Sisonke Papu

Sisonke Papu, also known as KHNYSA, is iGqirha, a multidisciplinary artist, traditional healer, and storyteller from Mthatha, in the Eastern Cape, South Africa. Working at the intersection of breath, sound, and ancestral wisdom, KHNYSA creates immersive experiences that explore indigenous knowledge as a living archive, engaging with themes of memory, healing, and spiritual continuity. Their practice mediates between traditional healing, ritual music, and found-object instrumentation to craft layered soundscapes that serve as both artistic expression and repositories of indigenous knowledge and collective healing. As the founder of ISPILI Network, a transmedia creative platform dedicated to preserving and transmitting indigenous knowledge, KHNYSA has led public activations, artist residencies, and creative programs exploring the cultural economy of the Eastern Cape. They are also founder of NgoMa Technologies, an initiative incubated at the OneBeat Institute, dedicated to the preservation, innovation, and application of indigenous sound technologies as tools for healing, education, and creative economy development.