This episode marks a shift—from gathering and observing, to sensing and becoming. We begin to see how the folds of Xhosa dress and ritual are not merely symbolic, but pedagogical: they teach, they mark, they hold. Through a return to ritual space, our host meets the fabric of her own inheritance—not as a distant object of study, but as a living archive folded into the body.
What emerges is a crossroads where personal becoming meets ancestral instruction. The Xhosa fold reveals itself not only in what is worn, but in what is felt: the weight of memory, the tactility of care, the discipline of dressing in relation to spirit. In this episode, questions surface as guideposts—What is the scene of our dress? Who are we a-dressing? Who is being honoured in these acts of adornment?
Rather than offering fixed answers, the episode opens a contemplative space where knowing is gestured through rhythm, fabric, gesture, and return.
CLOSING ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Narrating Voices
Mr Mangaliso Jafta
Azola Krweqe
Ms Nobuhle James
Mrs Nokhaya Jilingisa
Mama Phakani
Zizo Ntukushe
Visual & Video Contributors
Azola Krweqe
Sibabalwe Makeleni
Community Contributors
The James Family – ooXaba
Mrs Kutazwa James
Mrs Nokugcina James (special thanks for the recording of umsebenzi kaMnu. Luphumlo James)
Mrs Ludidi
Ms Phumla James
Ms Nobuhle James
Willowvale Makers Co-op
Kholiswa Magidi
Theko Theo Yinindwa
Philiswa Matutu
Nwabisa Mahlaleshushu
Miranda Siwlabeni
Youth Participants
Zintle Bonakele
Vuyokazi Mncono
Lethu Jilingisi
Nokubonga Hawu
Lisakhanya Poni
Yolande Tskane
Liyabona Ntshobodwana
Buyiswa Beauty Nduwe
Community yakuGatyana
Cebisa Magoqoza
Mzukisi Nketshu
Thando Madwantsi
Thobile Tsutsu
Sikelela Thobigunya
Neliswa Bambintala
Miranda Sihlangu
And the broader community at large
Special thanks to:
Azola Krweqe
Lukhanyo Muluse
Locations Referenced
Willowvale Arts Center, kuGatyane
James Family Home – Elukhanyisweni, eQumbu, eMdeni
Mr & Mrs James’ Residence – Highbury, Umtata
James Residence – Walmer Road Lodge, Beacon Bay, East London
Ngumla Family Home – eGcibala, Tsomo
Mpintsha Family Home – Nkanga, Willowvale
Buffalo City Municipality
Production Team
Executive Producer: Bongani Tau
Curator & Editor: Siviwe James
Content Advisor: Sihle Sogaula
Graphic Design: 2DOTS Space Agency
Video & Sound Editing: Siviwe James
Text: Siviwe James
Xhosa Language Advisor: Ms Nobuhle James
Digital Archiving Support
Art Meets App
Institutional Support
Eastern Cape Department of Sports, Arts and Culture
UN/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
