Sisonke Papu, a.k.a. KHNYSA, is an Eastern Cape-based traditional healer, storyteller and multi-disciplinary artist. KHNYSA’s work seeks to mediate modes of traditional healing and traditional music as repositories of knowledge in the South African context, repurposing found objects to craft complex soundscapes. They are also the founder of ISPILI Network, a transmedia and creative platform dedicated to exploring the creative economy of the Eastern Cape through social programs and online content dedicated to the preservation and transmission of indigenous knowledges and collective healing. Through ISPILI Network, KHNYSA has founded a magazine, a podcast, web series and organized a series of public activations, performances, and artist residencies.
Sisonke Papu, a.k.a. KHNYSA is working with Dionne Mankazana in establishing NgoMa Technologies, a project selected to be part of the inaugural OneBeat Institute. NgoMa Technologies is an initiative dedicated to the preservation, innovation and application of indigenous sound technologies as sites of healing, education, and creative economy development in Southern Africa and beyond. As an ecosystem of musicians, healers, and indigenous technologists we aim to share the vast knowledge of the elders, through workshops, public lectures, and the making of indigenous instruments as modalities for creative expression and sound therapy.
