Heritage Day in Langa

In September 2010 Elder Herbert and I were invited to a party in Langa.  September 24 is Heritage Day in South Africa and all people are encouraged to celebrate their culture and ancestry.  We were greeted by a wonderful variety of costumes and dances and foods as we enjoyed the afternoon with them.  they started the singing and dancing early in the day and we had to work in the office so we missed it.  They were just finishing the dinner when we got there.  The picture above is Sister Machiya who is the Langa Relief Society President and me.  She is wearing a traditional outfit from her family's history.  Her face is painted with traditional designs from the Xhosa Heritage.   I am holding Samantha'a baby girl.

 This is a great looking traditional dress on Sister Sekori---she is one of my favorite people in the Branch, but she really doesn't photograph very well.  She is so thin---I don't think she eats very often or very much.  Her husband is also pretty thin---skin and bones really---but they say they are fine.  She is the one who asked me to teach her to bake a cake and when I asked if she would bake one, she said, Oh, no, I don't have an oven.  I love the headress or turban thing---they always wear those and the little girl's hair is about as adorable as any heritage item.

Nozuko had to work and didn't get time to do much of a costume, but I can't leave her out.  Here you can see my plate of food - which included my first taste of tripe.  Yeah, yuck!  It didn't taste too bad, but it was really tough and chewy.  But I had promised I would try what they gave me.  I was grateful that they didn't fix goat's head.  It is truly a delicacy and they love it for all celebrations.  I was amazed they didn't have it. 

 This is my ex-piano student, Tshwane and her brother, Nickolias whose family is from Lesotho, a small country in the center of South Africa.  You pronounce it Les-sue-too and they speak the Sotho language which is also pronounced Sue-too.  (That's besides English, Afrikaans, and Xhosa languages they speak.) I am realizing now that they can converse with people who speak these languages, but they don't know them really well.  It is not like they can read or write them of course.  They always wear those hats during special celebrations in Lesotho---the pointy one represents a small hill with a special worship place or shrine on top and they make hats to wear that remind them of that shrine.  I'm not sure about the men's hat, I think they just like to wear hats too!  Notice it is all about blankets being wrapped around you - they don't wear coats much.  At least they didn't in the past. 
 The other girl is Angelica.  I really loved her dress because it is exactly what the women wear here when they dress up.  It's a matching top and skirt from a fairly simple patterned fabric with lots of embellishments like rick rack and cord trim.  I think the fact that people from India have been here for over a century has really influenced the way the natives dress.  The trim on this one really looks like the Indian trims made of kind of a silky ribbon sewed in swirls and curves - I'm sure you've seen it there in America.  The head scarf is a must and comes in many, many styles.  You just work with the scarf you have-- to tie it a good way.  I'm hoping to know most of these ways by the time I get home---they are fantastic---we've got to start using them on bad hair days---nothing like it.  I haven't done it as a missionary because I am supposed to be inconspicuous---but then with my white hair I am not conspicuous in this country am I?

This picture features Sister Matchiya again and another very special sister who is the wife of one of the counselors in the Branch Presidency---Sister Mzayifani.  Interesting they both wore orange---South African people do love bright colors.  Lots of people wore orange.  I don't know about the white circles on her cheeks - it is just a traditional way of painting your face.  Again the dress was not as important as the shawls and blankets worn on top.  She even has a bag---which is very important here - everyone carries bags because they have to walk so far and don't have a car to carry all their stuff.   By the way, I have learned that in some cultures only the women who have borne children have the right to wear the head wear---it is kind of like a badge of courage that you are an honored mother and wear a scarf on your head---that is true of the Xhosa culture, I'm not sure about the rest.  Another cultural tradition that is much more heartbreaking is one that says no one marries a woman until she has borne a child so that they will know that she is not barren.  That is why you see these young girls with babies because they have to prove themselves in order to get a husband.

This is a young mother in the Branch--Xoliswa.  She had a daughter early in life, but gave her to her mother to raise.  Then she later got married and had children and now has taken the daughter back.  She and her husband were sealed in the temple last spring but they could not seal the first child to them because she is not legally adopted.  The father is in prison somewhere and can't be reached for adoption permission.  Sister Machiya feels she should be able to give permission because the child was given to her and she raised the child as her own.  It kind of sounds like the possession is nine-tenths of the law idea.  She says her culture does this all the time and the child becomes the child of the grandparent.  I know it happens everywhere, but here she says the child really becomes hers.  Xoliswa is such a great woman---she is now the Primary President in the Langa Branch.  She and her husband, Desmond, have two more children, a girl and a boy.  And he is in the Elders Quorum Presidency.  The men didn't seem that excited about the party or the culture - I think they were mostly outside after the food was gone!

 

Elder Herbert always likes to go to the kitchen and get pictures of the women who make the party happen.  Here she is - Sister Mzayifani and behind her Sister Fenga and some other ladies I don't really know.  I am thinking lots of people come to the parties who don't always come to church.  I wish we could see the person in the patterned stocking cap---that is another favorite here.  Lots of stocking caps worn even in the summer. 

Here is Samantha who was also working in the kitchen.  She has the cute head thing going too, but she didn't really dress up much.  Her heritage is hard to trace since she is coloured because she has some white blood somewhere in her ancestry---coloured people don't really seem to have a past or a heritage.  This does make her a class above the black people who claim the tribes as their ancestors.   I suppose many of the people in Langa have white blood in their ancestry, but they continue claiming the Xhosa lineage.  People here say that probably most of the White Afrikaans people here have black blood somewhere in their lineage too, but they try not to think about it.  Interestingly, most of the people in the Paarl branch claim the coloured lineage and speak Afrikaans --not Xhosa.  They are much more accepted in the basic culture of the Cape Town area and all over South Africa.  They have better jobs and nicer homes and many of them have a car.  The Relief Society President in Paarl drives a small SUV and takes lots of people everywhere so they can go to church meetings.  Her husband works for the government at a water purification plant and she is a nurse.  They have a fairly large beautiful home and have 5 children. 

This lovely lady really wanted her picture taken and did many things to draw our attention.  She was just a visitor at the party--not a member of the church, but very welcome and seemed to be having a great time.  This gives little better picture of the brown dress we saw before.

She put her grandchild on her back as she got ready to leave, and I was happy to take another picture of her.  You see lots of grandmothers walking around with babies on their backs.  They are baby sitting and have to run to the store or the doctor or something, so the baby goes on the back and off they go.  The must be much stronger than we are, because I know I wouldn't make it too far with a baby on my back.  I really don't know too many Grannies who could do it!

This is Sister Baba---she was the other counselor in the Relief Society with me.  She taught most of the lessons in RS and did a really great job.  She has a job with the government teaching business people and government officials to understand enough Xhosa to converse with people.  She taught the couple missionaries here in Cape Town a few Xhosa lessons and it was quite an experience.  We actually all learned quite a bit and I enjoyed it a lot.  It was frustrating because she would be late and the others always wanted to teach her not to be late.  She had so many time constraints and no transportation and there was not much patience with any of that.  She says her people are from the north, but she grew up speaking Afrikaans and Xhosa, so she speaks both fairly fluently.  She has had a hard life with many problems raising three boys on her own and working and going to school.  She has been a member of the church for over 15 years and says it has totallly changed her life.  She says she was a terrible, mean, thoughtless mother until she joined the church and learned that she should love her children.  Her brothers and sisters hardly recognized her after she changed---they still say it was a miracle.  When she was a young, struggling mother the Relief Society President took her to the store and taught her about vegetables and that you should eat them regularly.  She feels it really changed her family's health and opened up a new world to her.  Recently she found out her young college-age son is the father of a new baby with a 17 year-old girl.  He is away at school and doesn't want to talk about it!  When she found out about the baby, Baba took the mother and child into her home and has cared for them ever since.  She is so broken hearted because she wanted her son to serve a mission and he had always planned that.  But lately he had not wanted to talk about it.  Her son still has not totally accepted that he is the father, but he will be home for summer break soon and they will sort it out.  Communication is a huge problem for families here---I guess it is much the same at home. 

I have a few more pictures of heritage day.  These are the newest family of members in Langa.  Just a mother--no father---so priesthood leadership is still not helped.  But look at those faces---the Lord is sorting out the flower of South Africa to build up Zion in this beautiful land.  And if you can imagine---the 12 other units of the Church in Cape town are stronger and better than this one!  These people are not what you would call the best of the best and yet the Lord loves them and is blessing their lives as they turn to Him and become His children.

This is Xoliswa and her little brother who has just come back to church after going to some gangs for a while.  His nephew was knifed and beaten by a gang and Elder Herbert and I went to the hospital and he gave him a blessing.  It was touch and go at that point, but within two days he was much better and basically made a miracle recovery.  They were sure he had  lot of brain damage, but he can talk and walk.  His speech is slow and he still has a long way to go to full recovery.  I think this young man really learned from that about the life that can come from being in a gang.  He started coming to Institute within a few weeks of the beating and has come to Church ever since.

Nozuko - leader of the young women at this point.

Here you can see that her skirt is just a blanket wrapped around her.  We worry entirely too much about clothes in America, I think.  These women can make an outfit out of anything!  Resourceful!

It's all about color!  they love it!

I think he is trying to look like an older man---note the cane.

This is Brother Mzayifani ---he is a special Priesthood leader in this branch and a great example and friend to all the young men. 

Brother and sister Mzayifani---she gave him her shawl so he would look like he was in costume for the picture!  You can tell that many of the ladies are wearing little t-shirts to make their outfits more modest.  These are people who share the gospel readily with friends and neighbors and are always there when someone is in need.  What a heritage their children and grandchildren will have!  Hope you enjoyed seeing a little bit of Heritage Day.  I have given very brief explanations of very deep traditions that have lots of meaning to them that I cannot begin to understand.  I honor them as people of the future and not the past. 

Here are a few other interesting sights you might see as you drive through Langa---not necessarily on Heritage Day.

As we drove away from the Church that day we saw that the neighbors were getting ready for a BBQ--they call it a Brai--pronounced bri with a long i.  Because of the tent on the front of the house, we sort of thought this might be a funeral celebration.  It was Friday night and when they have a funeral, they meet and mourn every night for a week and then have a big party on Friday and feed everyone before the funeral on Saturday---we think those are sheep being prepared for the big meal later that evening. 

This is a tent seen from a better angle.  It makes a shady and private spot for the family to meet together and mourn.   It is really a pretty good idea, but it makes the funeral seem like a circus to us.  The tent will stay up for at least a week---sometimes more like two weeks.

As we drive down the street and around the corner, there is a little shopping area where you can buy "fresh" food.  Those chickens sit out there all day---but don't worry about it--they're frozen so they stay okay.  What?  You don't believe that?

 You can't really see this very well, but this is a drum band and they are playing music for everyone to enjoy in the shopping area.  Lots of people stop for a while and listen---especially the kids.  The shipping containers in the back are where people have little shops and the hairdresser is there (she has lots of wigs and braids to weave into your hair) and others sell various foods that you can "take away" ---that's fast food in Langa---no McD's here.

If you need some new clothes or a hat or something, you can probably find it here.  You can probably find just about anything you want and at a pretty good price too.  Some of the things are new and some are used, but they will lay these all out on a good day and then come deal with you if you are interested in something.  I have never bought anything here---I am a little afraid of the fleas possibility. 

I think we might have taken you for a drive through Langa before, but I have never shared some of these very special pictures.  We missed the goat heads---somehow we have never gotten a good picture of those.  We'll save that for another day when we are in the mood for a good scare.  We have always felt safe in Langa.  There are lots of people everywhere and they are usually friendly and helpful.  We know there can be danger and we are very careful of where we go without a Langa native.  Life here is a world away from our little home town of Pocatello, Idaho in many, many ways.

We love you all and we hope you are enjoying your beautiful life in the land of the free and the home of the brave. 

Beautiful places to see

About every other Saturday we gather as a group of couples and visit some of the sites of Cape Town.  There are many and on these days we finally got to the Rhodes Memorial.  We had been waiting for some nice days and last month we had some and were able to go on some outings. This is a huge memorial with lots of stairs and statues, but no inner building where people would gather like a museum or anything. 

Elder Plehn doesn't look too happy that he is having his picture taken, but I think we just caught him at a bad moment. 

Rhodes was a very rich man from England who came here and did many good things to build up the country.  The Rhodes Scholar ---an award in England is named for his family as was Rhodesia----a small country in Africa.  We enjoyed wandering through the memorial. The words say that through his life's work he loved and served South Africa.

I'm sure you're getting sick of seeing these people, but they're all we've got!  When we go out, we usually all go.  You can't just take a few people!   At least you can see a little of the view of the city of Cape Town behind us.   No I'm not walking with a cane now---it belongs to Elder Herbert but he had to keep both hands on the camera, so I had to hold the cane.  I have had a hard time convincing him that he needs to use it, but there have been a few times that it has really saved him so he is using it a little more.

 Below is the view without us in front of it!  I love those trees in the front---they seem very symbolic of the African landscape.  We live in that dark area almost straight ahead---it is called Pinelands because many pine trees have been planted there.

  

There was a little restaurant in the back of the memorial with little hut-like buildings for rest rooms.  It was not open the day we were there, so we just wandered around the grounds and snapped a few photos.  It was a beautiful day and very peaceful. 

The buildings have the thatched roofs that we see often in Cape Town----even many expensive old homes have them and I guess it adds to the value to have a thatched roof on the older ones, so they replace them periodically.  I have not been in a home with a thatched roof, but Elder and Sister Harms have and they say it smelled a little grassy!  The little restroom is about the size and shape of the huts the natives built out in the bush in their little tribal communities.  I love rock houses!

There were a few little garden areas like this around the restaurant over-looking the valley.  This monument is built on the back side of Table Mountain.

Sister Mahler took this picture of me in a part of the garden where Elder Herbert didn't go because it was too uneven terrain. 

 

We thought this was probably once a home for the help at the memorial or the restaurant or maybe just a storage shed with a little living area on the side.  It looks like a garage, but there was definitely no way for a car to have gotten down there.  Unfortunately Cape Town must have spent all the city memorial budget money this year on soccer, because this memorial was pretty run down in the garden area.  They have been talking about upgrading it but haven't done it yet.   It was interesting to see all the work they had done to create a beautiful garden spot and then it had not been kept up.

As we came back to the parking lot, a wedding party had just gone up to the memorial steps to take some photos.  We were taking photos of the stretch limo and the stretch hummer that they were riding in.  Yes, some people in Cape Town do have a lot of money.  Who knows---maybe it was someone famous---judging from all the bodyguards that were around we might think that.   We don't know who the famous people are around here----wouldn't recognize them if we walked right up to them!!