Vuvuzela
Did you know the vuvuzela (a Zulu word) was originally crafted out of the horn of an antelope and used to alert far away people of a community gathering?
Amidst the uproar about the vuvuzela’s damaging effects to one’s hearing and the loss of concentration players have suffered (and the annoyance to viewers), there are also many people supporting its use for symbolic, cultural reasons. Below is a selection of quotations from various people involved in South African football/soccer and the World Cup.
According to the Belfast Telegraph, a member of the England Supporter’s Band said
the plastic instruments were part of the local culture and should not be banned from inside stadiums…I bet there is not a single South African player complaining about the vuvuzela. They see it as more than just a noise, it’s about the whole spirit of the thing.
A story in The Express Tribune, a Pakistani periodical, describes that
…some commentators have defended the vuvuzela as being an integral and unique part of South African football culture and say it adds to the atmosphere of the game. BBC sports commentator Farayi Mungazi said the sound of the horn was the ‘recognised sound of football in South Africa’ and is ‘absolutely essential for an authentic South African footballing experience’.
FIFA President Sepp Blatter commented,
I have always said that Africa has a different rhythm, a different sound. I don’t see banning the music traditions of fans in their own country. Would you want to see a ban on the fan traditions in your country? We should not try to Europeanise an African World Cup.
We’d love to hear other perspectives on the topic, so leave a comment below. And, click here to read 10 interesting facts about the vuvuzela from the BBC.
Mike
I can completely understand the culture and tradition, but I can’t watch a World Cup match without turning the volume down. The droning, buzzing noise is simply too distracting. Now, if only vuvuzelas came with volume controls….
I very much agree. They are part of the South African culture and they should be anjoyed. Besides If you are really into the match , the vuvuzelas disipate in the background after a while.
I love the combination of the different cultures cheering on fof their teams. In mine, It’s the drums !!!!! ARRIBA BRASIL !!!!
There has been a lot of nonsense written about the vuvuzelas at this World Cup. Having so far attended 11 games at the tournament, I can say with some authority that they are less of an irritant when physically seated at a stadium than they are when trying to listen to the match commentary on television. However, to argue that a plastic tube is part of South Africa’s heritage is laughably stupid, and bordering on insulting. Furthermore, the fact that the South African supporters were blowing these things rather than shouting for their team did their own players no help at all, as has been recognised by the local press here. I very much hope that they are a passing phase, both in South Africa and elsewhere, in much the same way that inflatable fruit was in the UK in the late 1980s!
Unlike individual sports like tennis or golf, team sports like soccer seem incomplete without noisy fan participation – and not just in the stadium but also wherever there is a radio or TV – in the car, at the bar or in the living room at home. Outside the stadium we are blessed with a mute button if we don’t like the noise. For the moment it is too early to call the vuevuezela a tradition – but it is certainly a cultural phenomena and part of world cup history in south africa.
I am South African and I admit that I hate them, although they make for some great atmosphere, especially in the stadium (I was at Germany vs Ghana). However it is impossible not to wear ear plugs at the game which kind of divorces you from the same atmosphere. On TV it is just a horrible noise.