Black Panther Africa Here and There

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Black Panther is about Wakanda a fictionalized country in Africa, but it has delightful snippets of the real Africa.

The movie has tall people, like Kenya’s and Sudan’s sons and daughters. Dora Milaje, the royal guard supervised by Okoye (Danai Gurira) is composed of tall women.  Okoye is a common surname or family name in Nigeria, as in Oge Okoye, the actress.
There are also scenes where men on horseback are wearing colourful blankets, a common sight in Lesotho, the country surrounded by South Africa.  Locals, the Basotho, call these blankets seana marena.  The country’s beauty sinks in as one drives from Maseru the capital, up to Leribe and further up the mountains.  Great roads too. 

Costume design.  That’s another snippet about Africa. There is Angela Bassett’s character looking regal, in what is called isicholo in Zulu.  Well! it looks like isicholo, a married woman’s headdress. You probably saw the re-mixed version of isicholo in what Beyonce is wearing in the Sorry video.
They also speak isiXhosa in Black Panther.  John Kani, arguably one of the greatest actors of all time, plays King T’Chaka.  That screen name might be based on King Shaka, the Zulu king who foretold the coming of the white man and subsequent wars against Britain and settlers from the Netherlands, to protect the land.

King T’Chaka speaks isiXhosa to his son T’Challa (Chadwick Boseman).  How nice.  The movie also has elders, something that used to be important in African culture.  Connie Chiume, a well-known South African actress plays one of the elders.
It’s a wrap.  There is a lot going on in Black Panther, scenes I didn’t understand so I’m going back for a second helping.  Who knows? I might discover more snippets about Africa.

By:  Nonqaba waka Msimang.

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