BORROWING BEAUTY

One of the most popular musicians of the 80's and 90's died recently. Johnny Clegg was a co-founder and performer in the South African bands Juluka and Savuka. Clegg gained international fame with his music, which was a fusion of modern pop and rock with traditional Zulu "konga" music. The blend was musically catchy, but, more importantly, the lyrics contained in the songs were significant. South Africa was in the last throes of apartheid, and Clegg was on very shaky ground with South African officials. His first band, Juluka, was formed with his good friend Siphu Mchunu, a Zulu. Just associating with Mchunu and being seen in the largely Zulu townships was breaking the law. Juluka was a multi-racial and multi-gender band and could not get air play in South Africa. It wasn't until the world became aware and offened by apartheid that Juluka's music gained popularity, particularly in the UK ( where Clegg was born ) and in North America. I remember listening to "Scatterlings of Africa" and being enthralled and impressed by the music. Juluka began to tour internationally, with Clegg and Mchunu performing traditional Zulu dance with the songs. When Mchunu left the band, Clegg formed another fusion band, Savuka, and continued to tour until illness forced him to stop two years ago. Cancer claimed him at age 66.

Clegg was not without his detractors. Early in Juluka's success, the noted African jazz musician Hugh Masakela referred to Juluka as "poppycock" because it was not genuinely African. From that moment, Clegg had to constantly fight off criticism of "cultural appropriation", a new phrase that heaps scorn on those who borrow elements of another culture to produce art, literature, music or fashion. Clegg's critics pointed out that Clegg was not born in South Africa, although his family emigrated there when Clegg was a boy and Clegg had South African citizenship. Critics wondered why an "Englishman" wanted to lead the fight against South African apartheid. Worse than this, however, was the fact that Clegg and many of his bandmates were white, but dressed in traditional Zulu warrior attire and wrote, sang, performed and danced to Zulu music. Critics also blasted Mchunu and the black bandmembers for allowing this appropriation to occur and called them stooges of the white majority. Without doubt, those criticisms stung and may have been a contributing factor in Mchunu's departure from the band.

In Canada, the author Joseph Boyden came under heavy fire for cultural appropriation for his highly successful novels, the most famous of which was "The Orenda". In Boyden's case, the appropriation was problematic because Boyden claimed to be a mix of white and Indigenous ancestry, and tried to be an advocate of Indigenous causes. It later came out that his claims of Indigenous ancestry were highly doubtful and he has changed his explanations many times, walking back Indigenous claims. Despite all that, his novels are enjoyable to read, extremely well-written and historically accurate, to a degree common with all historical fiction.

The cases of Clegg and Boyden raises some troubling questions in the discussion of cultural appropriation. The main question is this: "how far does one go in attempting to create art with elements of a foreign or different culture to one's own." Clegg and Boyden are modern artists and, it goes without saying, that we live in highly charged times, with sensitivity to such things reaching extreme levels. Clearly, in Boyden's case, he was misrepresenting himself as Indigenous and trying to speak on Indigenous issues as an Indigenous person. He was wrong to do so. But his literature is wonderful to read. And his intentions were and are good. Clegg's case is similar. He did not claim to be Zulu, but claimed, rightly, to be African even though he was born in the UK. He spoke out against apartheid, an evil system widely condemned. And he could claim, with merit, that his international success hastened the end of

the ugly system that entrapped and demeaned millions of people in his adopted homeland.

If we apply a rigid standard of cultural appropriation, then who is safe from it ? The noted American contralto Marion Anderson, hailed as one of the greatest operatic voices in history, should never have studied opera. She should have restricted herself to singing the spirituals that were the staple of music in the Philadelphia black neighbourhoods where she was born and grew up. Opera is a European cultural achievement, and Anderson and other black artists were "appropriating" it for their own creations. Similarly, one of the greatest conductors in the history of classical music is the Japanese maestro Seiji Ozawa. Ozawa was born in modern day Manchuria, which was under the occupation of the Japanese before World War Two. He studied piano until an injury forced him to study composition and conducting. His long career ( including a stint as the artistic director of the Toronto Symphony Orchestra ) has earned him accolades, all well deserved. But his native Japan has its own musical forms and, as we know, classical music is a European creation.

There is no doubt that some forms of cultural appropriation are indeed demeaning and insulting: at worst they are blatantly racist. Sports nicknames such as Redskins, Indians, Eskimos, Seminoles and others are completely unacceptable because in some cases they are obviously pejorative. And dressing up as an "Indian" or using blackface at Hallowe'en is wrong. These are obvious and generally agreed infractions.

But borrowing from other cultures to create art must be seen as acceptable. Anderson and Ozawa are among the great gifts to the world, even though they created in art forms not original to their own cultures. Where would we be without Elvis Presley or the Beatles or the Rolling Stones, who essentially sang rythmn and blues, a product of American black culture? Golf fans the world over celebrate and admire the achievements of Tiger Woods, a mixed race sportsman playing a Scottish game. Denzel Washington has played Shakespeare, and Eminem is still considered a master of hip hop.

Are these people wrong to do these things? Of course not.

The world hungers for beauty. Art, literature, music help provide beauty in our often harsh lives. And artistic creation is still considered one of the highest things to which people can aspire. If beauty can be borrowed with respect and reverence, then it should be borrowed and used.

For that, we should all be grateful to the late great Johnny Clegg …. may he rest in peace.