In, Zakes Mda's acclaimed first novel, toloki is a "Professional mourner" In a vast and violent city of the new south africa. Day after day he attends funerals in the townships, dressed with dignity in a threadbare suit,...In, Zakes Mda's acclaimed first novel, toloki is a "Professional mourner" In a vast and violent city of the new south africa. Day after day he attends funerals in the townships, dressed with dignity in a threadbare suit, cape, and battered top hat, to comfort the grieving families of the victims of the city's crime, racial hatred, and crippling poverty.