Tsotsi
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Tsotsi
A slang word referring to a young, lay-about or gangster, usually young and often referring to black or coloured individuals, though it is also found as a scathing reference to white layabouts or criminals.
The tsotsi culture developed in urban townships and especially black “locations” (ghettoes), in response to the economic dilemma of the times, and originally derived its “style” from the American movie culture of the 1930’s and 40’s. As Loren Kruger (1999: 87) says, the tsotsis “[t]o a degree … embodied a sort of outlaw glamour, displayed in their expensive American clothes and cars”. Among their many activities they apparently also demanded protection money from entertainers, on occasion kidnapped favourite artistes (like Miriam Makeba) to enhance their own image, or killed those who performed for rival gangs (e.g. Solomon “Zuluboy” Cele).
During the period of the resistance struggle, the gangs often found themselves in a quandary, part of the armed struggle through their access to arms and manpower, yet tempted to exploit the situation for their own enrichment. However, the gangs became increasingly more violent and rivalry blossomed as the stringent apartheid policing was relaxed and the models gradually became the glamerous but violent American and Afro-American gangster films of the 1980’s and 1990’s.
The rackets and gangster rivalry surfaced publically and brutally after 1994 as the new constitution opened up a wide range of economic opportunities and democratic privileges to everyone, including numerous safeguards for accused criminals. A key marker of the gangs is also the multiglot street lingo they use, commonly referred to as tsotsitaal.
Skollie
Although far more general in its meaning, the Afrikaans term skollie in certain sense has a similar meaning to tsotsi, although it was really coined by the white Afrikaans-speaking community and was often used as a term of abuse for layabouts and gangsters, initially for black and coloured individuals, but also for lazy, ne'er do well whites. Later used by English-speaking South Africans as well and also occurs in plays, novels and films. A quintessential example is the much loved jailbird character "Skollie" (played by Ballot) in the ground-breaking TV series Vyfster (198*).
Tsotsis in literature, theatre and film
Tsotsi the novel by Athol Fugard
The novel tells the powerful story of a hardened township criminal whose life changes forever after a bungled mugging leaves him caring for a stranger's baby.
Tsotsi the Musical
Tsotsi The Musical is based on the novel by Athol Fugard, with music composed by Zwai Bala, book and lyrics by Mkhululi Mabija. ,
It was performed at the Artscape Theatre, Cape Town in 2018, directed by Neil Coppen and Khayelihle Dominique Gumede, with choreography by Sonia Radebe. The cast included Mxolisi "Zuluboy" Majozi (as tsotsi) , Msizi Njapha, Busisiwe Ngejane, Bianca Le Grange, Kgomotso Matsunyane and Lindani Nkosi.
Tsotsitaal
Tsotsitaal as a linguistic phenomenon
A generic term referring to the urban patois or street language developed in the multicultural and polyglottal milieu of the urban (largely black) ghettoes or townships. Used by gangsters or “tsotsis”, as well as by younger urban dwellers across the country. Its grammatical base is Afrikaans, its vocabulary a mix of American slang and the variety of South African languages. It is a highly flexible and constantly changing language, with a large number of regional variants.
Tsotsitaal and theatre
Increasingly aspects of this language may be found as an element in stage texts and other creative writing from the 1970’s onwards. (See Schuring 19**)
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