Before pursuing her music career, the 35-year-old Mankayi was a rugby player who played for both the Lions and Cheetahs.
Then from 2019 tragic events forced the 35-year-old mother of two to take a break from music.
“From 2019 to December 2021 was a difficult time in my life,” she said.
“I was not gigging and things were hard for me. I Iost my parents.
“The song [Ndawo Yam] is about my pain and what I have been through in the past three years.”
For Best Traditional Music Community Radio Presenter, DJ Sikhumba Esimnyama of Forte Hare FM and Yandisa Zizele of Khanya FM at Butterwordth are among the nominees from Eastern Cape.
The province was also nominated in the Best Provincial Cultural Affairs Chief Director Category along with KwaZulu-Natal, Gauteng, Limpopo and the Northern Cape.
Meanwhile, Lucy Impondokazi, with her poem Igama, was nominated for Best Indigenous Poetry with Mudogwa, Nqobile Msawenkosi Duma and Ntombi Ya Mutsonga.
Satma awards CEO Zandile Ndzimande said they received more than 4,500 submissions for nominees.
“Youth, both urban and rural, have shown a great interest in the awards – something that is good for the future of indigenous music in SA and knowing their roots.
“That is why we have a category for traditional music influencer,” she said.
She said Africanist Patrick Loch Otieno Lumumba of Kenya would be the speaker at the Satma Awards in Mbombela, Mpumalanga, on October 1.
Amanda makes strong comeback with Satma nomination
Nathi Mankayi's sister took break from music after deaths of parents
Image: Supplied
Eastern Cape artists feature prominently among the nominees for the 17th SA Traditional Music Achievement (Satma) Awards.
The 125 nominees in 26 categories were announced at Emalahleni, Mpumalanga, on Saturday.
Eastern Cape's nominees include Amanda Mankayi, the sister of award-winning singer Nathi.
Mankayi was nominated for her song Ndawo Yam in the Best Afro Soul Song category, where she is competing with Daniel Brothers’ Love Me Again and RoyalSon’s Ubuhle Bomuntu.
In 2011, Mankayi won the Dare to Dream talent search in the Eastern Cape, but struggled to get her music out, knocking on doors until a breakthrough in 2016 when she released her debut album, Zola Ntliziyo.
Speaking to Sowetan in 2016, she said as the first winner of Dare to Dream there were no structures in place to take her further as a musician.
That was until Nathi’s big break.
Amanda Mankayi bounces back after personal challenges
Before pursuing her music career, the 35-year-old Mankayi was a rugby player who played for both the Lions and Cheetahs.
Then from 2019 tragic events forced the 35-year-old mother of two to take a break from music.
“From 2019 to December 2021 was a difficult time in my life,” she said.
“I was not gigging and things were hard for me. I Iost my parents.
“The song [Ndawo Yam] is about my pain and what I have been through in the past three years.”
For Best Traditional Music Community Radio Presenter, DJ Sikhumba Esimnyama of Forte Hare FM and Yandisa Zizele of Khanya FM at Butterwordth are among the nominees from Eastern Cape.
The province was also nominated in the Best Provincial Cultural Affairs Chief Director Category along with KwaZulu-Natal, Gauteng, Limpopo and the Northern Cape.
Meanwhile, Lucy Impondokazi, with her poem Igama, was nominated for Best Indigenous Poetry with Mudogwa, Nqobile Msawenkosi Duma and Ntombi Ya Mutsonga.
Satma awards CEO Zandile Ndzimande said they received more than 4,500 submissions for nominees.
“Youth, both urban and rural, have shown a great interest in the awards – something that is good for the future of indigenous music in SA and knowing their roots.
“That is why we have a category for traditional music influencer,” she said.
She said Africanist Patrick Loch Otieno Lumumba of Kenya would be the speaker at the Satma Awards in Mbombela, Mpumalanga, on October 1.
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