Zwikumelo – Referential praises for empowerment and talk management strategies for mahosi (royal leaders) with special reference to Thovhele Miḓiyavhathu Tshivhase

Praises called zwikumelo in Tshivenḓa are often seen by outsiders as acts of interruption or interjections by royal praise-singers when their rulers are busy addressing people. There are others who see them as flattery; profuse, ridiculous and extravagant exclamations chanted to exaggerate the positions of rulers. The aim of this article is to demonstrate that there are genuine referential praises for rulers which are used to honour them and enhance their status, but that, in addition, they also function as talk management strategies to empower the rulers and to enhance the standard of such talks to be more informative, effective and focused.S.Afr.J.Afr.Lang.,2008,

Hidden dialogicality in Mafhuwe – a critical discourse analytical interpretation of struggles of power relations in Tshivenḓa women songs of protest

Mafhuwethey pound maize during the night to deal with fear. Other scholars see these songs as a form of poetry with an element of protest chanted by the Vhavenḓa women against the harsh treatment they get from their in-laws. The aim of this article is to demonstrate that, in addition to the above, mafhuwe are poetrycum-songs that are chanted to illustrate power relations between two parties. The singer uses her voice to respond to the voice of the unseen and unheard interlocutor who is usually known to her and in some instances is very powerful.S.Afr.J.Afr.Lang., 31(2) 201