Juluka (meaning "sweat" in
Zulu) was founded in 1969 by
Johnny Clegg and
Sipho Mchunu. They mixed Zulu music with influences from
rock and
Celtic music. As a multiracial band in
apartheid-era South Africa, Juluka frequently had trouble with the police, and their songs were banned by state-run radio stations, but their brand of
Afro-pop nonetheless became popular. The song's chorus illustrated its themes, also present in other compositions by Clegg: "They are the scatterlings of Africa/Each uprooted one/On the road to Phelamanga/Where the world began/I love the scatterlings of Africa/Each and every one/In their hearts a burning hunger/Beneath the copper sun." According to Clegg, however, the song instead refers to all humans sharing a common African ancestry: "Africa is the cradle of humankind, after all, and it is the continent from where humans made their way north, south, east and west." He wrote it while teaching anthropology classes at Witwatersrand University, to impress upon his white students the interconnectedness of all humanity. "[Clegg] reminded us that we are all 'scatterlings of Africa'. Africa is the cradle of humankind and all of us trace our roots to the continent where
Homo sapiens evolved," the song "reinforcing a sense of belonging to the human family." Although "Scatterlings of Africa" uses rousing and upbeat music, it contains musical elements that reflect the themes of the lyrics, including the use of
7/4 meter, denying the listener a regular
downbeat. The song's introduction is played in a
4/4 meter. ==Release and reception==