By Ndalo Mbombo
“IsiXhosa is one of the most interesting languages in the world, and it deserves to be recognised worldwide,” proclaims Inam Elam Nkomo.
Inam is a young South African storyteller zealous about preserving culture and African languages. In the potjie pot of her life, she has blended her seasoned dreams and ambitions with a rich and aromatic hope to tell stories of the communities in which she finds herself.
It is a hope stirred up by uthando lwakhe lokubalisa amabali [her love for telling stories], a love nurtured by her father in her early childhood years. She watched her father capture audience after audience at family and community gatherings. She fondly recalls, “My dad speaks really well, and he can capture people in any way, and I always enjoyed his company growing up.”
Inam is a daughter, a sister, and a friend who is a product of an encouraging and loving community. Ungumzukulwana is in awe of her grandmother, whom she praises for being a “resilient woman”.
She spent her childhood schooling in the fast-paced and goal-oriented city of Johannesburg. But her family is from Cofimvaba in the Eastern Cape, which helped her cultivate a deep appreciation for communal life. The importance of ubuntu is dawning on her now that she is experiencing the world as an adult. “Had people told me that people are much more important than things, I would have been set up for greatness,” Inam exclaims.
To see her vision come to life, she has decided to model what it looks like to create a language archive by sharing amabali esiXhosa [Xhosa stories] online—short stories written by an aspiring writer, Mihlali Cekiso, for her to share on her podcast The Documented Journey.
This contributes to the increasing efforts in modernising society to close the gap in knowledge and appreciation of African stories and the appreciation of oral storytelling, an essential aspect of African culture.
She honours the rich history and complexities of isiXhosa by immersing herself in the language, mastering the clicks, and researching the different dialects of IsiXhosa. She is conscious that while she is a Mfengu, uMihlali liMpondo [Mihlali is Mpondo], and to appreciate his creativity, she must also understand his background.
The podcast is a treasured space of sharing not only amabali but also her journey of learning IsiXhosa, of reconnecting with ubuntu bakhe. The multilingual landscape of Johannesburg inspires her, and she seeks to hold on to the most authentic version of isiXhosa while engaging with other African languages.
“Molweni, ndingu Elam Inam wakwa Nkomo” is the welcoming and closing line of her digital creations. It is an endearing way of acquainting herself with her world of listeners and bidding farewell to them.
Usazi buza ngubani uInam Elam Nkomo? [Are you still wondering who Inam is?]
She is a witty 21-year-old who spends her days exploring Johannesburg, making memories, and listening to the stories her loved ones have to share while pursuing a degree in Film & Media Studies at the University of Johannesburg.
When she is not rehearsing and preparing to deliver ibali on her podcast, she is busy being a “student of life”. She feeds her hunger for stories by lending her voice to people who invite her to narrate their real-life experiences on TikTok.
She is a creator whose social media platforms are curated with bright, vibrant colours and captivating content that many find funny and entertaining.
It is where she shares moments of her life, from her coffee dates with friends to spontaneous brunch dates to her unwavering support for her mom’s marathon adventures, to snippets of how she experiences life with her siblings, to the pleasures of high tea dates and the pain of hiking of up new hiking trails just for the love of nature.
She is a curious soul with a heart eager to see the world and present herself as a “site of art” that people worldwide can tour. She is a firm believer in “life needs you to be a contributor, not a consumer”, a sentiment expressed boldly as we neared the end of our hour-long conversation.
