Jerusalema, a Heritage Day Song of the COVID-19 Pandemic

Abstract

Musical activities, religious or spiritual, share much in common. They tend to evoke powerful emotional responses in participating individuals and have great significance at the personal, social and communal levels. Music and dance have always been strongly connected in South Africa. The songs of South Africa were prominent for the social and political role they played in the struggle against apartheid rule. Post-apartheid era songs were used to reconcile a nation that was deeply divided. Nkosi Sikelel’ iAfrika (God Bless Africa), became the national anthem of a democratic South Africa. Jerusalema music and dance was unofficially adopted as the Heritage Day song when President Cyril Ramaphosa encouraged the people to participate in the Jerusalemadancechallenge “to remember the loved ones lost to the COVID-19 disease and to quietly rejoice in the diverse heritage of our nation”. A qualitative study was conducted using webnography to find the meaning ascribed to Jerusalema music by the viewers of the video during the COVID-19 pandemic. While several themes emerged after the qualitative content analysis was performed, the focus of this article was on one of the themes that led the viewers of this music video to believe that Jerusalema brought the world together through music and dance during the COVID-19 hard lockdown. South Africans embraced it as the Heritage Day song.