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The Long Tears - An Ndebele Story

Made by David Forbes

This remarkable film, seen through the eyes of one family, documents five years in the life of a South African tribe, the Ndebele, exploring their extraordinary art, culture and traditions. Tribe member Francina Ndimande is an internationally recognised mural artist, as is her daughter Angelina. Their work is commissioned by art collectors all over the world.

The film explores the rituals and traditions associated with the rites of passage of both men and women. Francina’s son, Gerald, is featured as he embarks on his two-month initiation into adulthood, or "journey to the mountains of manhood", guided by his elder brother Erasmus. We also follow her granddaughter during her uguthombe, her two-year initiation into womanhood.

The Long Tears also traces the history of the Ndebele defeat in war against the Boers over a hundred years ago, and their subsequent enslavement and mistreatment at the hands of the Boer farmers. It shows us the famous Ndebele wall art and dress traditions and puts them in the context of the new South Africa. Here is a portrait of a unique people, told in their own words.

"Highly recommended." MC Journal of Academic Media Librarianship

African Studies Association, 2000

52 min. Video or DVD. Sale $295. Video rental $75

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