The Pulse of Africa: Identity and Indigenous Knowledge in a Changing World

Very little has been documented about Indigenous Education from Bapedi people’s perspective. To close this gap, the present study focuses on Bapedi people’s cultural context and provides an illustration of how Bapedi people in contemporary Bapedi society may interact with Local Knowledge Systems (LKS). In the context of contemporary Bapedi society, oral tradition provides more information than any written sources. Bapedi oral tradition can be seen as the handing down of folklore (beliefs, customs, rituals, stories, and sayings of a community, from generation to another by word of mouth. Traditionally, Bapedi people had no written language, and their history was transmitted orally. The use of African proverbs, and wisdom songs also play a role in the formation of people’s character and behaviour. The purpose of this study was to investigate the emotional and spiritual impact of religious ritual music on traditional healers and their trainees in the Bapedi culture. To address the objectives of the study, the following primary research question was considered: what is the cultural relevance of traditional healers’ music within their healing context, and does music really speak to their souls? The primary sources for data collection include observations and oral interviews that were conducted through face-to-face interaction. The interviews were aimed at eliciting first-hand information on the knowledge of the subject matter. The secondary sources included among others, materials such as Journal articles, books and theses, and of course personal experience. The impression created during observations and interviews was that music spurs creativity, affects mood, stirs memory, and communicates emotion. It has emerged from this study that within Bapedi people’s cultural context, indigenous education is deeply embedded, or engaged, in its social identity. The results have shown that music can connect traditional healers and the trainees with their personal ancestors and is connected to one’s personality. It was concluded that music more than any other media, has strong ties to our emotions