Native Nostalgia

by Jacob Dlamini

Challenging the stereotype that black people who lived under South African apartheid have no happy memories of the past, this examination into nostalgia carves out a path away from the archetypical musings. Even though apartheid itself had no virtue, the author, himself a young black man who spent his childhood under apartheid, insists that it was not a vast moral desert in the lives of those living in townships. In this deep meditation on the experiences of those who lived through apartheid, it points out that despite the poverty and crime, there was still art, literature, music, and morals that, when combined, determined the shape of black life during that era of repression.

Genres: South Africa, Africa, Nonfiction, History, Memoir, Politics, Social Science

178 pages, Kindle Edition

First published November 3, 2009

Reviews

[Mbali Tyolo · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book is interestingly framed in terms of senses. It uses senses to redefine our understanding of townships. Points out how black life in townships is complex, in Dlamini’s words ‘with individuals from different class, ethnic and gendered backgrounds’.
Dlamini asks “What does it mean for a black South African to remember life under apartheid with fondness? What does it mean to say that black life under apartheid was not all doom and gloom and that there was a lot of which black South African could be, and indeed were, proud?”
These are serious questions that one needs to reflect on. These questions as Dlamini states, would be lazy thinking if one assumes they mean support for apartheid.

The book highlights that we shouldn’t be stuck of specific definitions of townships; especially because life in the townships is very dynamic and creative, never static. That we need to refrain from reducing townships as places that need service delivery. “One should never confuse the description of a thing with the thing itself”.

What stood out profoundly to me is acknowledging that black people were not all resisters of the oppression faced under apartheid. It would be unjust (and dangerous) to make such assumption which leads to the ‘fiction that black South Africans lived, suffered and struggles the same way against apartheid’. There are social distinctions in townships. He indicates that we need to confront descriptions used for townships. Most importantly, townships are not experienced the same way.

“Ikota, a Gauteng corruption of the famous bunny chow”. LOL 😂
This was a good read. Definitely worthwhile.

[Kasonde · Rating 4 out of 5]

A provocative read by one of the most innovative historians of South Africa working today. He questions the very notion that apartheid's segregated townships were places of trauma alone. "Not everything people did in townships was a response to apartheid," he argues. People lived, loved, raised children, had fun, tried to work out a moral world, were differentiated by class, created art. Somewhat autobiographical and pleasant to read, worth delving into even if you do not agree with Dlamini's conclusions.

[Waldimar Pelser · Rating 5 out of 5]

Experiences differ. Lives are unique. Township life had multiple dimensions. I love this book.

[M. Nolan · Rating 3 out of 5]

A line from the final episode of The Office stuck in my mind while reading "Native Nostalgia" by Jacob Dlamini: "No matter how you get there or where you end up, human beings have this miraculous gift to make that place home." My aim here is not to compare the modern office work environment to an apartheid-era township, but to capture Dlamini's main contention: even at the lowest point of apartheid, in the epicenter of oppression (the township), many black South Africans led reasonably happy lives and participated in a functioning community and culture despite the efforts of the National Party government. Dlamini's own reflections on what life was actually like in the townships during apartheid definitely make for interesting reading. That said, this is effectively an academic paper extended to book length. Long digressions into theory and an academic tone (e.g. the book constantly references itself, what it's trying to accomplish etc.) make the book less accessible and less enjoyable. All that said, this is an interesting read and an important challenge to the narrative enables unquestioned ANC domination.

[Rukmini · Rating 3 out of 5]

I assume this started life as a thesis. Much stronger in the sections where the author is describing his childhood than in those where he quotes academic gobbledygook to demonstrate or prove (sometimes weak) points.

[David Reiersgord · Rating 5 out of 5]

This provocative book is one of two or perhaps three of the most important books published after the end of apartheid. Dlamini uses the concept of nostalgia in a number of ways to challenge the assumption that apartheid was totalising in its determination of everything about non-white South Africans. However, Dlamini’s use of nostalgia offers a powerful counter to this notion. He looks back on his childhood with fondness (and the obvious considerations of the negatives of apartheid daily life) and reflects on the variety of important lessons he learned about ethics, responsibility, inequality, class, culture, language (the chapter on Afrikaans is excellent) and other themes, challenging the lie of apartheid: That the differences between people were natural. His counter to this absurd notion is idiosyncratic and seemingly unconventional. One argument of Dlamini’s for example, is that Afrikaans is the language of nostalgia for many black South Africans. But if you’re familiar enough with South Africa you’ll understand the point he’s making: Assumptions are of little value in South Africa. And Dlamini pushes back against those who might otherwise assume that because Dlamini grew up during apartheid automatically means his upbringing was without happiness, joy, sadness, love and responsibility (ingredients of humanity). Nevertheless, Dlamini’s fondness for the multicultural, dynamic community of Katlehong is a powerful reminder of the capacity for memory to challenge history. This is a monumental book.

[Bala Mudaly · Rating 4 out of 5]

Jacob Dlamini is an accomplished writer and academic. Native Nostalgia explores how people develop an abiding sense of place, become emotionally attached to the context of their birth and early life. He recalls, fondly, his formative years in Katlehong, an African township near Johannesburg, in the dark days of apartheid. He relates the notion of nostalgia to the fluidity of memory, and much more. Native Nostalgia is richly persuasive, insightful, well-researched and grounded.
Katlehong no longer exists but continues to resonate in people’s collective memory. So too many other casualties of apartheid. Once vibrant communities such as Cato Manor, District Six and Sophiatown are remembered in the nostalgic accounts of such writers as Ronnie Govender, Es’kia Mphahele, Jonathen Jensen and Beryl Crosher-Segers.
Jacob Dlamini affirms people’s infinite capacity to endure, to cope in creative ways, and thrive in the most inhospitable and oppressive circumstances.

[Loren Peterson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fascinating book filled with references to other authors who wrote about how we process history, the meat of the story is learning about the many ways of life and perspectives of South Africans living in townships during apartheid. Illuminating in the way it cracks open binary readings of South African history. Dlamini has mastered the difficult task of combining personal history with the socio-political.

[Joanna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dr. Jacob Dlamini seeks to recover and reclaim parts of African histories erased by the dominant narrative of black dispossession in South Africa. Native Nostalgia provides different narratives that demonstrate the richness, diversity, and complexity of life among black South Africans. This book awakened my senses to broaden my understanding of black life in urban South Africa while making me nostalgic for my childhood in West Africa.

[Harald Winkler · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic book - can't believe I missed Jacob Dlamini's lovely writing since 2009. He plays with stories from growing up in Katlehong, and shows the complexity and richness of township life under Apartheid. Deeply thoughtful, yet having been a political reporter, he knows how to tell a story. Read it!

[Jiewei Li · Rating 4 out of 5]

Made me think about what it means to find solidarity and joy even while living in oppressive systems. Trauma and joy can coexist. It is possible to think fondly about personal experiences during periods of strife.

[Nico Barendse · Rating 2 out of 5]

I didn't enjoy this book, it felt academic and repetitive. I loved the story telling bits though. Such a let down.

[Boipelo Kekana · Rating 5 out of 5]

Incredible writing! I appreciated the simplicity of his writing style

[Kim · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is such a wonderfully charming account of South African history - a side that hasn't been told. It is an anecdote filled with nuggets of stories that tell a multidimensional tale of growing up in a South African township. It doesn't apologise or justify, but rather gives the reader access to the richness of community life, despite its apartheid context. Jacob is a skilled writer whose words flow with the ease of a babbling brook but have the sharpness of a Johannesburg thunderstorm. A must-read for anyone interested in South Africa

[Smah · Rating 5 out of 5]

I absolutely loved this book! I would recommend it to anyone who wants to share in the nostalgia, understand the nostalgia and be educated / better informed by this vivid retelling of a life lived in a place and time that has often been described in a monotone, negative and broad brush stroke. The book reminds us of the dangers of assuming one uniform identity for any group of individuals and reminds us of the uniqueness of everyone's experiences of time and place, no matter how others may conceive it.

[Zozo Mogoera · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very well written, clearly written by a learned someone but I found that he gives too much credit to small pockets of success or efficacies to apartheid. Such qualities in this era were not as a result of but rather in spite of. Apartheid destroyed the ability to valorize (to use his own words) our blackness, most of us anyway.

[Rebecca · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book makes important political points about the nature of everyday life and ordinariness even though embedded in the racist apartheid era. It makes clear how mundane both good and evil can be, and how people construct normality even amid extreme abnormality.

[Helen · Rating 5 out of 5]

A wonderfully evocative book, which demands that we acknowledge and understand the ways in which people are different rather than lumping them together into a homogeneous group without agency.

[Amogelang Maledu · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bra Dlamini (if I may

[Phumza Ntshotsho Simelane · Rating 1 out of 5]

This one was just not for me. It was a struggle to finish it!

[Andile · Rating 3 out of 5]

it good but the book is based on the past and his lifestyle while growing up