VIDEO RESEARCH ON PERFORMANCE A TRANS-ARCHITECTURE (2022 JOHANNESBURG RESIDENCY) ​​

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*Gunst researches the potential of Trans-architecture or Moving Monuments to counter zoning and its stone monuments. Zoning is the fragmentation, hierarchisation and classification of human beings into social categories with limited privileges, rights and roles (from architects to labour workers) to serve Capital. It is also the fragmentation of space as an instrument to condition human beings into social categories. Spacial architecture is an instrument to condition human beings into a specific social architecture serving Capital and its stone monuments. 

 

Trans-architecture or Moving Monuments try to erase the presence of the human body and its limits imposed by zoning. It evokes the fluid existence of organic architectures that can counter the rigid social and spacial architecture represented in stone monuments. Fabric, Kwanga (Afropean rubber - latex) and copper are used as mediums to convey and materialise a radical trans-national, -cultural and -gender fluidity. 

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THE PERFORMANCE REVISITS THE MYTH OF THE BLACKSMITH KING IN THE KINGDOM OF CONGO (15th CENTURY), REPLACING IRON WITH RUBBER AS MEDIUM OF TRANSFORMATION AND ADOPTING A TRANS-ARCHITECTURAL PERSPECTIVE INSTEAD OF A MALE ONE. AFRICAN KINGS, WARRIORS, FARMERS, AND OTHER USERS OF THE BLACKSMITHS’ ART EXTOLLED THE SMITHS’ MASTERY AS TRANSFORMERS. FORMERS OF REALMS.

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The kingdom of Kongo, which arose in the Atlantic Coast region of Central Africa, is one of the most famous emblems of Africa’s past. It entered European history shortly after Portuguese sailors first reached the mouth of the Congo River in 1482. The centralized polity they encountered reminded them of their home kingdom. Regular diplomatic relationships between both states with accompanying exchanges of people, ideas and commodities were soon established.

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Royal titles can teach us more about kingship origins and if not indicative of kingship origins themselves, they may reflect how political leadership was conceptualized and where these ideas came from.

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The term ngangula is not only a widespread blacksmith term in the Lower Congo region, but also a traditional royal Kongo title attesting to the importance of the blacksmith metaphor in Kongo political ideology. Popular

etymology has it that ngangula is related to nganga, reconstructed in Proto‑Bantu as *-gàngà and commonly translated as ‘medicine-man’.

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THE SMITH’S MYTH AND KONGO POLITICAL LEADERSHIP: THE ORIGIN OF THE ROYAL KONGO TITLE NGANGULA

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That the Kongo use ngangula both to refer to a blacksmith and to a king or chief may seem odd on the face of it, but it is hardly surprising if one reckons that political power and blacksmithing are closely linked phenomena in many African societies, especially so in Bantu‑speaking Central Africa (de Maret 1985; Dupré & Pinçon 1997; Herbert 1993; Kriger 1999). According to De Heusch (1956), it is fire as an emblem of reproductive power that establishes a symbolic association between kingship and iron working. Herbert (1993: 132) argues that metallurgy and kingship share a common understanding of the nature, sources and control of power. Both are male‑dominated activities that invoke paradigms of fertility and age for their accomplishment and that are interdependent but also potentially competitive. Hence, the royal connection with iron working was definitely more symbolic than economic, even though Kongo traditions have been read as an assertion of the primacy of the king over iron production (Herbert 1993: 145). Both early European witnesses and more recent scholars highlight the importance of blacksmiths, their craft, their tools and their products in Kongo kingship rites, such as the enthronement, and regalia (de Heusch 2000; Fromont 2011; Jadin 1968; Mac Gaffey 2000; Mertens 1942; Thornton 1992). In Kongo eyes, chiefs and smiths used to be one. They were initiated in similar circumstances, they might originate bracelets (Mac Gaffey 1986: 67; Mertens 1942: 431‑446). from the same clan, they respected the same food taboos and might wear the same bracelets (Mac Gaffey 1986: 67; Mertens 1942: 431‑446).

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SOUNDING FORMS

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During the coronation ceremony of his successor, Cardoso describes three men seated around the royal drum, another very important form of regalia. Each of these men had two zundu or anvils. These great iron triangles with small rods were well tempered and, when struck, sounded like a blacksmith’s hammer. These important blacksmith utensils were supposed to be the most ancient royal symbols, which could only be used by the king himself and by the duke of Mbata.

 

Heartbeats and breaths, fueled by the iron in our blood, are made audible. As we walk into the environment of smelter and forge, the making of iron can be heard as well as seen. Still today blacksmiths offer prayers and songs as the bellows are pumped with air and hot iron is struck by hammers. Resulting iron products ring, clang, and rattle. These sounds are used in dance, prayer, masquerades, and to announce important events. Through sounds of iron, people’s voices are directed to the ancestors and gods with requests for attention and approval. As people progress through important life stages, music will play an important role in the traditional ceremonies. With varying rhythms and tones, Africans and their instruments of iron form ensembles and orchestras, making music and telling the stories of the people.

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African kings, warriors, farmers, and other users of the blacksmiths’ art extolled the smiths’ mastery as transformers. Iron work, forged and embellished, was sought and proudly displayed, and the smiths’ technical skills became linked to notions of value.

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As blacksmiths re-encountered these forged objects, they used their skills to modify shapes and embellish. Through this process, their skills converted iron from the most practical objects of defense and aggression to symbols of important power. Such insignia in religious, political, and ceremonial realms are valued throughout the African continent. The beauty of these objects enhances their efficacy.

 

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​Sources:

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Striking Iron: The Art of African Blacksmiths

The Fowler Museum at UCLA

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On the origin of the royal Kongo title ngangula

Koen Bostoen, Odjas Ndonda Tshiyayi and Gilles‑Maurice de Schryver

 

The first try out was presented during a residency at the Centre For The Less Good Idea in Johannesburg in February 2022. This performance is now in development.

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Production: John K Cobra Institute of Videoartfacts & The Center For The Less Good Idea (Johannesburg)

Concept, direction and soundscape: Roland Gunst / John K Cobra

Choreography: Roland Gunst / John K Cobra, Smangaliso Ngwenya and Macaleni Muzi Shili

Performers: Smangaliso Ngwenya and Macaleni Muzi Shili 

Costume Design: Angelinah Maponya

Mask and Accessories: Roland Gunst / John K Cobra  

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INFO ON PERFORMANCE 

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