I am looking for information on a kind of fashion show that occurs in
Africa each year.  I THINK I read about this in either the New York
Times, The Los Angeles Times, or the Wall street Journal during the
last six months of 2003.  I cannot remember the name of this
festival/fashion show, but I do remember that it is one in which men
compete with each other with clothing designed (most often) by their
wives.  I seem to recall that the prize is a chicken (but I could be
wrong on this).  I have done general keyword searches on the sites of
the three papers ("African Fashion show", "Fashion show+chicken",
etc.) to no avail.  I know that this article and its subject are NOT
the African festival commonly called the Garawol.  WHAT WAS THIS?!!

I am confident that the article you read in the New York Times was (as
mentioned in the 'Comments' section) about the phenomenon of "oswenka"
(also known as "swenka," "swank," "swanka," and "swankers"), a men's
fancy-dress competition that takes place in Jeppe Hostel, a workers'
community in Johannesberg, South Africa. The prizes are usually small
amounts of cash, but on special occasions a prize might be a farm
animal.

I have gathered some information from the Web for you. For reasons of
copyright, I am posting just brief excerpts; you may want to read
these articles in their entirety.

"Dreams still burn in some of South Africa's poorest neighborhoods,
where migrant workers struggle to support families back home; in
Johannesburg, dreary lives of workers are lightened by weekly contest
for best-dressed man award; contestants shed their grimy overalls to
strut through shabby hall in their fanciest formal wear; big winner
goes home with $6, but real prize is more intangible; workers who
compete know black man can be somebody in post-apartheid South Africa;
Radio Zulu broadcasts names of first-, second- and third-place winners
every week so families in rural villages can hear how their men
performed."

New York Times
http://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F30D16FA3D590C758CDDAF0894DA404482

"On Saturday nights the workers at the Jeppe Hostel exchanged their
overalls for male finery and competed in dancing and singing
competitions as well as in the ?best-dressed man? competition. The
origin of such occasions goes back to the 1950?s where such elegant
events provided a sharp contrast to the daily lives of these men."

Rage: South African Street Culture Online
http://www.rage.co.za/issue30/artsalive4.htm

"South African apartheid has ended, but for the migrant laborers of
Johannesburg, little has changed. They have not seen their families in
months. By day, they operate clanging machinery on the streets of the
desolate city. By night, they gather in the basements of the dirty
hostels they share to... show off their clothes?

Beneath the filth and menace of Johannesburg, the city's oppressed
black population partakes in a ritual known as 'Swanking,' holding
elaborate competitions for the title of best-dressed."

The Duke University Chronicle 
http://www.chronicle.duke.edu/vnews/display.v/ART/2004/03/25/4062dfd95ba0a

"It?s late Saturday night and underneath the moonlight skies, Dalton
walks through the streets of downtown Johannesburg. The drab overcoat
he wears camouflages a man dressed to the nines.

Dalton is on his way to Jeppe Hostel to participate in a fashion show
with an unusual flavour. It?s after 11 o?clock and the disused
basement he enters reverberates with rhythmic harmonising.

Once the singers have left the makeshift stage, Dalton and about a
dozen or so men take turns to impress the hostel dwellers. They are
here to compete, to see who is the best-dressed man amongst them. They
are called the Swenkas.

This fashion show in the dirty basement with the discarded broken beds
and razor wire lying around is a study in contrasts. The Swenkas are
ordinary workers yet they are clothed in Carducci and Cardin suits
with Italian shoes and silk ties."

Carte Blanche Interactive
http://www.mnet.co.za/CarteBlanche/Display/Display.asp?Id=1817 

"THIS DOCUMENTARY IS a portrait of the Swenkas, a small group of
working men in post-apartheid South Africa. Men who want to change
their near surroundings; send their children to school and move out of
cramped hostels and crowded townships. Men who take great pride in
putting on a flashy suit and stand out as inspiration for others. The
film tell their story and why the ?dressing up? is not just something
external and inconstant but an integrated part of their internal
spiritual and mental life, of their past, present and future.

IN THE DEPRAVED BASEMENT of Jeppe Hostel - in 'The Hall' - the play of
contrasts is acted out once a week. Every Saturday night the Swenkas
leave their grimy overalls behind and wear their best Carducci or
Cardin suits - and they have done so for so many years that no one
remembers exactly when it all began. Before the fashion show, 'The
Hall' reverberates with rhythmic harmonising, but once the singers
leave the makeshift stage, the Swenkas take turns to impress the
hostel dwellers and a randomly selected and impartial observer - the
judge. Normally the prize for best suit and style of the night is
money, but at special occasions like Christmas the winner walks home
with a living goat or even a cow on a leash."

Cosmo Film: The Swenkas
http://www.cosmo.dk/projekter/Swenkas/info.html

Google search strategy:

Google Web Search: "jeppe hostel" swank OR swankers OR oswenka OR swanka
://www.google.com/search?hl=en&ie=UTF-8&q=%22jeppe+hostel%22+swank+OR+swankers+OR+oswenka+OR+swanka

This was a fascinating quest! If I have misidentified your festival,
please request clarification, and I'll be glad to resume the hunt.

Best regards,
pinkfreud

Bernie,

I'm just throwing around the keywords too.  Here a possibility:
http://www.artmatters.info/fashion/unityofafrica.htm

HTH

-Ted

Regrettably Ted, this is not the article.  The article I am looking
for was about something less commercial, more indigenous. --B

I recognized the article you mentioned immediately, because I had read
it, too. It appeared in the New York Times on June 6, 2002. Title:
Johannesburg Journal; In Purple, the Kings of African Evenings

Here's the link: http://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F30D16FA3D590C758CDDAF0894DA404482

Hope this helps, and saves you some money.

I agree with commodified-ga, it looks like you're looking for
competitions known as "oswenkas", a Zulu word meaning "swank". 
Regrettably, I could not find much more information on them at this
time, but please post a comment if you're still interested in finding
out more, and perhaps another researcher will be able to locate more
information for you.

Ok--I think you guys may have gotten this!  Let me confer with my
wife.  I also need to figure out who gets paid here...

Thanks!

--Bernard

Many thanks for the five stars and the generous tip! 

~pinkfreud