On Freedom
Growing up mama used the expression 'ukuza kukaNxele' a lot. I won't attempt to translate it just yet but rather tell the story behind the expression. Mama used these words when she was exasperated by a long overdue promise that had been unfulfilled. Sometimes she used it to goad my sister and I for ukudukisa/promising to do something (usually our chores) but not delivering despite her chiding remarks. Her goading sometimes worked but it also led us to asking her one day ngubani uNxele? Kutheni angade afike? Who is this Nxele and why has he not arrived? Mama explained that Nxele-- whom we later learned was also Makanda kaNxele -- was a prisoner on Robben Island during the 19th century frontier wars of the Cape. He tried to escape imprisonment and died while swimming away from the island. Mama's expression did three things for me as a child: mama was able to teach me something about history, she taught me about the nature of freedom (that others died in pursuit of it) a...
