The liberation song, with special reference to those used by the African National Congress, the Inkatha Freedom Party and the Pan Africanist Congress

English: This study focuses on the orally transmitted liberation songs of the black liberation movements in South Africa and was primarily concerned with two major questions: - the lyrics of the songs which mirrored sociopolitical conditions and the contours of black thought during the apartheid era, and - the transcription of a selection of these songs which reflect the modifications in style these songs underwent in order to demonstrate the changes in black thought with regard to the liberation struggle. In order to understand the creation of an expressive anti-apartheid culture by black South Africans the following avenues were explored. In Chapter 1 the foundations of the study were discussed. Chapter 2 gives an overview of world liberation songs which illustrate that these songs were and are used world-wide as a fundamental human resource which plays a vital role in the survival and development of many societies. Chapter 3 chronologically traced the history of white Afrikaans South African liberation songs, while Chapter 4 conducted a similar study regarding black South African liberation songs. These Chapters were based within the body of research which is concerned with the relationship of music and its context. In an attempt to communicate and understand liberation songs by these two cultures it is essential that the historical context which generated the development of the liberation song be explored. Chapter 4 also highlighted the fact that black liberation songs underwent many modifications in style due to changing sociopolitical conditions which faced black South Africans during the apartheid era. In Chapter 5 a selection of black liberation songs was transcribed and collected and placed in the different style categories explained in Chapter 4. In concluding the researcher pointed out that since the aesthetic and stylistic evaluation in this study were preceded by the recording of historical facts implicated in the songs, it is especially with regard to these two aspects that the study attempts to inaugurate not end discussion and to open up new avenues of research and understanding.