Agentive Intertextual Insertions: (Re)presentation of Albinism in Nwelezelanga: The Star Child’s Subtext

The relationship between African traditional healers (sangomas) and persons with albinism is contradictory. Sangomas are rumoured to fuel the narrative that body parts of persons with albinism have magical powers, and so can be harnessed and used by quick wealth-seekers. That narrative has claimed lives and agency of many albinos. There is, however, an emerging trend for sangomas to revert this narrative through media. A good example is Unathi Magubeni, a South African practicing sangoma, who has authored the novel: Nwelezelanga: The Star Child (2016), on the topic. Borrowing from critical ideas on intertextuality, disability studies and agency, this study analyses Magubeni’s subtext to ascertain its activism on albinism. The study conducts an intertextual analysis of the novel to find out how the text (de)humanises persons with albinism, and whether it resists or affirms various perceptions and stereotypes regarding albinism. It argues that intertexts in the novel ambivalently (re)signify beliefs, stereotypes, and perceptions regarding albinism and persons with the condition.