ABSTRACT
In this chapter the author explains how she negotiated entry into Zwelibomvu in order to conduct her research fieldwork, which was spread over two years, and she describes the settings in which she experienced performances and made recordings of the songs sung by the Zwelibomvu women. Her purpose in doing so is to invite readers to participate in the journey of song and dance that she undertook as part of her research, so that they can gain an increased understanding of the context in which the women compose and perform their songs. The songs recorded at the performances described in this chapter represent only a small fraction of the total number of songs collected for the study. The video recordings of performances were made in the five districts that constitute Zwelibomvu – namely ePanekeni, ePhangweni, eMkhangoma, eMadwaleni and eZimbokodweni.
