1. I am indebted to Thembinkosi Dyeyi of East London, South Africa, for translating and interpreting the transcription of this Western Cape event. [BACK]

2. In some interpretations of Zulu divination, this agreement, contained in the verb vuma , is turned into confession, ukuvuma , which is extracted from the client by the diviner after a series of interrogations. Axel-Ivar Berglund offers a vivid account of a divination of this sort in the context of Zulu independent Christians (Berglund 1989:113-115). [BACK]

3. Blacking's identification of other song styles in the universe of all Venda initiation music includes: nyimbo dza u sevhetha , songs for dancing round, sung by girls dancing counterclockwise around the drums, including a "song of dismissal" and a "recruiting song"; nyimbo dza vhahwira , songs of the masked dancers, with varying tempo to accompany different phases of the dance and distinctive rhythms to mark various steps; and nyimbo dza milayo , songs of the laws of the school, sung by novices and any graduates present (1973:40é41). [BACK]