Madimabe Mapaya holds a PhD in African Studies and specialises in mmino wa setšo (Indigenous African music) and its implications on African musicology. He is currently Head of the Music Department and a founding member of the Indigenous Music and Oral History Project at the University of Venda. Apart from his university duties, Mapaya is a performing musician with several albums to his name. He is the author of Music of Bahananwa. He currently serves as a scientific editor of the ‘Cultures of Limpopo’ publication in which he authored a chapter on dipela tša harepa. He guest-edited several journals and also took part in the writing of the country’s Curriculum Assessment Policy Statement on music.