Whispers of Wisdom

This past Saturday, The University of Cape Town's lower campus students may have heard about an open mic evening held in Graça Machel Hall. The evening event was well attended with a large part of the crowd having to stand outside the room and fill the doorway as students showcased their talents during this intimate setup. 

The night started with refreshments and music and so the show began. Off to a slow start with a few poems that didn't particularly capture me, the night progressed accordingly. For the sake of more appropriate student phrasing, "it escalated quite quickly". Incredibly talented poets and musicians took the stage but it was indeed the winners of the contest, Whispers of Wisdom who are still on a few lips, most certainly mine.

From left to right: Sechaba Nkitseng, Neo Mokgopa and Siyabonga Njica
Image taken by Graca Machel Hall edited by Naledi Sibisi

I had the pleasure of spending a portion of my afternoon with Siyabonga, a member of the group who took home the title, in hopes of finding out their story which turned out to be, quite a story.

The trio, made up of Neo Mokgopa, Sechaba Nkitseng and Siyabonga Njica, who perform as though the stage is the only life they've ever lived, only came together earlier this year and combined talents via word of mouth. He stated that they met during the Orientation Week hosted by the university and they definitely had common ground, however, due to the activities and time constraints it was difficult to share these similarities.

Although the young men were individual poets who came from different backgrounds and spheres of life, they each had an attachment to the arts through poetry, strings, and vocals. Siyabonga, who is based in Cape Town states that he had prior experience performing as an individual poet with the likes of Lingua Franca, "a free, modern community of young writers and artists looking to express themselves through their pens, brushes, and lenses". Whispers of Wisdom had prior discussions about organizing a movement which allowed for poetry sharing but this proved to be pointless as they impulsively started playing on the university lawns one evening, drawing a crowd that wasn't anticipated.

Image taken by Graca Machel Hall edited by Naledi Sibisi

When asked about their performance on Saturday, the same trend followed. The group hadn't planned to perform and appeared skeptical because there were a variety of performances and they were unsure about how the crowd would respond to spoken word poetry. As though that wasn't enough, they didn't even have a name as they hadn't officially come together as a group of poets. Nonetheless, they signed up at the very last minute and needed a name. Unsatisfied with "The Voice" they settled on Whispers of Wisdom. And so, they played their spontaneous game.

They decided on their stage places, with two members creatively placed off stage as though they were part of the crowd. A great tool that left the audience in suspense as poetry was echoed from opposite ends of the room. And I'm not trying to impress you or anything but, the guitar chords played during the performance? Created the previous night during a casual session. Brilliance. They went on to receive a standing ovation and the grand prize that night.

So what's the way forward?

Whispers of Wisdom has now been launched as an official group of poets. They plan to start a page/blog open to the The University of Cape Town community where they can utilize media, particularly audio or video footage that can be readily available to those who demonstrate interest. Moreover, they plan to host evening poetry sessions on suitable days where they can showcase their talent as well as provide a platform for other writers willing to engage.

Image taken by Graca Machel Hall edited by Naledi Sibisi

You can catch the group performing at Fuller Hall's restaurant opening, Friday 15 March.