Abstract:
The notion of children’s “voices” is a construct used to frame the lack of power and agency that
young people yield in their lives. However, representing children as “voiceless” overlooks how
they employ tools, such as music, to voice their agency in dynamic, articulate, and meaningful ways.
This collaborative article examines how children and young people in Vhavenda communities in
South Africa utilize music to straddle their realities between tradition and change. Through this
exploration, we will demonstrate how children and young people shape, embody, and challenge
the lived and contemporary notions of what it means to be Vhavenda.
