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Ngoma yalila mphela (The drum keeps on beating)

Group of twelve Ngoni women
Audio
Ngoma yalila mphela (The drum keeps on beating)
These women, though Ngoni, sing in Nsenga, their forebears’ language. They use distinct styles: that of the Zulu (Ngoni), their fathers’ tribe, and that of their mothers’ tribe, whom the Ngoni conquered. Despite nearly a century of integration, both styles remain distinct.