Daphney Hlomuka
Encyclopedia
Daphney Hlomuka was an South Africa
n television
, film, radio
and stage
actress. On the small screen, Hlomuka was perhaps best known to audiences for her role as MaMhlongo in the television drama series
, Hlala Kwabafileyo, and as in the comedy, S’gudi S’naysi, opposite Joe Mafela
.
Hlomuka was born in Durban, South Africa, but raised in KwaMashu
during the Apartheid era. She began acting
in the theater in Durban in 1968, and was considered to be a protege of the Durban-based playwright
, Welcome Msomi. Her earliest theater credits included performances in two of Msomi's theatrical productions: Qombeni and Umabatha
, which was a Zulu
adaptation
of William Shakespeare
's Macbeth
. Umabatha became one of Msomu's most famous works. Hlomuka worked in Zulu language radio plays in the interim between Qombeni and Umabatha.
She left South Africa briefly during the 1970s to tour with the cast of Ipi Tombi
in Europe
. During the 1960s and 1970s, roles on screen or stage for black actors in South Africa were often difficult to find due to Apartheid. Hlomuka often appeared off-screen as a radio actor in several popular Zulu drama series.
Hlomuka finally had success on South African television during the 1980s when she was cast in the role of MaMhlongo in the dramatic television series, Hlala Kwabafileyo. Her character
, MaMhlongo, was the wife and widow of a wealthy tycoon. To this day in South Africa, the word MaMgobhozi, which originated from the series and Hlomuka's character, describes the gossip habits attributed to women.
She also appeared in the 1980s television comedy, S’gudi S’naysi, opposite well known actor, Joe Mafela
. Mafela portrayed the tenant, S’dumo. Hlomuka's character, Sis May, was S'dumo's well intentioned, tolerant landlady. The series was popular during its run.
Hlomuka's film and television credits spanned the 1980s, 1990s and 2000s. She appeared in the 1995 film, Soweto Green
as a maid
and housekeeper
named Tryphina, oppsoite actor John Kani
. She also starred as Queen Ntombazi in the 1986 South African television miniseries, Shaka Zulu
. She also appeared in the 1996 syndicated television series, Tarzan: The Epic Adventures
.
Her most recent roles included Rhythm City, as well as a controversial Nguni language adaptation of the Shakespearean romantic tragedy, Romeo and Juliet
.
Daphney Hlomuka died of kidney cancer
at Charlotte Maxeke Hospital in Johannesburg
on October 1, 2008, at the age of 59. She was survived by her husband, Elliot Ngubane, and their four children.
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
n television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
, film, radio
Radio
Radio is the transmission of signals through free space by modulation of electromagnetic waves with frequencies below those of visible light. Electromagnetic radiation travels by means of oscillating electromagnetic fields that pass through the air and the vacuum of space...
and stage
Theatre
Theatre is a collaborative form of fine art that uses live performers to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place. The performers may communicate this experience to the audience through combinations of gesture, speech, song, music or dance...
actress. On the small screen, Hlomuka was perhaps best known to audiences for her role as MaMhlongo in the television drama series
Television program
A television program , also called television show, is a segment of content which is intended to be broadcast on television. It may be a one-time production or part of a periodically recurring series...
, Hlala Kwabafileyo, and as in the comedy, S’gudi S’naysi, opposite Joe Mafela
Joe Mafela
Joe Mafela "Mbungula, Sdumo" is a noted South African actor, writer, producer, director and businessman.-Career:...
.
Hlomuka was born in Durban, South Africa, but raised in KwaMashu
KwaMashu
KwaMashu is a township twenty miles north of Durban, South Africa with very high levels of poverty and crime.-History:The township was formed by the apartheid state to house the mass resettlement of Africans that were living in Cato Manor during 1958-65. It is the largest of 3 townships in the area...
during the Apartheid era. She began acting
Acting
Acting is the work of an actor or actress, which is a person in theatre, television, film, or any other storytelling medium who tells the story by portraying a character and, usually, speaking or singing the written text or play....
in the theater in Durban in 1968, and was considered to be a protege of the Durban-based playwright
Playwright
A playwright, also called a dramatist, is a person who writes plays.The term is not a variant spelling of "playwrite", but something quite distinct: the word wright is an archaic English term for a craftsman or builder...
, Welcome Msomi. Her earliest theater credits included performances in two of Msomi's theatrical productions: Qombeni and Umabatha
UMabatha
uMabatha is a 1970 play written by South African playwright Welcome Msomi. It is an adaptation of Shakespeare's Macbeth into the tribal Zulu culture of the early 19th century, and details how Mabatha overthrows Dangane....
, which was a Zulu
Zulu language
Zulu is the language of the Zulu people with about 10 million speakers, the vast majority of whom live in South Africa. Zulu is the most widely spoken home language in South Africa as well as being understood by over 50% of the population...
adaptation
Adaptation
An adaptation in biology is a trait with a current functional role in the life history of an organism that is maintained and evolved by means of natural selection. An adaptation refers to both the current state of being adapted and to the dynamic evolutionary process that leads to the adaptation....
of William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare was an English poet and playwright, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's national poet and the "Bard of Avon"...
's Macbeth
Macbeth
The Tragedy of Macbeth is a play by William Shakespeare about a regicide and its aftermath. It is Shakespeare's shortest tragedy and is believed to have been written sometime between 1603 and 1607...
. Umabatha became one of Msomu's most famous works. Hlomuka worked in Zulu language radio plays in the interim between Qombeni and Umabatha.
She left South Africa briefly during the 1970s to tour with the cast of Ipi Tombi
Ipi Tombi
Ipi Tombi is a 1974 musical by South African writers Bertha Egnos Godfrey and her daughter Gail Lakier, telling the story of a young black man leaving his village and young wife to work in the mines of Johannesburg...
in Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
. During the 1960s and 1970s, roles on screen or stage for black actors in South Africa were often difficult to find due to Apartheid. Hlomuka often appeared off-screen as a radio actor in several popular Zulu drama series.
Hlomuka finally had success on South African television during the 1980s when she was cast in the role of MaMhlongo in the dramatic television series, Hlala Kwabafileyo. Her character
Character (arts)
A character is the representation of a person in a narrative work of art . Derived from the ancient Greek word kharaktêr , the earliest use in English, in this sense, dates from the Restoration, although it became widely used after its appearance in Tom Jones in 1749. From this, the sense of...
, MaMhlongo, was the wife and widow of a wealthy tycoon. To this day in South Africa, the word MaMgobhozi, which originated from the series and Hlomuka's character, describes the gossip habits attributed to women.
She also appeared in the 1980s television comedy, S’gudi S’naysi, opposite well known actor, Joe Mafela
Joe Mafela
Joe Mafela "Mbungula, Sdumo" is a noted South African actor, writer, producer, director and businessman.-Career:...
. Mafela portrayed the tenant, S’dumo. Hlomuka's character, Sis May, was S'dumo's well intentioned, tolerant landlady. The series was popular during its run.
Hlomuka's film and television credits spanned the 1980s, 1990s and 2000s. She appeared in the 1995 film, Soweto Green
Soweto Green
Soweto Green is a 1995 South African comedy film directed by David Lister and starring John Kani, L. Scott Caldwell and Casper de Vries. Following the election of Nelson Mandela as President, a middle-class American couple move relocate to Johannesburg to help build the new society.-Cast:* John...
as a maid
Maid
A maidservant or in current usage housemaid or maid is a female employed in domestic service.-Description:Once part of an elaborate hierarchy in great houses, today a single maid may be the only domestic worker that upper and even middle-income households can afford, as was historically the case...
and housekeeper
Housekeeper (servant)
A housekeeper is an individual responsible for the cleaning and maintenance of the interior of a residence, including direction of subordinate maids...
named Tryphina, oppsoite actor John Kani
John Kani
Bonsile John Kani is a South African actor, director and playwright.He was born in New Brighton, South Africa.Kani joined The Serpent Players in Port Elizabeth in 1965 and helped to create many plays that went unpublished but were performed to a resounding reception.These...
. She also starred as Queen Ntombazi in the 1986 South African television miniseries, Shaka Zulu
Shaka Zulu (TV Series)
Shaka Zulu was a 1986 television serial directed by William C. Faure and written by Joshua Sinclair for the South African Broadcasting Corporation . It is based on the story of Shaka, king of the Zulu nation from 1816 to 1828, and the writings of the British traders who dealt with him...
. She also appeared in the 1996 syndicated television series, Tarzan: The Epic Adventures
Tarzan: The Epic Adventures
Tarzan: The Epic Adventures is a syndicated series that aired for one season . It focuses on the character of Tarzan in his early years, after his first exposure to civilization, but before his marriage to Jane Porter...
.
Her most recent roles included Rhythm City, as well as a controversial Nguni language adaptation of the Shakespearean romantic tragedy, Romeo and Juliet
Romeo and Juliet
Romeo and Juliet is a tragedy written early in the career of playwright William Shakespeare about two young star-crossed lovers whose deaths ultimately unite their feuding families. It was among Shakespeare's most popular archetypal stories of young, teenage lovers.Romeo and Juliet belongs to a...
.
Daphney Hlomuka died of kidney cancer
Cancer
Cancer , known medically as a malignant neoplasm, is a large group of different diseases, all involving unregulated cell growth. In cancer, cells divide and grow uncontrollably, forming malignant tumors, and invade nearby parts of the body. The cancer may also spread to more distant parts of the...
at Charlotte Maxeke Hospital in Johannesburg
Johannesburg
Johannesburg also known as Jozi, Jo'burg or Egoli, is the largest city in South Africa, by population. Johannesburg is the provincial capital of Gauteng, the wealthiest province in South Africa, having the largest economy of any metropolitan region in Sub-Saharan Africa...
on October 1, 2008, at the age of 59. She was survived by her husband, Elliot Ngubane, and their four children.