The Street Speaks

It is not in the private domain or in closed quarters but on the street-face that appropriation and accentuation of identity is evident. The relationship that one has with the street is manifest in the symbols and ethnic imprints on the spatial fabric surrounding their commonly inhabited spaces. The names you give to your street speak volumes about your relationship with it. When I was a little younger and growing up in the streets of Bulawayo, it was a common practice for the youth to sit on storm drains and the small bridge-like structures in the townships. Smoking dagga was common among the idle residents of the streets who practically owned the specific bridge and waterways (umgelo/umgero). This represented an annexation of a specific part of the street and insertion of markers of identity by the youth who would spend significant amounts of time sitting there and occasionally harassing young females passing by.