SoundFjord | Ethnographic Film Screening | Clay, Cutting and Calendars | Noel Lobley

Ethnographic Film Screening | Noel Lobley (Pitt Rivers Museum)

Clay, Cutting and Calendars: Xhosa Imigidi Initiation Ceremonies in the Eastern Cape of South Africa

SUNDAY 24 March | noon-2pm | SoundFjord | RSVP: info[at]soundfjord.org.uk

In the Eastern Cape of South Africa, Xhosa imigidi initiation ceremonies mark the point in the year when a young boy becomes a man. Initiates are removed from society and forced to live in the bush, away from almost all human contact, in order to learn about their place in the world. Upon completion of this arduous phase, which formerly could last six months or more, initiates are welcomed back into society to assume their adult responsibilities. Imigidi ceremonies are marked with explosions of colour, dance and song, and alcohol.

Noel Lobley will present some of the images, scenes and sounds from imigidi ceremonies, drawing on his own field research and the work of other Africanist ethnomusicologists including Dave Dargie and Andrew Tracey.

Noel Lobley is an ethnomusicologist, musician and sound curator who currently works at the Pitt Rivers Museum, University of Oxford, where he is developing interactive projects for the museum's sound and music collections.

www.pittrivers-sound.blogspot.co.uk