Traditional Xhosa Work

One of the coolest parts of living in another culture so different from the United States is getting to learn about and participate in different traditions.  Here in the land of the Xhosa people I’ve had the opportunity several times to attend traditional events and it’s always a great time!  The first weekend this November was a big deal for my host sister Phakama’s family as they held the biggest kind of “traditional work” you can have – slaughtering a cow. 

The people where I stay refer to their traditional ceremonies that are centered on giving gifts to their ancestors as “traditional work”.  There are many kinds of ceremonies that a family can do.  While each one can have a different specific purpose, the general reason for having traditional work is to please the ancestors, which in turn should result in good luck for the family.  The most common traditional works are either the brewing of traditional beer (called umqomboti pronounced: um-com-boat-ee), or the slaughtering of a goat or cow.  A cow is the biggest deal because it is the most expensive (around 1,000 dollars which here is a BIG deal!).

 

In the case of Phakama’s family, she herself had purchased the cow, but the weekend long event would take place at another family member’s house.  The preparations for the event took the entire week.  A particular Aunt had to come into town and sleep at the house where the event was taking place because she was responsible for brewing the umqomboti which takes a full week to make.  Phakama spent a lot of time at the house cooking for her other family members that had come into town to help with the other preparations like setting up the family’s yard.  In the front yards of Xhosa families you will find a wooden post with animal horns attached to it.  This is the place where the offerings to the ancestors are given.  When a traditional event is going to take place a fence is put up around this area, and the branches of a particular tree are added to the fence, almost like a screen. 

These and other preparations take some time, and by Friday close family members have begun to arrive for the big day which is always on a Saturday.  On Friday night the cow arrived, and on Saturday at noon the ceremony began.  A male member of Phakama’s family conducted the ceremony (it is always a man) with the family sitting around the inside of the fence in a semi circle.  The Tata (a respectful way to refer to an older male) gave an impassioned speech to the family and the ancestors.  When it came time to slaughter the cow, other male relatives joined in helping to tie the cow down.  Things were very tense for several minutes because the cow would not moo. 

In Xhosa tradition if the animal to be slaughtered doesn’t “cry”, as they call it, right before it is slaughtered there is a very serious problem in the family.  It is a very bad omen, and extremely bad luck if the animal won’t cry.  Our cow was not crying and the family was starting to get upset.  At last it did and everyone jumped up and was crying with happiness and relief.  I even felt a huge sense of relief, and was really happy for Phakama that everything turned out okay. 

After the cow was skinned and cut up, they began to cook it.  At this point lots of family members and people from the community start to show up waiting to eat the meat.  No formal invitations are given out for these events but throughout the weekend many people from the community will stop by to partake in the festivities.  Anyone and everyone is welcome to come to one of these events, and no one gets turned away.  The meat gets cooked in very specific ways during these events.  It can only be cooked with water and salt in huge iron pots over fires or over the coals directly.  At the front of the house the men cook, and at the back of the house women are also cooking over a different fire.  As the meat becomes available it is distributed to the family and the people who have come to be part of the celebrations.  It must be served on a specific kind of branch with leaves.  This was the third cow slaughtering I had been to and the only one where I actually saw the cow being slaughtered.  I did eat a little piece of meat, but I am very picky about what meat I eat anyway.  My friend Noxolo came with me to the event and we were given a plate full of all liver pieces.  I let Noxolo who is a self-described meat lover eat the whole thing.  The only down side is you can’t request a fillet at these events! ; ) 

A common thing taking place in my community (and undoubtedly around the world) is the blending of Western culture with traditional ceremonies and rituals.  Alcohol plays a large part in these events and in addition to supplying the food, the family is responsible for supplying people with drinks.  In the old days the only alcohol consumed would have been the umqomboti, now days because of people’s preferences there are all kinds of alcohol served at these events.  Another blending of modern culture and tradition is the clothes you must wear.  For the family – the women will generally be wearing traditional dress.  The levels of how traditional the clothes are vary on the family, but it always involves either a skirt or dress.  For older women who are married they will wrap their head in a scarf.  I’ve noticed the men at these events tend to wear whatever they want (unless the family is very traditional which I’ve only seen once).  The youth take these traditions less seriously and some girls will wrap a towel around their jeans and call it a day. 

Even with the “modernization” of some parts of these ceremonies, the Xhosa tradition and culture remains very strong.  I really enjoy getting to experience these unique parts of South African culture.  It’s a privilege to be able to see how other people in the world live and get to experience first hand what they believe.