THANDI
On the day of the party we wake up very early, It's hard to convince Gundo to get up but after a bit of persuasion he finally gives in and we take a quick shower then join the others
Gwen is also up early, something I suspect is her mother's doing. She can fight everyone off but knows not to push her mother's limits which is kind of cute and funny to watch
When we are outside Gundo and I quickly split and I joining the cooking ladies. I left the Eastern Cape when I was nineteen and haven't really been in the rurals for the longest time but my home training stuck with me so I help with the cooking on the fire
The atmosphere there screams celebration and it's clear to see just how people are excited about this day. Even the lady of the day. I got to meet her last night and she had me sit with her on her grass made mat and she told me stories about Gundo as a young boy, some of them left him embarrassed while some had him laughing as they reminisced on how naughty he used to be
It made me realise just how big of a deal this is for the Netshia family, it's a time for them to come together to celebrate the life of a great woman. The woman who raised him and has been the driving force for him to be the man he is, The protector of his family
By thr time the sun rises we have most of the cooking already done and I swap roles to go help make tea for breakfast. It's a norm to drink tea in groups when there's ceremonies like this. The cooking group will have their own station, as will the group peeling veggies, the men making sure the tents and chairs are up, Each group is served as is and one can see that these groups allow bonding between family members to take place
"I thought you'd never join me" Gwen says when I help her carry the steel kettles to where they are supposed to go
"You were running from the three legged pots" I remind her
"I refuse to subject myself to such torture. Nobody listened to me when I said call the catering people"
"You know how things are done in placea like this, everyone believes working together on groups helps families bond"
"Y'all can go ahead and bond all you like over the torture of carrying heavey pots. I just couldn't" she says
We quickly make bring out the kettles and make sure theres enough bread and scones for everyone and it takes a while to make sure everyone is eating, just as I'm about to make my way back to the house I'm stopped by a little boy who softly taps my arm from behind
"Aunty, Uncle over there is asking for coffee instead of tea" he says and I turn to look at this uncle he's talking about and of course, it's Gundo
"Go tell him it's coming right up" I say and the boy runs off while I go to make coffee for Gundo
I serve him the coffee with a couple of eyes starring at us, something that makes me very shy so I don't wait for him to say anything else, instead I just turn to walk away
We then bath and get in our best outfits for the day, the deco is up and everything looks amazing with a touch of the cultural cloth used for decorations
We all rise for the lady of the moment to walk in accompanied by her children and they all sit with her as the speeches start. The MC makes sure everyone sticks to their time so we still have enough time for celebrating after eating
When it's almost time for lunch a group of us excuse oursdto go help with serving and just my luck, I find myself standing next to Aluwani, I've never disliked a stranger the way I dislike this girl but in my defense, she has pure talent for working on my nerves and I'm just reacting accordingly
