Home Coming

This past weekend I went home to East London to visit my family.  Well, I saw them but the reason I went was to go and give thanks to my ancestors for watching my back in this bitch life and this bitch city.  That involved brewing traditional beer and slaughtering a sheep (I will spare you the gory images), washing with some traditional ritual plants and all sorts of interesting things.  But this post is not about that.  

Every time I go home since I've lived in Joburg, I always go through old family pictures - I live for the nostalgia in photographs and so I want to share some of them with you.  It started with me looking through my mother's old pics.  She used to be so beautiful (well not that she's not now) like all people in the 70s.  It was a life of Clogs, Sunglasses or Dimmers or iiDimaas as old Xhosa people call them and wide leg bottoms.  Although life in this country at the time wasn't ideal for black people, these pictures made me forget that the times were tough - they looked like they were having such a jol. 

My Mother

My mom at The Holiday Inn in Durban circa sometime in the 70s. Which holiday that allowed black people in is beyond me.  Maybe they did.

Tshisa Sana

I remember this two piece so well, it felt like a carpet but it looked really good on - very Chanel. 

This is of her on the beach in Durban wearing wide leg jeans, I love that I have the same pair of jeans and shoes today - not exactly the same but wedges, clogs and wide legs are back. 

This is my aunt in the day. Loooove the jacket. 

My Father 

I won't bore you with pictures of him because in all of them he is either graduating or eating.  But here's one taken at his first graduation from Fort Hare University in 1963.

My Siblings and I

My older sister Vuyo, my younger sister Singa, me and my cousin Mlalase in 1993. I was still 8 at the time and this was taken in our new ''suburban'' house.

My youngest sister Qhayiya. She was five at the time, she is now 14. 

The ''Pupil Council'' is a a way too intense name to describe 13 year old prefects.

Singa and I in 1997

Me in 1993, I used to hate this pic because I used to think I was ugly because I was so dark skinned.  Thank god I grew up. Black is bloody beautiful. 

The following year in 1994.  

Vuyo is in the middle in the satin one shoulder Mother Christmas dress at a beauty contest (remember those) in like 1991. When I was old enough (was I even?) to enter beauty contests, I wore the same dress....

.....and came second. My face.  Clearly I didn't like to lose. Ever. All I wanted to do that day was to rip the  plastic guitar I got as a present (it's in that brown wrapping) apart and strangle myself with the strings. 

The day I graduated from pre-school in 1990. All I wanted was to get out of that wedding dress. 

Qhayiya when she was three. I die at those little hands. 

This is what we all look like now.