Summary
Highlights
Chris 'Zitulele' Mann (1948-2021) was a South African poet, teacher, and cultural figure known for his multilingual performances and diverse themes including apartheid, nature, and spirituality. He believed poetry was a form of experimentation and aimed to inspire love for humanity and the planet. His work continues to inspire readers and audiences after his passing in 2021.
The poem combines old songs and Zulu traditions within a modern KwaZulu-Natal setting. It describes a night jar, a nocturnal bird, that awakens the speaker and guides them to share their dreams with the Zulu princess of the heavens. This immortal princess cleanses and protects dreams, symbolizing comfort and relief from life's problems. The night jar acts as a messenger, leading people to a source of hope and renewed dreams.
The poem is a ballad set in KwaZulu-Natal, consisting of 36 lines divided into six stanzas of six lines each without a specific rhyme scheme. It mixes narrative, prose, and systina styles. The main characters are the night jar, the Inkosazana Yasezulwini (princess of heavens), and the first-person speaker (the sleeper) who narrates the story.
The poem creates a dreamy, fantastical atmosphere with an uplifting and comforting mood. The tone is consistently hopeful, optimistic, tranquil, and even sympathetic, as the night jar guides the speaker with understanding to find solutions to problems.
The poem merges European mythology (Sandman) and African folklore (princess of heavens). It emphasizes the importance of dreams and life goals, urging against despair and for relentless striving. The night jar serves as a guide towards rekindling hope. The poem also highlights the human craving for inner peace, understanding, and acknowledgment, which can be achieved through love and compassion by stepping away from negativity.
The night jar is described as a speckled, dust-brown nocturnal bird that roosts in bushes during the day, hiding from sunlight. Its camouflage makes it blend with its surroundings. Alliteration of 'b' and 'd' sounds mimics the bird's beak taps. A simile compares the bird's color to dust, and personification is used when it 'hides its head.'
At midnight, the bird gently taps on the speaker's window, waking him. Through the bird's opening and closing beak, the speaker sees sparkling starlight, suggesting a connection to the spiritual realm and representing hope and happiness. The repeated 'p' and 'g' sounds emphasize the tapping and the calm mood. The night jar is a messenger from the princess.
The poem sets the scene in peaceful, tender summer nights. The sky is clear, and the full moon reflects in a pond where fish nibble at its shimmering image. This imagery of light in darkness creates a calm, soothing atmosphere, drawing focus to hope and comfort.
Moths, illuminated by moonlight, fly among fruit trees, which appear covered in a 'silvery glow,' described through a metaphor. The 's' sounds create alliteration, mimicking the soft fluttering of moth wings and enhancing the peaceful night ambiance.
The night jar effortlessly glides from windowsill to windowsill, seeking pure-hearted individuals worthy of meeting the princess. Alliteration of 's' sounds depicts its smooth flight. The town is personified as 'worn out,' its inhabitants tired and metaphorically 'curtained' off from the world. The speaker, however, remains open and connected to nature.
The European folklore figure, the Sandman, who brings sleep and dreams, is displaced as the night jar awakens the speaker. This signifies a blend of cultural narratives. The night jar's action moves beyond mere waking, urging the speaker to 'truly see' rather than just 'look', emphasizing deeper insight.
The night jar's message continues, describing a transformation from a 'tar road' society (focused on technology and industry) to a natural setting of 'bush and rocky hill.' This symbolizes a shift from a closed, artificial world to an open, liberating natural environment, transporting the speaker to higher physical and spiritual planes.
The setting is confirmed as KwaZulu-Natal, implied by sugarcane fields. The speaker is directed to a traditional thatched hut in the hills, a calm and beautiful place with tall lilies and no storms, representing peace before meeting the princess. Alliteration with 's' sounds reinforces the serene atmosphere. A metaphor compares ripe sugarcane to sea foam ('sugar spumes'), linking it to the coast.
The princess is introduced as a goddess of love and dreams in her traditional hut. Her 'honey feet' (a simile comparing her skin to dark honey) signify golden-brown skin and sweetness. She gathers dreams, giving hope and making them come true, but only those that reach her.
The princess, despite her status, 'stoops' to collect, cleanse, and store dreams in traditional Zulu woven pots, symbolizing humility and care. Dreams are 'rinsed in rainbow water,' representing purity, hope, peace, and new beginnings. Alliteration with 'm' sounds (Morning Mist) reinforces themes of purity and rebirth.
The night jar instructs the speaker to 'waking sleeper' immediately find the princess, suggesting a dream-like state. The journey, involving 'wading through the icy stream,' implies effort and challenges. The 'golden pebbles' in the stream signify reflecting moonlight and stars, promising golden opportunities despite the hardship.
The speaker is to inquire about the source of the princess's special powers, suggesting they are connected to love. She is described as both 'old as she is young,' implying immortality and mysterious powers beyond human comprehension. Her greatest power is safeguarding dreams; without her, dreams would cease to exist. Her story comes from African myths.
The princess leans against a leafless coral tree, signaling her availability. The tree's red flowers, appearing before its leaves, are a metaphor for a 'crown of crimson,' symbolizing love, passion, youth, and power. Alliteration of 'c' sounds highlights the deep red. In African myths, the coral tree symbolizes royalty, hope, strength, and resilience for future generations.
As dawn approaches, the magical encounter ends. The hill dims, and rocks turn gray, causing the princess's image to fade. The speaker, now among the 'graying rocks,' adopts a 'gray rocking technique,' choosing not to react to disturbances. The night jar's job is complete, and it begins to fade.
The night jar's voice grows faint as it returns to its bush, disappearing with the daytime. The poem concludes as it began, with the night jar gliding 'from soul to soul.' The 'windowed town' signifies houses with open curtains and windows, symbolizing the waking world. The dream and vision depart with the bird, leaving the speaker with a deeper understanding, wonder, hope, and excitement, despite the unanswered question about the princess's power.