Episode 8: Ukugotywa kweelwimi

What do the slippages of fashion look like? What happens to the voids that form between urban and rural, past and present, individual and communal? In this episode, we explore the folds and fissures in fashion’s fabric — where languages, locations, and aesthetics intersect and fold into one another, revealing alternative fashion knowledges and new genealogies that resist singular narratives.Guided by Ms Nobuhle James, an advisor of isiXhosa in the Eastern Cape and a teacher for the unknowing and forgotten, we trace the beginnings of fold language kwaXhosa. Nobuhle’s personal story opens a portal into the creative potentials that emerge when resources are scarce but passions run deep. Her journey reminds us of the vital importance of investing in and nurturing creative infrastructures in ilali nabantwana basezilalini.Within an informal space of shared learning, Nobuhle navigates the fluid overlaps between languages and fashion codes, illustrating how kwaXhosa modes of knowing are continuously remade, innovated, and nurtured through communal care and embodied practice.“Ukugotywa kweelwimi akusiyonto yokudibeneyo nje kuphela; yindlela esiyilolonga ngayo imisebenzi yethu yexesha elidlulileyo kunye nelixa langoku, siphefumlelwa ziintsomi neendlela ezintsha.”The practice of folding languages, as explored here, is more than linguistic play — it is an embodied way of knowing and belonging. In folding isiXhosa with urban and rural dialects, past and present stories, individual and communal voices, a living language is shaped that holds space for creativity, resilience, and transformation. This epistemic methodology invites us to see language as a layered fabric, woven through relationships, histories, and places, creating new paths for connection and care within kwaXhosa communities.CLOSING ACKNOWLEDGEMENTSNarrating VoicesMr Mangaliso JaftaAzola KrweqeMs Nobuhle JamesMrs Nokhaya JilingisaMama PhakaniZizo NtukusheVisual & Video ContributorsAzola KrweqeSibabalwe MakeleniCommunity ContributorsThe James Family – ooXabaMrs Kutazwa JamesMrs Nokugcina James (special thanks for the recording of umsebenzi kaMnu. Luphumlo James)Mrs LudidiMs Phumla JamesMs Nobuhle JamesWillowvale Makers Co-opKholiswa MagidiTheko Theo YinindwaPhiliswa MatutuNwabisa MahlaleshushuMiranda SiwlabeniYouth ParticipantsZintle BonakeleVuyokazi MnconoLethu JilingisiNokubonga HawuLisakhanya PoniYolande TskaneLiyabona NtshobodwanaBuyiswa Beauty NduweCommunity yakuGatyanaCebisa MagoqozaMzukisi NketshuThando MadwantsiThobile TsutsuSikelela ThobigunyaNeliswa BambintalaMiranda SihlanguAnd the broader community at largeSpecial thanks to:Azola KrweqeLukhanyo MuluseLocations ReferencedWillowvale Arts Center, kuGatyaneJames Family Home – Elukhanyisweni, eQumbu, eMdeniMr & Mrs James’ Residence – Highbury, UmtataJames Residence – Walmer Road Lodge, Beacon Bay, East LondonNgumla Family Home – eGcibala, TsomoMpintsha Family Home – Nkanga, WillowvaleBuffalo City MunicipalityProduction TeamExecutive Producer: Bongani TauCurator & Editor: Siviwe JamesContent Advisor: Sihle SogaulaGraphic Design: 2DOTS Space AgencyVideo & Sound Editing: Siviwe JamesText: Siviwe JamesXhosa Language Advisor: Ms Nobuhle JamesDigital Archiving SupportArt Meets AppInstitutional SupportEastern Cape Department of Sports, Arts and CultureUN/FOLDING_RE/FOLDING_FOLDED: Imiphindo kwaXhosa © 2023 Created and produced by Siviwe James (James-Laurie) With support from the African Fashion Research Institute (AFRI) and Creative Nestlings Foundation, under the New Narratives Programme (2023).Licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International