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