THE BLACK CIRCUS OF THE REPUBLIC OF BANTU

, WAT, ANTHU, BATU, BATO, ABANTO, ANDU,

ABANTU, WANDRU, ABANTRU, BANTHFU, BANU, VANHU, BATHO, ANDU,
VANDU, VHATHU,
BHANDHU, MBAITYO.

Structure of the show

PRESET
(Audience walks in with Ibokwe on stage all ready. Ibokwe in a black tutu skirt with a
black hat that has incense in them. On the one arm he holds a metal plate with impempho
and on the other arm he holds a catholic thurible with charcoal and traditional inscence.
The room is filled with a sound of mumbling African voices that gradually increase in
numbers and volume. When the audience is in finally, we move)

FIRST SETUP TRIBUTE

THE LIGHTS CREATING THE RAMP IN THE MIDDLE OF THE SPACE COME ON. MUSIC FOR
THIS SECTION WHICH IS AN EMBALISHED VOICE OVER WITH THE TRIBUTE COMES ON

V.O
 THIS IS A TRIBUTE TO THE REPUBLICK OF Bantu and its people the descendants of
Kush and Mnguni.
• a tribute to the incredible thinkers and inventors with in Africa whose
names are not found
• a tribute to African Gods.
• This is a tribute to an African civilization that was untampered with
• This is the people who were removed from their homes and forced into
slavery.
• This is for the people whose family lineage was destabilized and displaced
• This is for the Africans who died in the ocean whose souls swim with
unrested
• This is for the people who had to mourn without burying their family
members.
• This is for the people who were sold to masters for money under their own
value.
• This is for the souls who were stripped away of their identity
• This is the for the people who were stripped away of the culture and
traditions.
• This is for the souls who became disconnected
• This is for their people who had to submit to the hand of master
 • This is for the people enslaved to work as laborers to make other people’s
lives more pleasant and peaceful.
• This is for the children born into hatred for their parents were victims of
hate
• A tribute to the people who had to become medical guinea pigs for the
inventors of those time.
• This is a tribute for those who had to be part of human zoos.
• This is for the people who were promised so much but ended up being
chant out and betrayed.
• This is a tribute to those who were lug
• This is a tribute for the ones who had to die for others, those who lived on
defiance and those who were always with in the firing line
• This is for those people who pleaded and begged and cried and screamed
and wished and hoped.
• This is a tribute to Shake, cetswaya, yintsa,Sekhukhune,
Kgama,maqoma,lobengula,Sobhuza,nqika,moshweshwe.mzilikazi,neyanda,
Luthuli,Dingane, Nonqawuse,soShangane, Mlanjeni
• This is for kings, queens, chiefs’ emperors who were stripped of their titles,
their royal blood
• This is for the African people who were put on display, who were forced
into freak circuses because of the body attributes.
• This a tribute to Sarah baartman
• This is for the souls still roaming in foreign lands begging for the spirit to be
reunited with the families and loved ones let on their homes.
• THIS IS FOR ALL OF BANTU
• , WAT, ANTHU, BATU, BATO, ABANTO, ANDU,
• ABANTU, WANDRU, ABANTRU, BANTHFU, BANU, VANHU, BATHO, ANDU, VANDU,
VHATHU,
• BHANDHU, MBAITYO.
• this is for all the children in today’s life and times who find it difficult to
show up and to take up spaces because of what happened to the ancestors
and great ancestors and great great great and ancient guides. (repeat
SECOND SET UP
Sound scape or Voice over of Ama aido and Winnie mandela.
While the video is going Ibokwe goes around with a tub of Snuff and a tub Ungranulated
salt. He hands the snuff to black,coloured,and Indian people, and salt to white people
since we met you people 500 years ago.
Look at us.
We've given everything you're still taking.
It's true.
I mean,
where would the whole Western world be without be
without Africa?
Our coco,
our timber,
our gold,
our diamonds,
our platinum,
our whatever Everything you are is us.
I am not saying it.
It's a fact.
And and in in return for all of this,
what have we got?
Nothing.
Antipersonnel indoctrination against ourselves.
If you go and cook your horrible diseases like a AIDS
You say it is us.
You brought us tuberculosis.
We didn't have this big cough until white people came here in
exchange for in exchange for Africa.
Given Europe 500 solid years
of our people I mean,
Europe,
the western world of our human beings.
To work your canes to dig your gold to take in gold
itself.
Die.
I mean,
you know,
fish,
peanuts,
palm oil,
everything.
In exchange for that,
we have got nothing.
Nothing.
And you know it.
Nothing.
And you look upon,
you know,
white folks look upon us like monkeys.
It is true.
It's in your literature.
You know,
some of your best thinkers have said this about us.
Have you heard of the I mean,
all these Germans?
Have you heard?
They said Lord Burton,
people like that.
They said we we we don't even have the brain of of animals.
That's what we got from you people.

But don't you think that this is over now?

Over.

Where is it?

Over.

Who said that?

AIDS came from the green monkey.

Is it over?

Is it over?

Well,
if this is your impression,
do you think that you can ever forgive us?

It's not a question of forgiveness.

I have nothing against you.
My point is that you did.
And you are doing for your survival what is necessary.
We can't blame you for that.
The fact that we are not we didn't do enough for our own
survival.
And we are still not doing enough for your sur survival.
That is not your problem.
You know,
even the even everybody that God has created has a
sense of survivor,
you know.
And until we if we don't develop it,
we can't blame white people.
You came here because you needed these things.
You took gunpowder from the Chinese.
You needed them to shoot people.

They came.
They colonized us.
They colonized the continent.
All those people who had a fairer skin than
ourselves.
And after looting Africa,
they turned around and called us a third word.
The first world was made out of the blood and sweat
of the third over.
Where is it?

Over?

Who said that?

AIDS came from the green Monkey.

Is it over?

And after looting Africa,

Is it over?

They turned around and called us a third word.

Is it over?

The first world was made out of the blood and sweat of the third one.

Is it over?

THIRD SETUP
on the microphone ibokwe announces the next circus act in a very loud and animated way.
Ladies and gentleman welcome to the Black Circus of the Republic of Bantu. NOW GIVE
YOURSELVES A ROUND OF APPLAUS, today ladies and gentleman we bring to you an African
savage from the concrete jungle of Johannesburg South Africa. Be warned do look directly
into its eyes you will be cursed and then later on if you want ill let you touch it. ladies and
gentleman I present to you the beast the Manly Woman. give him her a round of applause.
The song Wagqoza kabi by izingane zoma comes on
THIRD SETUP
A.V with voice over (AV is cut in a way of Ibokwe and videos of circuses and dances from
Africa)
So recently I have been reflecting on the gaze which has made it difficult for me to dance I
mean imagine as a choreographer and dancer I’m finding dancing crippling. And as I was
wondering what the reason for this could be I then realized that I could be that I’m not
dancing or singing the truth anymore. Because the thing with African dancing and singing
from any country in Africa was not just dancing or singing but what would happen in the
process of doing it is that we as Africans would be connecting weather to the earth, our
ancestors, ancient guides or to God and the Gods. Were weren’t just doing it as a spectacle
or for just entertainment it’s a ritual, it is mediums used to Chanel, escape or play between
two or more realms of consciousness, it has always been a way to travel through space and
time. It was a way for us to heal ourselves and heal others, a way to heal our ancient guides.
Then off-course the invaders saw all of this and thought this would be great entertainment
for the people back home. I can take this dancing monkeys and put them in a circus at fairs.
and from there everything was ruined and disturbed. And they took my ancient guides and
set sail into foreign lands and dumped most of them in the ocean I curse the Ships that sole
my people and stripped them of their dignity and life and how so cheap it was to be
discarded in water. How many souls are restless in the ocean waters? into distant lands they
arrived chained and shackled turned into slaves of labor and ridicule and you want me to
dance having inherited to much bodily violence and ridicule. And you want me to sing while
their voices where unheard as they were screaming for their lives, and begging to go back
home as they sang songs to remind them of home while they deteriorate into nothingness
in lands were their lives meant nothing dead or alive.
All this happens with the tutu over Ibokwe shoulders and head gear of a boat is on head and
pacing up and down.
FOURTH SETUP
A.V OF JUST ME BEING INTERVIEW
Ama internationals.
SO, I have been working out of the country for 11 years I have literally travelled with my
work around the World which is usually seen as an achievement. But I guess its through
travelling that once again I found myself reflecting on the spaces I would perform in, and
also the festivals and curations that my work would be boxed under which box’s me also as
a human being. But I sat down and I started looking and investigating the kind of artists who
make it abroad and why. It also leads me to question the gaze of the colonizers children who
are now the ones creating job opportunities for us on the one side but have they really
evolved from how they ancient guides looked and perceived us. Then I also noticed the huge
lie I’ve been living thinking that I’ve made because of being an internationally acclaimed
artist and I started realizing I am no different from my ancient guides who were performing
in circuses and freak shows for the pleasure of the white man. I’m no different to the people
who were put in human zoos. I had to even stop working with white people because
unfortunately where I am from as an artist most of the time you need a white name to
validate you and how incredible you are. It is also themselves tasking themselves to make
sure the rest of the world knows about you. So, what is that I ask that is the same master
who uproots you from Africa into foreign lands shackled and he or she comes into these
western and European lands and says look here I have for you this monkey who can sing and
dance. We need to question the gaze it still lingers amongst its offspring and within the
offspring of the offspring there for this reminds us that the gaze is as much alive now than it
was. then
While the above is happening, I’m gathering my performers from the audience and then
with a piece of music I to which I talk over it I make a mockery off my “performers” and
colonize their bodies by instructing them to do specific actions and ridicule them with silly
costumes.
SIXTH SET UP
A.V
You know the other thing people don’t know is that the reason I always perform in these
other countries and make it big in those countries is the burden of the gift that has been
bestowed to me.that gift is the reason I get to travel the World it’s not very glitzy and
glamorous the reason I go to these place is that I’m sent to go collect the souls of Africans
who have died who were stolen from Africa and take them back to Africa it doesn’t matter
that I land in South Africa what remains is that I land in Africa when I come back its like the
practice we have or ritual we have rather as Africans when a person has died we fetch their
souls with what they call ihlahla or Umlahlankosi a specific which is a brunch from a certain
tree. That brunch is taken to the place of death of that person then is taken home the
process of it is that you place the plant where they were last alive and order their soul to
follow them and to take refuge in this branch and as they travel to their home, they
communicate with the person soul and instruct them to not stay behind and follow them. I
am that branch my body is that branch parts of my calling are to carry these souls back not
matter where they are from in Africa, I have to carry these souls. Imagine carry souls whose
names you do not know but they respond to the calling and at times without summoning
them they just invade my body and they fly home with me and it is because I’m flying that
they travel with me, and they do this because they fear the water that got them there and
you can only imagine how many souls are still to be fetched in the oceans. The word Bantu
is found in all languages as you travel upwards into other African countries but they all
pronounced differently due to the different languages but they all maintain the (aa) sound
in the middle and (oo) sound in the end. and then Ironically you find the white man who
thought calling us Bantu derogatory that’s who we are.
At this moment ibokwe is in the white tutu with umlahlankosi strapped to his body and the
Aeroplan head gear on his head. Accompanied by a song called Southern light
SEVENTH SET UP (FINALLY)
V.O

and so, where do we go from here when the finger has pointed into your direction, how do
we move from the guilt hanging like a void that has now settled within the back of your
mind believe you me that is not the intention but the intention has already fulfilled its
purpose. how do I reclaim what has been claimed, stolen, scared, tainted, demonized,
ridiculed, misunderstood for generations? How do I bring down my guard when pain and
betrayal has bruised me from birth as I carry the effects of your ancient guides torment in
me that was too heavy from my ancestors and is heavy now for me because you still benefit
from it? how do I work from a pure place how do you even expect me to work from a pure
place. how do I move from this how do you move from this how do we move from this? the
concept of the healing is very questionable to me I can’t heal the more I try the more if find
myself in a depressive state paralyzed by the voices of my ancient guides who use my body
as a vessel their cries ring louder in my ears and brain and their tears were never wiped,
they cannot be comforted I can’t be comforted. I know you would propose I need healing
but who heals the healer. I have bonded your hands because that is the reality of my
existence restricted. Unbind your hands only if you feel deep down that you have no hand in
all of this and your so pure and this was all rubbish. To those bonded but I are in my position
you can cut off the material that binds you, but remember the material unseen, unheard,
that is hidden behind smiles, behind good deeds, behind crying eyes that will forever bind.
What am I saying in lane man terms the depression you experience now is not only a mental
illness, but it is the frustration, the cries, betrayal, the censoring, and the displacements of
the ones that came before you it’s a depression that is passed down generation to
generation?
The last image is of Ibokwe still in white generation? on head and boat in hand behind the
microphone he sings the song with the voices of his ancients. (At this moment audience
doors can be opened and they can leave if the way to) (no curtain calls no bowing as per
usual)

The End