Jessica Mbangeni video goes viral
[caption id="attachment_158744" align="aligncenter" width="555"] Jessica Mbangeni performed praise poetry at the memorial for former President Nelson Mandela Picture: Tshepo Kekana/Sunday World[/caption]
A Facebook video mocking an Eastern Cape Xhosa praise poet’s tribute to the Indian prime minister visiting South Africa this weekend has gone viral, with more than 1.7 million views by 4pm this afternoon.
Singer and actress Jessica Mbangeni, 37, one of South Africa’s most sought-after praise singers, was reduced to a meme through the video posted on the Facebook page of All India Bakchod.
It posted the video of her praising Indian premier Narendra Modi at the Dome in Johannesburg with the caption (apparently referring to Modi’s expression) “That awkward moment when you don’t know what to do. Who’s that one crazy friend of yours?”. The video was framed with sub-title “When your drunk friend is acting crazy and you just stand there wondering what the f*** am I even doing here."
Speaking to The Herald today, Mbangeni said it was unfortunate that “a small minority” did not see the value of her performance.
“The whole reason for the performance was to embrace each other as people, each other’s cultures and each other’s difference because that is why the prime minister is here,” Mbangeni said.
She would have appreciated the fame “more” if people had more pleasant things to say about her performance or even constructive criticism as she worked “very hard on writing that poem”.
“I tried my hardest to make my country proud and I feel those ignorant people have undermined and degraded my people, my culture, my nation and our traditions by making those ill-informed and uneducated comments on that page,” Mbangeni said.
One user, Haider Ali Khan, wrote: “Bruhh I cant stop laughing.. The Modi’s expressions LOL. He can make you laugh just by staring.”
Mbangeni responded to a few comments on the post and received praise from those who had been at The Dome and said she gave an exceptional performance.
Facebook user Vidhu Ishiqa came to Mbangeni’s defence and posted: “I am not a person who is very much into rights and wrongs, but I believe its not an appropriate gesture to mock someone’s culture. The lady is Jessica Mbangeni and it was a praise song for the prime minister by the South African beauty.”
An annoyed Hemang Gandabhai Desai Nayak asked the administrator to take down the offensive post, saying: “I am African and this our traditional way of welcoming royalty. We accorded Shri Modi the highest respect with this. AIB you are showing nothing but the ignorance of other cultures”.
Mbangeni, nominated for a SA Traditional Music Award, said she commented on the posts to show the trolls her “politeness and their ignorance”.
“I want them to know more about our culture and us to know more about theirs. I see myself as a human ... and that performance was entrusted to me to bring unity, power and love,” Mbangeni said.
