CULTURE
Village life: Local choir in song
Guide tips
Charles Ncube Gauteng
There’s a great restaurant in Maboneng called
PATA PATA, named after Miriam Makeba’s famous song. The idea of serving traditional
food with live music is based on the shebeen bars, where people
have a gift, to tell your fortune or cure you if you’re ill. If you believe in traditional med- icine, it’ll work for you,” Thoko explains as we settle on reed mats and watch the healer mix potions. There’s an audible hissing from one of his buckets, and then suddenly a flash of green light and a bang that makes us both jump. It’s a sign of the man’s successful com- munion with the spirit world. “This room is not for cowards,” Thoko says, translating for the sangoma. “When you come for a consul- tation, he asks that you bring a candle; when he lights it, he can see your problem clearly.” Back in the village, it’s time for a tra- ditional lunch. A local family is expect- ing us. We duck under the low lintel into their cosy, thatched rondavel and serve ourselves plates of ujeque steamed bread, boiled sweet potatoes known as phatata, and stewed chicken. To finish, we sip home- brewed umqombothi beer from a clay cal- abash. It’s delicious — creamy and earthy
in flavour. But the biggest treat comes in the form of the local choir who come into the hut to sing for us. I’m entranced by the clicks of the Zulu language and the raw emotion of the performance. “They sing from the soul,” Thoko comments wistfully, drying her eyes. Drums are produced and the singers exe-
cute the astonishing high kicks of a tradi- tional Zulu dance. The performance has drawn a gaggle of local women, many car- rying babies in colourful slings, and we all cheer and whistle. It’s a dramatic finale to an eye-opening morning. I’m deeply moved that this tiny, rural village pulled out all the stops for a visit like mine, and I tell Thoko so as we say our goodbyes. “There are no people so warm in the world as the Zulu people,” Thoko gushes proudly. n Amelia Duggan
wisdomtours.co.za SOUTHAFRICA .NET 49
like Miriam gathered in the townships to discuss politics, drink and be entertained.
Siskeko Yelani Eastern Cape
The TRANSKEI is the homeland of Nelson Mandela. He was born in 1918 and grew up near Qunu, where we now have the Nelson Mandela Museum. The Eastern Cape
also raised legendary
leaders such as Walter Sisulu, Oliver Tambo and Steve Biko, to name just a few.
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