Women in South Africa and Trevor Noah.
December 17th 2019
Here at the Backpackers
in Port Elizabeth where we spend a few days waiting for an iPhone repair appointment, we get to experience Xhosa women up close and personal.
They are very loud, often more squeaky and high pitched in their expressions.They have a “click” with their tongue and other different sounds in their tribal language that are hard to copy - not even sure how they are produced exactly. These women are voluptuous, confident, big, dark and beautiful. They wear clothing that are also loud in color and underline their size every bend and fold on the way.
Here in the hostel they let loose without a care in the world. Not a man in site they appear to be fulfilled, feeding on their own company as women only. I am impressed, stunned, overwhelmed by the energy they put out and I struggle between jaw dropping stares of amazement und running for the door.
As I am currently reading a book from Trevor Noah “Born a crime” (which I highly recommend if you want to get a glimpse into South African history from the inside), I am learning to understand A LITTLE about these women:
When Trevor Noah (South African comedian, writer, producer, political commentator, actor, and television host. He is the current host of The Daily Show, an American satirical news program on Comedy Central.) was a child growing up in a township called Soweto - excerpt from his book: “Fathers were off working in a mine somewhere, able to come home only during holidays. Their fathers had been sent to prison. Their fathers were in exile, fighting for the cause. Women held the community together”
Another interesting excerpt to keep you wanting to know more about his book: “The triumph of democracy over apartheid is sometimes called “the bloodless revolution”. It is called that because very little white blood was spilled. Black blood ran in the streets.
As the apartheid regime fell, we knew that the black man was now going to rule. The question was, which black man? Spates of violence broke out between the Inkatha Freedom Part and the ANC, the African Notional Congress, as they jockeyed for power. The political dynamic between these two groups was very complicated, but the simplest way to understand it is as a proxy war between Zulu and Xhosa. The Inkatha was predominantly Zulu, very militant and very nationalistic. The ANC encompassed many different tribes, but its leaders at the time were primarily Xhosa. Instead of uniting for peace they turned on one another, committing acts of unbelievable savagery. Massive riots broke out. In the evenings my mom and I would turn on our little black and white TV and watch the news. A hundred people killed. Ultimately, thousands of people died.”
These tribal or gang wars now are still going on.
Anyhow, I got side tracked, but I wanted to share my experience with these women and even though we laugh and joke and dance together, I have never felt so white in my life!
Look: https://gopro.com/v/eQK5vpEQER9yN
Here at the Backpackers
in Port Elizabeth where we spend a few days waiting for an iPhone repair appointment, we get to experience Xhosa women up close and personal.
They are very loud, often more squeaky and high pitched in their expressions.They have a “click” with their tongue and other different sounds in their tribal language that are hard to copy - not even sure how they are produced exactly. These women are voluptuous, confident, big, dark and beautiful. They wear clothing that are also loud in color and underline their size every bend and fold on the way.
Here in the hostel they let loose without a care in the world. Not a man in site they appear to be fulfilled, feeding on their own company as women only. I am impressed, stunned, overwhelmed by the energy they put out and I struggle between jaw dropping stares of amazement und running for the door.
As I am currently reading a book from Trevor Noah “Born a crime” (which I highly recommend if you want to get a glimpse into South African history from the inside), I am learning to understand A LITTLE about these women:
When Trevor Noah (South African comedian, writer, producer, political commentator, actor, and television host. He is the current host of The Daily Show, an American satirical news program on Comedy Central.) was a child growing up in a township called Soweto - excerpt from his book: “Fathers were off working in a mine somewhere, able to come home only during holidays. Their fathers had been sent to prison. Their fathers were in exile, fighting for the cause. Women held the community together”
Another interesting excerpt to keep you wanting to know more about his book: “The triumph of democracy over apartheid is sometimes called “the bloodless revolution”. It is called that because very little white blood was spilled. Black blood ran in the streets.
As the apartheid regime fell, we knew that the black man was now going to rule. The question was, which black man? Spates of violence broke out between the Inkatha Freedom Part and the ANC, the African Notional Congress, as they jockeyed for power. The political dynamic between these two groups was very complicated, but the simplest way to understand it is as a proxy war between Zulu and Xhosa. The Inkatha was predominantly Zulu, very militant and very nationalistic. The ANC encompassed many different tribes, but its leaders at the time were primarily Xhosa. Instead of uniting for peace they turned on one another, committing acts of unbelievable savagery. Massive riots broke out. In the evenings my mom and I would turn on our little black and white TV and watch the news. A hundred people killed. Ultimately, thousands of people died.”
These tribal or gang wars now are still going on.
Anyhow, I got side tracked, but I wanted to share my experience with these women and even though we laugh and joke and dance together, I have never felt so white in my life!
Look: https://gopro.com/v/eQK5vpEQER9yN
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