Kanegelokopana ya I.T. Maditsi : Pheko ya pula (Sepedi)

Abstract

Maditsi is one of the most significant authors in Sepedi literature. He has written various texts, including poetry, short stories and a novelette. He won the first award of the Samuel E Mqhayi prize awarded by the Suid -Afrikaanse Akademie vir Wetenskap en Kuns in 1971, with his poetry book Monamolomo bolela monatsebe o tlo go kwa. His exceptional writing proficiency have been recognised by a scholar such as Thobakgale (1996: 6), who writes: (Maditsi) could be called the leading author of the development of Sepedi short stories, because his short stories, namely Mogologolo (1970), Monyane (1974) and Dipheko (1985) are of high standard as compared to the initial ones as they have raised the standard of Sepedi short stories. The aim of this dissertation is to analyse Maditsi’ s short story ‘Pheko ya pula’ from the anthology Dipheko, as a traditional short story, with special reference to two levels, namely content and plot. When analysing ‘Pheko ya pula’, two strategies have been chosen, namely ‘to define’and ‘to intepret’. The reason is because in this research there are terms such as journey, patronage, etc, that require definition, as well as ideas (characters, events, design, title, theme, topic, technique, conflict and others) that require interpretation and are related to the topic. Furthermore, the model used in this investigation was the adapted narratological model developed by Groenewald (1993) and Mojalefa (1997). This model differ from older models developed by narratologists such as Genette (1980) and Strachan (1988), because it emphasizes that when one discusses content, topic is important. When plot structure is examined, theme is highlighted, and when style is investigated, atmosphere plays a very important role. With regard to the content level, it was revealed that content consists of four elements, namely characters, events, time and place. Furthermore, it was also discovered that characters are subdivided into two categories, namely main and minor characters. These major characters are kind- hearted person and quarrelsome person and they are described according to the following index: intention, patronage, resistance, assistance and patronised. In the short story ‘Pheko ya pula’, the kind-hearted person is Potego, while the quarrelsome person is Mathoma, because he opposes Potego’s kindness. If this text is read and studied intensively the reader realises that the assistance of the quarrelsome person, Mathoma is the resistance of the kind-hearted person, Potego, and vice versa. Events can be classified into two categories, namely essential and other events. The essential events are further subdivided into three categories, namely first, middle and last events. The concept of time at the content level is explained in terms of three categories, namely narratological time, historical time and indefinite time. Place is divided into two categories: the physical place where events occur and indefinite place. In analysing plot structure, three elements are important, namely theme, design and title, because theme links the events of the plot of ‘Pheko ya pula’. Title plays a significant role in distinguishing the name of the literary text and design identifies the type of literary work. Four phases of plot, namely exposition, development, climax and denouement, have also been examined as pillars of the literary text. In the exposition phase, the first conflict (local witchdoctors refused to find the rain charm for the Puding community) is discussed in terms of the following techniques: contrast, foreshadowing, naming, focus, repetition and others. Sequence of events, flashback, symbol and other techniques were used in the development. In the climax, the author used cycle, repetition and other techniques, while in the denouement he used flashback and foreshadowing. In conclusion, this research has also examined the way Maditsi has used the journey as a technique in Sepedi literature, because ‘Pheko ya pula’ is based on a journey from the beginning to the end. The author has used this important technique with consummate skill.