Thula Sizwe To Perform At WUMC

WOODBURY — Thula Sizwe, an a cappella group from the Zulu tribes of South Africa, will sing at Woodbury United Methodist Church (WUMC) on Sunday, November 6, during the 10:30 am worship service. The public is invited to attend the service.

“These 12 men have a commitment to Christian forgiveness that includes all the personal and cultural persecution of a generation; they are providing an example to the nations of the world,” said Christopher Shay, WUMC’s minister of music.

The group, which formed in 1988, performed for Nelson Mandela upon his release from prison. Thula Sizwe has performed around the world and at many embassies.

The musical style of Thula Sizwe is based in ancient Zulu cultural traditions. Group leader Jabulani Abel Dlamini learned many of the dances from his father, who learned them from his father, and so on, for many generations. Singing groups became very popular in the apartheid era, when many men lived far from their families to work. The men would form groups to sing and dance to entertain themselves in these times of isolation.