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 The Gogo, or grandmother in Zulu, is on her way
to catch up on community news at a communal vegetable garden in
KwaNdengezi, a township between the wealthy suburb of
Summerfield and a highway that connects Johannesburg and the
port city of Durban.
This is where Mthiyane and her extended family live on a small
piece of land dotted with brick buildings and a rondavel, a
traditional round building with a conical roof, where they
family still cooks on an open fire.
Mthiyane, who is a grandmother to 18 and great-grandmother to
14, comes from Zululand, a district that stretches inland to the
heart of the province and the kingdom of Zulu monarch Goodwill
Zwelithini.
Group exercise classes and a small plastic lunch box containing
several prepaid cellular phone coupons, are ways that Mthiyane
uses to stay in touch with friends and family.
David, one of her six children, lives with her and their
extended family.
The family is typical of many South Africans, for whom the end
of apartheid in 1994 has brought only modest economic gains.
Like many, their lives are enriched by modern and traditional
cultures.
Central to family life is Christianity and David, 61, leads a
church on Saturdays in a small school classroom. A rusted table
covered in a lace cloth serves as an alter.
Together with his son Sibusiso, which means blessing in Zulu,
they preach in white garments and carrying a wooden staff at the
Apostolic Orthodox Church.
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David's family straddles Zulu traditions and Christianity. He said
that, while Zulu traditions are often aligned to his Christian
faith, it is faith that decides how they live.
"Our father was a Christian person, now we not using our culture
because you can't mix it together," said David.
Sibusiso, who is an elder in his church, is also studying teaching
at the University of KwaZulu Natal. The Zulu, an ethnic group of
Southern Africa, originate from KwaZulu-Natal.
The 27-year-old, who speaks modern isiZulu, said he often has to ask
his father to translate the traditional isiZulu that his grandmother
speaks.
Education is important to Sibusiso's grandmother who herself never
had formal schooling.
In a country where more than 27 percent of the population is
unemployed and much of the economy is still in the hands of the
white-minority as it was under apartheid, education offers a chance
at a better life for many young black South Africans.
Mthiyane said it would make her happy to see her grandchildren
educated.
For a related photo essay, see: http://reut.rs/2zq5b6e
(Writing by Tanisha Heiberg; Editing by Matthew Mpoke Bigg)
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