Employing Credo Mutwa’s thinking of deconstructing nguni words to their roots, I hope to find a different approach of looking at the term, but also understanding the concept of Umoya a bit more broadly. Starting with the first part, Mo (here, in Sesotho), imo (a condition in Xhosa), ummo (ones nature in characteristics), secondly “ya” suggests movement, going (uYAphi, iYA pha, O YA kae ). In essence then using my discernment and understanding of this, I can safely say […]
My first encounter with the Yeoville Market was very interesting. I noticed similarities in the food in the market and the food I know to be my cultural foods, that is the Vha-venda culture. What was even more interesting was the fact that these foods were imported from other African countries such as Nigeria, Maputo etc. I was happy that I could now enjoy cooking and eating these vegetables like Phuri, Delele, Thebe, Phonda without having to travel all the […]
“I was walking to the market for the third time when I immediately noticed that the colour was different. They were painting it. After several years of Robin’s Egg Blue, the market is now Pumpkin Orange. I thought, it does not matter what colour the walls are because you slowly get distracted by the various African cultures that give the space a colourful look.”
My mother once told me a story of how during Christmas time, her mother would buy one large roll of fabric and from that roll she would make a Christmas outfit for each one of her children, nieces and nephews. The younger girls would get flared out skirts and the older girls would have theirs made more fitted around the waist. The boys would get bow ties and buttoned shirts to match. She would add little accents of a pocket […]