Echoes of home: Mamtiseni in the everyday of post-apartheid amaBhaca women migrants in Johannesburg, circa 1994–2017

Abstract

ABSTRACT Post-democratic South Africa continues to experience migrancy to large urban centres such as Johannesburg. One understudied group of migrants are women from the KwaBhaca region in the Eastern Cape. Many amaBhaca women are entrapped in Johannesburg because of the exorbitant costs required to return home, and they are increasingly isolated from their ‘home’ communities. Some women have formed dance groups that perform mamtiseni to mitigate the effects of urban entrapment. Through the life histories of these women and the performances by two mamtiseni dance groups, we can see how the dance has aided these women in navigating their everyday lives. Mamtiseni is used to build and strengthen networks, preserve a sense of ‘Bhaca’ community and culture, socialise the youth, reshape the urban space, and represent home in a foreign space. This study adds to the limited amaBhaca historiography and contributes to an understanding of how marginalised migrants use performance to shape and reinforce identity.