I'm interested in representations of persons or in this case mythical beings that exist mostly in public imagination and so reside in a kind of communal memory. So these elusive characters are then perpetuated and engendered through oral lore, literature and the media. What I find intriguing is comparing the illustrations/depictions of such beings/persons.
And in the spirit of tabloids The Daily Sun, South Africa's most widely read newspaper, has now become the vehicle for the portrayal of the evasive sex crazed demon, the Tokoloshe.
The Daily Sun is known for its explicit pictures of crime scenes. I've heard about their
photographers work ethic, that they are first on the scene, before the paramedics and the police. So they can get their picture... I've seen decapitated heads, hanging men, bullet riddled children, vigilante's victims. One image that really upset me and never left me was the cover picture of a dead women, face down, killed in a shooting. The photograph was taken at a low angle of her lying dead, with a view up her skirt. This paper is the definition of ABJECT.
So there are always stories of the malevolent Tokoloshe included in The Daily Sun, its perfect. Crime, sex, misfortune, torture, magic, death... a beguiling predator and serial rapist. The one who will never be caught.
Even though I have an ambivalence towards The Daily Sun, I find it interesting and maybe like that it has become the vehicle of The Tokolshe's public image, his PR. When I was a child I had to ask for descriptions of the demon. But here he is, twice a week (at least) featured in The Daily Sun.
