AmaZayoni: An ode to uniformity

Words by Holly Beaton.

Spiritual practices are deeply woven into the fabric of life throughout the continent of Africa. Honing in on creative director Duduza Mchunu’s lineage, we witness an ode to the women of the AmaZayoni church; in which the attire is punctuated by crisp white fabrics, layered in specific iterations as garments of protection.

We tend to think of uniformity as linear, and the reductionist view is that similarities in dress codes challenge individual expression. In deconstructing the essence of the uniform, as a dialogue of community, these images express a common and sacred bond between the wearers. It demonstrates the power of aligning with others in the pursuit of a shared practice; and in this context, it is the cultivation of spiritual connection and insight. 

Using garments from prolific South African labels, Unī Form and Selfi, artistic duo UBNYEHT (Duduza Mchunu and Holly Beaton) have sought to pay homage to the liberating nature of dress practices among women, with these acts conveying a demarcation of alignment under the notion of sartorial consciousness; in which fashion lends itself as physical act of uniting a collective under the same values and motivations. 

With the landscape of indigenous flora in the mountains of Cape Town as the backdrop, photographer Christina Fragkou captures the strength laden within the outer and inner world of uniformity. Clean layering accessorised with plants convey the intrinsic connection of women to the earth; as an expression of Nature herself. This project happened in 2021 and it sat in our archives until 2023. In this conversation between Duduza and I, we uncover both the mythos and practicality of this experience - and reaffirmed our sense for invoking this idea of ‘sartorial consciousness’.

“AmaZayoni is an African spiritual, Christian church. It mainly consists of prophets and spiritual healings. They work through trance-like modes of healing incorporating music and dance in order to heal people”, says Duduza, of the reference to this project. We had assembled ourselves clearly to produce this idea that Duduza had been sitting on since her teens; in fact, our connection to each other and to fashion had always been predicated on seeing if we could imbue spirituality into fashion works. Duduza is from a maternal lineage of profound healers, and in a synchronistic way - Christina was willing to shoot this story with us. Suddenly, the entire aura of this project was suffused with women, fashion and spirit - the latter being two concepts largely irreconcilable as fashion has become more and more commodified. 

The AmaZayoni church, also known as the "Zion Christian Church" (ZCC), was founded in 1910 by Engenas Lekganyane, a South African prophet. Lekganyane had received a divine vision from God, instructing him to establish a new Christian movement that would incorporate elements of African culture and spirituality. Over the years, the AmaZayoni church has grown to become one of the largest African-initiated churches on the continent, with millions of members. Duduza explains, “I am deeply connected and rooted to the church. My grandmother was the bishop and the only female bishop at the head of the church. My grandmother was supposed to be a sangoma (an indigenous healer who primarily communes with ancestors) but it turned out, her calling was to work with angelic, non-human beings as a healer. This led her to AmaZayoni, as this form of interdimensional healing is their speciality. I am also an initiate through AmaZayoni, with similar gifts”.

“With anything westernised, an indigenous person - no matter where they are in the world - will always somehow incorporate it into their culture. It is the oldest knowledge of all, indigenous knowledge, and it can withstand many iterations and developments”, Dudza reminds me, as we reflect back to the young creatives we were just two years ago. Neither of us can shake this notion of fashion as a spiritual force. Growing up in South Africa, it is common to witness people congregating in forests, fields along highways and at the sea - dressed in white and performing ceremonies. The distinction between religious doctrine and indigenous knowledge has somehow merged, leaving with it an inarguable transformation of an oppressive colonial tool into something profound - a kind of medicine, once forcefully dosed to African folks, but made into a salve as it was collectively digested. I ask Duduza how she believes her indigeneity, and that of others, informed the birth of a space like AmaZayoni, “African’s are people who have innate sense to transmute whatever information or structures they are given. At the very core of us, is our culture and our essence which connects to our source. Christianity coming to Africa was very problematic, but I think AmaZayoni is the perfect lens to understand how African people transmute and transform oppressively-intended constructs, through our indigeneity and practices, to create something totally new and incredibly profound. It's so powerful”.

In conceiving the project, we sought two labels - UNI FORM and SELFI - to manifest the vision Duduza had into something stylistic, tangible - referential but not a copy. Duduza explains the choice of all-white garments, saying “an important part of the church’s practice is the use of colour therapy. For each religious event, we wear different colours. On Easter, we wear white to purify and cleanse - blue is the colour we wear to connect directly to the source - yellow is the colour of healing. I love the way AmaZayoni centres the idea of 'strength in numbers’, in which we have this uniform that unifies us as one mind or one collective. It brings us into this deep energetic connection with God, as ‘soldiers of spirit’”.

For Duduza, the choice to focus in on the colour white insofar as the AmaZayoni colour theory was a way to envelope her entire instincts around the church and its sartorial influence on her, as both a spiritual being and a fashion practitioner. White is the colour evoked when the entire congregation is undertaking a connection to the Divine Source; it symbolises the purity and inner-cleanliness required for this process. As Duduza reflects, 

“I have wanted to celebrate the dress sensibilities and practices of the AmaZayoni church since I was a teenager. There is such an intricate ritual involved in dressing; from starching and purifying the fabric, to the making of it. In KwaZulu-Natal, my aunt was the one who was responsible for creating all the uniforms for members across the KZN region. I got to see firsthand the process such as the choice of fabric, the colour, the reasoning behind it. Even the trimmings are intentional - some people had to wear fringes, or specific collars and it's specific to that person’s being. Amidst the uniform, is this uniqueness coded into every person and their outfits”.

There are multiple threads woven into this work across time and space. Duduza connects this work directly to her grandmother, to whom this work is owed as Duduza’s love-letter to her, her origins, her gifts and to the land that she comes from. It is our hope as UBNYEHT to pull together these threads that trace back to the source and make a deeper sense of the meaning of fashion, expression and preservation. 

Selfi is noted for their use of biodegradable, rayon weighted fabrics; adding a sense of proportion and depth, while Unī Form’s cascading dresses and crisp shirts create silhouettes in line with purification; both labels coming together as celebrations of the uniform

/// Credits 

Creative Director: Duduza Mchunu @duduzamchunu

Photographer: Cris Fragkou @cris.fragkou 

Styling: Holly Beaton @hollybellb and Duduza Mchunu @duduzamchunu

Text: Holly Beaton @hollybellb 

Models: Asiphe, Rhulani and Sethu of @topcomodels

Garments: SELFI @____selfi and UNI FORM @uniformza