Rediscovering Your True Native Heritage
In celebration of Heritage Day, National braai day or King Shaka Day. The 24th Of September holds a significance meaning to all South Africans of any ethnicity. For myself, my cultural identity has always been conflicting. I grew in a multilingual home I would hear my grandfather sing me lullaby’s in isiXhosa and my grandmother reprimanding me in Sesotho. I ended up growing up speaking Sesotho, but my grandfather would remind me that I am Xhosa girl who just cannot speak isiXhosa. When people ask me "what is your culture?" I would end up having to tell a long tale of how I am bicultural. Instead of being caught between a rock and hard place, I decided to embrace both cultures first being my indigenous heritage isiXhosa and a culture that raised me and taught me how to speak "Sesotho'.I sat down with my grandfather and asked him to tell me about our Xhosa tribe. My grandfather Zolile Mtunzi said "our history starts with our Kings" every Xhosa tribe belonged to a notable king, such as The Thembu king, The Mpondo king each king herds its people and that is why the Xhosa nation has multiple tribes. My family belongs to the Ngqika tribe known as the Rharhabe people and they were settled in the Eastern Cape. My grandfather also mentioned the dissolution of our tribe and how the British settlers and wars were involved in it. "Apartheid made it very hard for our family to stay in Eastern Cape homelands hence we moved to Gauteng in search for a better life" my grandfather said. Gauteng consisted of people from different tribes and cultures and that is where my grandfather met my grandmother.
My grandmother was a Sesotho speaking woman. She migrated to South Africa from Lesotho with her mother. That is how the Sesotho heritage is a part of me through my grandmother. Our bloodline is rich in culture and if you find yourself confused about your culture this Heritage Day. You are not alone, and it is important to educate yourself about your roots.
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