God's gangsters?

For the first time prison gang members have permitted an outsider to record the gang sabela - an esoteric combination of Afrikaans and African languages - and to capture their mythological narratives and initiation rites. The number gangs in South Africa's prisons are living legends and unique when compared with other prison gangs across the globe. They have created their own culture based on an idiosyncratic history, hierarchical structure, invisible garments, laws and punishment rituals and a language that requires the indoctrinated to speak in metaphors and symbols. In prison the gang members dedicate their lives to a dangerous, fantastic mythology that permits the assertion of power through vicious act of retribution.