Antropologiese aantekeninge by Opperman se 'Ringdans van die Hamerkoppe'

Abstract

This article provides an anthropological reading of one of Opperman’s early poems, “Ringdans van die hamerkoppe” (Blom en Baaierd, 1956). The argument motivates a perspective on Opperman that emphasises his role as a poetethnographer who in this poem also displays elements of the poem-shaman in recuperating salient elements of the cultural world of the Zulu, as seen through the focalisation of the speaker in this text. The article motivates a reading that challenges initial reception of the text that viewed the text as a depiction of the tragedy of an old man, and opts for a perspective that recognises the multi-layered meanings that the text espouses. The article concludes that an anthropology, and an anthropological interpretation cannot disallow the rhetorical dimensions of the text.