Love In the Digital Age: Exploring the Role of Popular Ndebele Wedding Songs in the Post-2000 Era
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.25159/2663-6697/20782Keywords:
love, Ndebele culture, Ndebele wedding songs, popular music, digital eraAbstract
The classical wedding songs of the Ndebele people of Zimbabwe played a significant role in weddings. Over the years, these songs have been a crucial element in strengthening marital bonds. Among other roles, such as entertainment and the creation of memories, the songs served as counselling tools for the wedding couple. The intrinsic counselling messages in the songs were meant to educate the concerned couple about the marital responsibilities and obligations they were about to shoulder. Also, as vehicles of the Ndebele people’s perceptions, values, struggles, and aspirations concerning the marriage institution, the songs bordered on social norms and code of conduct expected in the marital union. However, the post-2000 era has witnessed profound shifts in the musical landscape, technological advancements, and cultural norms about weddings. Through observations, interviews and lyrical analysis of the selected trending Ndebele popular songs played in weddings in the post-2000 era in the Ndebele society, this study examines the transforming role of wedding songs, exploring how they shape, reflect, and negotiate contemporary notions of love and marriage. The findings reveal a decline in classical wedding music, a rise in personalised playlists, and an increased emphasis on sentimental value rather than the marital responsibilities and obligations that were traditionally couched in wedding songs. The study adopts the theory of Afrocentricity. The theory is critical in shedding light on the intersections between culture, music, and technology, shedding light on how the selected wedding songs mediate and reflect the complexities of modern love.
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