Our Xhosa Experience

We haven't had internet access in the past few days because we have been staying at Mngqesha, the Xhosa Great Place of King Sandile. Our experiences in the past few days have been amazing! Mngqesha is not only the village of the Xhosa King, but it is also a Xhosa cultural center. We stayed for two nights as their guests, living in small (but modern) roundhouses with white clay walls and thatch roofs. We were greeted by the elder as we arrived, and he told us quite a bit about Xhosa history and culture. Our first night, we were served a lovely Xhosa dinner by a number of older Xhosa women with their heads wrapped in beautful scarves and who were wearing colorful clothes. Some of us took a walk in the twighlight, up the dusty dirt road past the village on the outside of the Great Place. Most of the people live in small roundhouses made of the traditional clay walls, but the roofs are mainly corrugated iron. There are small but crowded gardens green with vegetables and herbs, and chickens and cows walk freely. Kids were out on the unlit soccer field (which was really just a clearing) until it was solid darkness. We walked back with our flashlights, as the only lights were what we could see out the tiny windows of the roundhouses, and the stars in the sky. The land is lovely with rolling hills and green fields and golden grasses, and the ridges are dotted with small colorful Xhosa villages.

Our next morning, we started right away by driving to Fort Hare University, the first (and most important) of the traditional Black Universities (where Nelson Mandela and other important leaders were educated). We walked around on the beautiful campus, with its gracious old buildings and lush grounds, and it was filled with students from all over Africa, mostly Blacks, and they looked just like us: backpacks, jeans, walking and laughing with their friends. We had hoped to get into the ANC Archives, which is the main repository of information and photos of Nelson Mandela's life, but the day we arrived was the day before graduation and there were some ceremonies on the other side of the campus. We did, however, get to meet some of students. We had arranged to meet with a Sociology class. The students went off to talk with each other sitting out in the grass and on benches. I'm not sure what was discussed, but as they returned, I saw lots of photos being taken and emails and facebook info exchanged, so it must have been interesting at least.

After lunch, we drove to the Township of Ginsberg, which was the home of Steve Biko. We had seen the movie Cry Freedom in class before we left, which is about Biko's life and death at the hands of the South African Police. We saw Biko's home and then we went to the Creche (community nursery school). After Biko was banned in the 1970s, he was instrumental in organizing this important community center (and in fact it plays a role in Cry Freedom). We had committed to doing a service project there, together with young people from the Ginsburg Youth Leadership Council. We brought paint and brushes, and after we met the kids (95 2-4 year olds in a space the size of the Harris 4 classroom--or perhaps even smaller). The walls were dingy blue, with handmade painted signs that said things like "A Loved Child is a Happy Child." There were several tiny tables and chairs, but most of the kids were lying on mats on the floor when we arrived, packed together and holding hands, and staring and waving at us. There were no toys or books in sight. The kids were wearing patched clothes with blue pants and orange tops (all school kids wear uniforms, and they extended that idea to the preschool). Outside, the yard was dirt, with a swingset with tire swings, and a number of painted tires half buried in the ground for kids to climb. The external walls were dirty and peeling, and the paint was a 1970s shade of gold (it probably hadn't been painted since then in any case).

Our students had wanted to bring candy for the kids (in honor of Beth's birthday), so we first handed out bags and bags of candy. Some of the kids literally didn't know what it was. Some of the adults explained that these children are so poor they have never seen candy before. Some of our students went around and helped kids open the candy. The kids couldn't understand us, but we quickly learned that if we stuck out our thumbs and said the word 'sharp' with a British accent, the kids would smile and use their thumbs to touch ours. It was SO sweet!

After many of the kids went home, we got to work with scraping, sanding, and painting. We were working on the outside of the building. With the help of the Township youth leaders, we swarmed over the building, getting almost the entire front side painted with two coats (in a light gentle yellow). All our students worked really hard, and I think we all just wanted to do as much as possible. We also got the contact information so that when we get back to the US, we can send packages back to the school. (The school gets almost no government funding, and the Township community that supports it is REALLY poor, mainly living in small shack-like homes. A German organization has been sending some financial support, but the school and the students desperately need books and toys and crafts, not to mention structural work on their small building. For example, the area for the bathroom has gaping holes in the ceilings, and water damage all down the walls).

After we finished there, we raced back to the Great Place, where they were having a brai and traditional celebration in our honor. We brought the Ginsburg young people with us. The King was not present, but he sent a Prince in his place, so we got to hear a speech by Prince Zolile Burns-Ncaneashe ( and we got to meet a real prince!). We also heard a speech from the head of the Creche, a man named Chris Soka, who had started the Creche along with Steve Biko in the 1970s). The Prince's speech was interesting in part because he told us how important the US is to them, and how we need to take our position in the world seriously. He also spoke about Xhosa culture, and how they are using traditional cultural ideals to work against things like the spread of HIV/AIDS. (He shocked us a bit, I think, talking about the importance of 'virginity inspections' for the Xhosa girls). We also got to see children in traditional dress do a ceremonial dance for us (which was AMAZING!).

This morning, we delivered a load of soccer gear that we had brought with us from the US. The gear went to the tiny Xhosa school outside the great place, Mbomba Lower and Upper Primary School. Some of the children, in their patched but neat uniforms, were assembled waiting for us. We handed over the gear which they recieved very formally and politely, and then they sang for us. We sang 'Simeon Benjamin' for them, and as we left and got a little bit away from the school, we suddenly heard them erupt in cheers and shouting. We turned back to see the kids playing and tossing soccer balls to each other, running and dancing and laughing. I guess their teachers had told them to be polite, and now we were far enough away that they could be themselves!

It was wonderful, and we left with happy hearts.

We are leaving the Xhosa area and the East Cape, heading towards Tsitsikamma park tonight. More blogging as soon as we can....