Parading respectability: The cultural and moral eesthetics of the Christmas Bands Movement in the Western Cape, South Africa by Sylvia Bruinders TERMS of USE The African Humanities Program has made this electronic version of the book available on the NISC website for free download to use in research or private study. It may not be re- posted on book or other digital repositories that allow systematic sharing or download. For any commercial or other uses please contact the publishers, NISC (Pty) Ltd. Print copies of this book and other titles in the African Humanities Series are available through the African Books Collective. © African Humanities Program Dedication For my parents, Vera and Gabriel Bruinders About the Series The African Humanities Series is a partnership between the African Humanities Program (AHP) of the American Council of Learned Societies and academic publishers NISC (Pty) Ltd. The Series covers topics in African histories, languages, literatures, philosophies, politics and cultures. Submissions are solicited from Fellows of the AHP, which is administered by the American Council of Learned Societies and financially supported by the Carnegie Corporation of New York. The purpose of the AHP is to encourage and enable the production of new knowledge by Africans in the five countries designated by the Carnegie Corporation: Ghana, Nigeria, South Africa, Tanzania, and Uganda. AHP fellowships support one year’s work free from teaching and other responsibilities to allow the Fellow to complete the project proposed. Eligibility for the fellowship in thefiv e countries is by domicile, not nationality. Book proposals are submitted to the AHP editorial board which manages the peer review process and selects manuscripts for publication by NISC. 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AHP Editorial Board Members as at July 2017 AHP Series Editors: Professor Adigun Agbaje, University of Ibadan, Nigeria Professor Emeritus Fred Hendricks, Rhodes University, South Africa Consultant: Professor Emeritus Sandra Barnes, University of Pennsylvania, USA (Anthropology) Board Members: 1 Professor Akosua Adomako Ampofo, Institute of African Studies, Ghana (Gender Studies & Advocacy) (Vice President, African Studies Association of Africa 2 Professor Kofi Anyidoho, University of Ghana, Ghana (African Studies & Literature) (Director, Codesria African Humanities Institute Program) 3 Professor Ibrahim Bello-Kano, Bayero University, Nigeria (Dept of English and French Studies) 4 Professor Sati Fwatshak, University of Jos, Nigeria (Dept of History & International Studies) 5 Professor Patricia Hayes, University of the Western Cape, South Africa (African History, Gender Studies and Visuality) (SARChI Chair in Visual History and Theory) 6 Associate Professor Wilfred Lajul, College of Humanities & Social Sciences, Makerere University, Uganda (Dept of Philosophy) 7 Professor Yusufu Lawi, University of Dar-es-Salaam, Tanzania (History 8 Professor Bertram Mapunda, University of Dar-es-Salaam, Tanzania (Dept of Archaeology & Heritage Studies) 9 Professor Innocent Pikirayi, University of Pretoria, South Africa (Chair & Head, Dept of Anthropology & Archaeology) 10 Professor Josephat Rugemalira, University of Dar-es-Salaam, Tanzania (Foreign Languages & Linguistics) 11 Professor Idayat Bola Udegbe, University of Ibadan, Nigeria (Dept of Psychology) Published in this series Dominica Dipio, Gender terrains in African cinema, 2014 Ayo Adeduntan, What the forest told me: Yoruba hunter, culture and narrative performance, 2014 Sule E. Egya, Nation, power and dissidence in third-generation Nigerian poetry in English, 2014 Irikidzayi Manase, White narratives: The depiction of post-2000 land invasions in Zimbabwe, 2016 PARADING RESPECTABILITY: The Cultural and Moral Aesthetics of the Christmas Bands Movement in the Western Cape, South Africa SYLVIA BRUINDERS Published in South Africa on behalf of the African Humanities Program by NISC (Pty) Ltd, PO Box 377, Grahamstown, 6140, South Africa www.nisc.co.za First edition, first impression 2017 Publication © African Humanities Program 2017 Text © Sylvia Bruinders 2017 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or any information storage or retrieval system , without prior permission in writing from the publisher. ISBN: 978-1-920033-19-4 (print) ISBN: 978-1-920033-20-0 (PDF) ISBN: 978-1 920033-21-7 (ePub) Development editor: Leonie Viljoen Project manager: Peter Lague Indexer: Michel Cozien Cover design: Advanced Design Group Illustrator: Sylvia de Moor Printed in South Africa by Tandym Print Acknowledgements Photographs © Paul Grendon The author and the publisher have made everyeff ort to obtain permission for and acknowledge the use of copyright material. Should an inadvertent infringement of copyright have occurred, please contact the publisher and we will rectify omissions or errors in any subsequent reprint or edition. Contents Acknowledgements xi Foreword xii Preface xiv Glossary of acronyms and abbreviations xv Glossary of local words and phrases xvi List of figures xvii CHAPTER 1 Sociopolitical and historical introduction 1 Cape Town’s ghoema musical complex 1 An early history of the Cape 3 Cultural life in the early Cape 5 Coloured identity 6 Language diversities, religious differences and gender 7 Ambiguous identity and government ambivalence 9 Cultural hybridity 13 Emerging themes 14 Why Christmas bands? 19 Fieldwork and methodology 21 Comparative study 24 Outline 25 Notes 26 CHAPTER 2 Ethnography of the Christmas Bands Movement 29 History of the Christmas Bands Movement 30 Meetings 32 The oadr marches 34 The einterpretationr of public space: Spectacular moments 37 Federal structures 40 Cultural identity, religious and moral underpinnings 42 vii Respectability 46 Strategies of discipline 47 Constructing value 49 Musical sound of community 52 Notes 54 CHAPTER 3 The St Joseph’s Christmas Band 57 Biographical sketches of band members 58 Hannes September: founder and “father” of the band 58 Wallace Witbooi: Bandmaster 62 Chris Petersen: Captain 64 Anthony Tockley: Chairperson 65 Sharon Tockley: Secretary 65 Peter Noble: Treasurer 66 Cecil Tookley: Senior drum major 67 Embodied subjectivity 68 Notes 70 CHAPTER 4 From oral/aural to literate: Musical transmission in the Christmas Bands 71 Ambivalent notions about reading music 78 Ownership of instruments 86 The olesr of the bandmaster and captain 88 Learning the “solo” in St Joseph’s 89 Conflicting ideas: Bandmaster’s aspirations versus community’s expectations 91 Visiting other bands 93 Star of Peace Christmas Band, Bishop Lavis 94 Royal Crusaders Christmas Band, Bellville 94 Palm Crusaders Christmas Band, Ravensmead 96 Perseverance Christmas Band, Elsies River 97 Biographical sketches of musical directors of other bands 99 Rochelle Klassen, Star of Calvary Christmas Band, Heathfield 99 Byron Abrahams, Good Hope Christmas Band, Grassy Park 101 In conclusion 106 Notes 108 viii CHAPTER 5 Militarism in the bands: Christmas Bands Competitions 111 Background to the competitions 112 Getting ready for the union competition 113 The City and Suburban Union Competition 115 The “solo” 117 “Best-dressed band” 120 “Grand march past” 121 The contestation of process 124 Why competitions? 128 Paternalism and masculinity 130 Military influence 131 Christmas band competitions and the local-global contexts 136 The spectacular nature of competitions 137 Conclusions 139 Notes 140 CHAPTER 6 Hidden subjectivities: Women’s involvement in the Christmas bands 143 Gendered scholarship 143 Advance of the women’s sector 144 Women in the Christmas Bands Movement 147 Royal Crusaders Christmas Band 153 Mrs Shirley de Kock 156 Women as music educators 157 Ms Christine Fondling 158 Star of Calvary Christmas Band 160 Women in executive positions 164 Gendered citizenship 165 Conclusion 167 Notes 168 ix CHAPTER 7 Reflections and conclusions 171 Notes 177 APPENDICES 178 Appendix 1: Membership of the Christmas Bands Boards 178 Appendix 2: Hymn: Great is Thy aithfulnessF 181 Appendix 3: Letter to the Athlone and District Union 182 BIBLIOGRAPHY 185 INDEX 202 x Acknowledgements The manuscript for this publication was prepared with the support of the African Humanities Fellowship Program established by the American Council of Learned Societies with a generous grant from the Carnegie Corporation of New York. I am also grateful to the University of Cape Town Research Grants and the National Research Foundation Thuthuka undF for funding the research. This research would not have been possible without the generosity of the research community I worked with, in particular the St Joseph’s Christmas Band, the City and Suburban Christmas Bands Union, and the South African United Christmas Bands Board (SAUCBB). Members of these