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Description
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The Keiskammahoek Music Archive preserves the region’s rich musical heritage through a pioneering bilingual cataloguing project led by the International Library of African Music (ILAM) at Rhodes University. As the first collection in South Africa catalogued in isiXhosa and English, it marks a milestone in inclusive and community-centred heritage preservation.
Initiated in 2012, the project involved Ethnomusicology and isiXhosa students working with local fieldworkers under the guidance of Dr Lee Watkins and Professor Pamela Maseko. After the closure of the Ntinga Development Centre, Ms Thabisa Mhlahlo continued the cataloguing, completing bilingual metadata at ILAM in 2023 with support from Praise Mathebula.
Launched in Keiskammahoek with representatives from 24 villages, the archive highlights community ownership, open access, and decolonisation of archives. A local hard drive ensures residents can access recordings even without internet connectivity.
Supported by RUCE, the National Arts Council, and the National Heritage Council, this project offers an ethical model for collaborative heritage management. The collection is accessible online through Rhodes University ILAM.