Party (formerly the National Party) incorporated in the Democratic Party.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Bauer, Charlotte, Weekly Mail (now Mail & Guardian). (1994)
Bradford, Jean, A Dictionary of South African English. (Oxford University Press Southern Africa, 1987)
Carter, Kevin, Weekly Mail (now Mail & Guardian). (1992)
Illustrated History of South Africa - The Real Story. (The Reader’s Digest Association South Africa, 1992)
Lorch, Donatella, The New York Times. (1993)
MacLeod, Scott, Time Magazine. (1994)
Marchese, John, Village Voice. (1994)
Marinovich, Greg, ‘The Dead Zone: The Confined Space of Political Conflict, Tokoza Township’ in Architecture, Apartheid and After Hilton Judin & Ivan Vladislavic (editors). (NAI Publications, 1999)
Nichol, Mike, The Invisible line: The Life and Photography of Ken Oosterbroek. (Kwela Books in association with Random House, 1998)
Silva, Joao, The Star. (1992)
Squires, Carol, American Photo Magazine. (1994)
The Star
Truth and Reconciliation Commission of South Africa Report. (1998)
INDEX
Acholi funeral songs
Adams, Guy
Afghanistan
African National Congress (ANC)
aims to make townships ungovernable
allegiance to
and apartheid
armed wing
asks supporters to exercise restraint
the battle in Thokoza
and the Boipatong massacre
bombs military headquarters
in Bophuthatswana
Buthelezi breaks with
defence of the townships
demonization
and the elections
exiled leaders in Lusaka
failed coup in Bophuthatswana
the Freedom Charter
and freedom of the press
headquarters
and Inkatha
and Khalanyoni Hostel
national conference (Durban, 1991)
and the National Peacekeeping Force
non-racial
and the police
and Shariff’s death
and the Soweto stay-away
and the Tshabalala killing
tsotsis and
unbanned
and the United Democratic Movement
‘Vote Mandela’ banner
white state attempts to crush
Xhosas dominate the political leadership
Afrikaans
Afrikaner Resistance Movement (AWB)
Agence France Presse
AK-47 assault rifle
Alabiso, Vin
Alberton
courthouse
Alberton Record
Alberton Rotary Club
Alberts, Captain
Alexandra township, Johannesburg
Ali, Mohammed
amaButho (Zulu warrior groups)
American Photo Magazine
ANC see African National Congress
Angola
apartheid
and the ANC-led government
the birth of
defence in Bophuthatswana
and the elections
end of the regime
the homelands concept
language of
laws
paying for
the pleasures of
APLA see Azanian People’s Liberation Army
Armenia
Asahi Shimbun newspaper
asigibeli
Associated Press (AP)
Auguste, Marcie
AWB see Afrikaner Resistance Movement
Ayod, Sudan
Azanian People’s Liberation Army (APLA)
Azerbaijan
Bad Boys
Badsha, Omar
Baghdad
‘Bang-Bang Club’
Barberton
BaSotho soldiers
Battersby, John
BBC (British Broadcasting Corporation)
Bekkersdal township
Belgrade
Bernard, Gary
attempted suicide
background
commits suicide
drug abuse
effect of trauma
and the elections
joins The Star
in Kathlehong
and Ken’s death
Ken’s funeral
and Ken’s inquest
Kevin borrows from
at Kevin’s funeral
and Kevin’s suicide
and Mitterand’s visit
in Mozambique
personal crisis
sensitivity
and Shariff’s death
street parties in Soweto
wins top South African press award
black-on-black violence
blanket men
Boer War (1899-1902)
Boers
Boipatong massacre
Bophuthatswana
and the ANC
failed coup
location
Mangope prohibits elections
Mangope refuses to relinquish
the military base
police
right-wing humiliation
the Sun City resort
Tswana people
unrest in
Bophuthatswana army
Bosman, Herman Charles: ‘Makapan’s Caves’ (in Mafeking Road)
Bosnia
Botha, P.W.
Bowen, Jeremy
boycotts
Braklaagte
Brauchli, David
Brixton police station
Bryson, Donna
Budapest
Buirski, Nancy