Bowelakalana : padinyaka ya Rafapa

Abstract

With this research, Rafapa’s novella, Bowelakalana (1987) is carefully scrutinised. It is his fourth story and is considered as a story of morality. This work has been awarded De Jager – Haum the publisher’s prize for literary work in Sepedi, as well as the E.M. Ramaila prize. Although it is an important contribution to Sepedi literature, it has thus far, not yet been considered for closer investigation. The time was thus right for such an appreciation of the work to be undertaken. In the investigation, descriptive as well as interpretive / explanatory methods are used. For this purpose, a revised or adapted narratological descriptive model is used where the literary work is shown to be composed of layers, namely: the content, the plot and the style. The stylistic finishes of the work are only briefly touched on as they seem to be less important for the purpose of this investigation. The content consists of facts, as such, before the author considered it for his purpose. It is not an arbitrary combination of the information. The relevance thereof is determined by a common topic that establishes the elements of the narrative, namely: the characters, the events, the time and the place. With regard to the content, there are main characters and minor characters. The two important main characters are the kind-hearted person and the quarrelsome person (Mojalefa: 1996:6) who is pitted against each other in suspense. In this narrative, Mpitiki (the kind-hearted person) is thrown into a search for his own people and identity, and various other characters take on the role of quarrelsome person. The events are divided into (a) the events where Mpitiki’s search for his own people is described and (b) the events where he finds them. The unifying factor or topic is Mpitiki’s search and it determines the course of events. The time when and the place when this action takes place is the near past where urbanization takes place, but is not pre-defined. The time is divided into (a) the historic time in which these events take place, (b) the time taken up by the events, and (c) the time taken up by the separate incidents of the story. The structure / plot of the narrative include the exposition, the development, the peak or climax and the denouement or anti-climax. Narrative unity is established through the theme, in other words, the message or what the author would like to convey to his reader. The theme also establishes the scheme by which the plot unfolds. The fate of protagonist is accordingly established, as well as his personality and thereby the reader can decide which genre they are dealing with. It is self-evident that the title of the work fits the structural layer of the narrative, as is the case in this novella In the exposition, the author conveys the clash between the protagonist and antagonist as it takes place. Thus a point of struggle is represented through the tritagonist, and the tension is increased by his actions. There are also minor characters that are used to bring the tension to breaking point. The scheme (mentioned above) broadly establishes the character traits of the protagonist (Mpitiki) and it shows that his personality exhibits certain shortcomings or weaknesses. He is also consequentially described as someone who, amongst other things, steals. However, the reader still mainly identifies with the circumstances of life/situation that he finds himself in. The author therefore uses different storylines to conceal Mpitiki’s offences so that the reader will empathise with the character. The events or handling of events fits structurally into what was first proposed, namely (a) it creates tension, (b) it prolongs the tension (c) it draws the tension to a point of culmination, and (d) it increases the tension. To bring it to a point, Rafapa first describes the events in the middle of the story and then explains the preceding of events through flashbacks – this is an effective approach and can be described as one of the merits of this novella. The climax is reached when Makobe and Moipati compete to live with Mpitiki. By shifting the focus, the tension is brought to breakpoint. In the denouement or anti-climax, Makobe and Moipati’s train ride to Kofifi is described. Everything falls into place. Rafapas’s use of flashbacks and foreshadowing are singled out as praiseworthy and his use of frame narration, as a technique, brings about equilibrium between the beginning and the end.