Umngqusho ka Makhulu wam liyeza lokuphila: Prioritising Affect, Ancestral Memory and Matrilineal Archives as Indigenous Feminist Methodologies

Abstract

In his chapter, “Education as Freedom”, Rick Turner critiques the way in which schools socialise learners to conform to rigid ways of being. Turner also argues that schools in Africa were founded on colonial principles that actively promoted European (un)civilisation. Elsewhere, I have contended that colonial education has resulted in epistemic annihilation of African people. In this article, I recount my experiences as an educator curating learning spaces using decolonial and indigenous ways of knowing. I argue for embracing affect and vulnerability in the classroom as one form of remedy to the numbness imposed by coloniality. In this article, I explore how tapping into matrilineal ancestral archives and our intuitive connection to indigenous ways of knowing is an integral part of recovering from colonial violence in the classroom. I reflect on my experiences curating learning spaces through the Black feminist collective, IPotsoyi KwaLanga. I expound on the value of prioritising Black joy and African food and illustrate how introducing food fosters connection, challenges colonial patriarchal norms and triggers ancestral memory. I reflect on the impact of this methodology and draw on the following themes of discussion: how, historically, food and the kitchen have been spaces for connection and solidarity for African women; African food traditions and recipes as breathing archives that I use to connect with students and their ancestors in the classroom; and the use of food as a way to create a welcoming environment that resists the cold disembodied patriarchal colonial understanding of what a classroom should be.