Growing up

I have a very good relationship with my nieces and nephews. In fact some of them confide in me like they would to a friend. Some of their discussions with me triggered these childhood memories:

1.       Interesting names

Some of my friends had interesting names like: Jumaimama; Nontlupheko; Bennedicta; Nomakhephu; Lord; Psychology (I swear); Agriculture

2.       Chiskop hairdo

Our parents did not have time to play. Chiskop was the way to go in terms of hair grooming, even for a girl.

3.       UMaMhlongo

Remember those panties that came in maroon or green. They were tough as hell! They usually came with your school uniform. They had an obvious lack of sexiness

4.       Crush

If you had a crush on a boy, you would have to keep this a secret to die with or else you will be famous for ‘liking boys’

5.       Ukujola

I remember in primary school, there was a ritual of naming and shaming abajolayo. If you had a boyfriend, your name would be included in a list of those who will be named and shamed during assembly. Your names would be called and you would be required to explain in front of the whole school ukuthi why wena UJOLA!

6.       Number 1, 2, 3

Merit positions were a competitive affair. Every June and December, we would wait to see who names would be called at assembly ....I believe nowadays this is called valedictory. If you let slip and lose your top 3 position, your fellow pupils had a way of making you feel like a loser!

7.       Menstrual periods

It was considered such a shame to start your periods early (i.e. before 15)....as if it’s in your control. There was a general belief that if you start early, it means uyajola!

8.       Pet names

Everyone had a pet name. Mine was Mabatha/ Quarter to 3

9.       Ukugwara

You had to be good ekugwareni or risk becoming everyone’s playground. Ukugwara was considered a skill, there were well known champions zokugwara. For example, your friend would say, “Your family can’t afford margarine, so you use Vaseline to butter your bread”.

10.   Cruel games

We had games there were somewhat cruel. For example: “Let’s play andazi”. Then you spend the whole day staying on the alert. To every question you would have to respond with “andazi”. Responding otherwise would earn you a good tshisampama (hot klap).

11.   Umgosi

We were up to date with lokshin mgosi. We knew that your big sister ujola no Bra Jazz who is well known for being i “O” kaSis Joice!

Pity I’m tired....there is so much I remember, but I need to go now.