Women of the Clan: Mothers Who Held the Family Together
When the men of Pondoland left for the mines, the women kept the homesteads running. When families moved to Soweto, mothers and gogos stretched every rand, raised every child and kept every custom. This article honours the women of the clan.
Keepers of the homestead
In the migrant labour era, women ploughed fields, cared for livestock, raised children and looked after the elderly, often for most of the year while husbands worked far away.
Makoti: the new bride
A makoti learns the ways of her new home, shows respect (ukuhlonipha) and is welcomed as a daughter, in time becoming a pillar of the clan. Families today can keep the beauty of this custom while making sure makoti are treated fairly.
The Soweto mothers
Women built stokvels and burial societies, ran spaza shops and worked as nurses and domestic workers. On 9 August 1956, about 20,000 women marched to the Union Buildings against pass laws, singing “Wathint’ abafazi, wathint’ imbokodo”. That day is now National Women’s Day.
Gogo: the family archive
Grandmothers carry the family’s memory: who married whom, where ancestors came from, which praises belong to which line.
Honouring them today
- Record their stories while they are with us.
- Share household work so culture is not carried by women alone.
- Celebrate their achievements, not only their sacrifices.
“Her children arise up, and call her blessed” (Proverbs 31:28). To every Khwalo mother, gogo and makoti: enkosi.
Khwalo! Mzangwa! Ncuthu! Mlanjana!
