condolence messages for mama africa

Mama Miriam Makeba
Condolence Messages
Africa Heritage Society

"Miriam Makeba"
4 March 1932 - 9 November 2008
Mama Africa

Africa Heritage Society recognises Miram Makeba as one of Africa's finest music legends. Join us in expressing our heartfelt condolences to Mama Makeba's family and friends. Sign the condolence book here.
A Tribute...
The sounds of Africa are a little faded, softer and infinitely sadder. Our golden song bird has been silenced and no more will our world be filled with her beautiful songs. Taped recordings, CD’s, faded black and white films and recordings of live shows are all that remain of our caged song bird, Mama Africa -this great and wonderful soul of Africa.
Mariam Makeba has died. And for all of us who knew her work and music, and who were privileged to know and love her will forever miss her. “The Queen my lord is dead, long live the queen.”
Miriam Makeba was born in Johannesburg on March 4, 1932. After a long and largely successful musical career, she made an international farewell tour in 2005.

Born from a Swazi mother and Xhosa father, Makeba captured international attention as vocalist for the South African group, The Manhattan Brothers, while they toured the United States in 1959. This diverse ancestry made it possible for her to embrace many different people.
In 1960, when she wanted to return home to bury her mother, the apartheid state revoked her citizenship and later also banned her music. She became the iconic symbol for the arts and culture struggle as a result and she spent 31 years in exile, living in the United States and later in Guinea.
She became the first South African woman, and a black African woman at that, to receive a Grammy Award, which she shared with folk singer Harry Belafonte in 1965. Belafonte assisted with the launch of Mama Africa’s music in the United States and he also assisted many exiled artists in a similar way.
Two years later her fame sky-rocketed with the recording of the all-time hit Pata Pata (Xhosa for "touch, touch" describing a township dance) although she unknowingly signed away all royalties on the song. Her more famous song, The Click Song, a song of joy, celebration and blessing for a wedding, resonates with us all even now. Given her long time in exile, she was somebody we only got to know through her music and became an icon of the art struggle and the contribution she, Hugh Masekela and Caiphus Simenya made deserves the lasting gratitude of a nation.

Her children were the source of her pride and she described her life as a yoyo. Amidst all her highs she celebrated her achievements and like most of us had her lows and regrets. An all-time low in her life happened in 1985 when her only daughter, Bongi, died aged 36 from complications from a miscarriage. Miriam Makeba, despite her musical success, suffered as most artists did, from a lack of money and did not have the financial wherewithal to buy a coffin for Bongi, and buried her alone barring a handful of journalists covering the funeral. Knowing the role and meaning of ritual surrounding death, we can only imagine the pain this must have caused her.
In true African fashion, her resilience helped her to pick herself up again, as she had many times before. Her moments of notable adversity occurred when her father died at a young age, or when she recovered from cervical cancer, or her many unhappy relationships, or unfounded rumours of alcoholism, according to her biography. Still, the caged bird sang.
She returned to South Africa in the 1990s after Mandela was released from prison but it took a cash-strapped Makeba six years to find someone in the local recording industry to produce a record with her.
She since released Homeland which contains a song describing her joy to be back home after the many years in exile in which she spoke out against apartheid and testified twice before the United Nations.
I kept my culture. I kept the music of my roots. Through my music I became this voice and image of Africa and the people without even realising," she said in her biography
From all of us who never knew you, except in your music, thank you Mama Africa for singing for all of us and through your music, you have inspired us to build an Africa we can be proud of.
Yes the music may fade, but the memories of you will last forever. Rest well.
Rosalie Manning
Chairperson
Africa Heritage Trust
rosalie@africaheritage.com
Acknowledgments: AFP Article on News24

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