Today would have been Gogo Sangweni’s 84th birthday. She was a strong, healthy woman and a good farmer who provided her family with fresh vegetables until the Sangweni family lost their large farm in Emachibini area, near Mtubatuba, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. The Sangweni family refused to be relocated by Tendele coal mine until they received adequate compensation for not only their homestead, but for their extensive land and their loss of livelihood. This insistence on receiving a fair settlement is supported by the law.
Despite it being illegal for a mine to operate within 500 metres of a homestead, Tendele mine’s response was not to negotiate a fair deal, but to fence the Sangweni homestead inside the mining area. This meant the Sangweni’s live a mere 100 metres from where trucks operate 24/7 and black dust is everywhere. No sooner has a surface been wiped clean than it is covered in coal dust again. It was inevitable that Gogo Sangweni would succumb to lung cancer under these untenable conditions.
It was with great sadness that Ntokozo Ndlela received the news of the passing of Gogo Sangweni on 24 August 2023. Ntokozo was the 2022 RAITH intern under the mentorship of the Global Environmental Trust (GET). She headed the research with elders from Somkhele and neighbouring villages who are members of MCEJO to document their knowledge before it was lost to current and future generations. This is her tribute to Gogo Sangweni:
I met Gogo Sangweni on 12 November 2022 at her still beautiful home engulfed by Tendele coal mine. The meeting with this firm, softly spoken, peaceful woman was memorable. She was the last elder we interviewed for the research. Usually, soft spoken people are not particularly talkative and do not have much to say but with Gogo Sangweni it was a lovely surprise to discover her willingness to share stories from the past and how it used to be. The wisdom she shared confirmed the importance of speaking with and learning from our knowledgeable elders. The research project taught me a lot about my Zulu culture that I did not know, despite growing up in a rural village near Inanda dam.
Gogo Sangweni shared how they never bought seeds but used seeds they had saved and stored from the previous season. They never used money but traded or shared what they had. Nowadays many smallholder farmers are returning to these traditional ways of farming and are reviving traditional seeds and traditional farming practices without chemical inputs.
Gogo Sangweni also explained that men sat on goat or sheep skins and not on the grass mats (amacansi) that the women sat on. When a person died, the burial would be held the following day. If the head of the household passed on, a bull would be slaughtered, and its skin used to wrap the body of the deceased to show respect and to honour the person.
Even more compelling and memorable than the information about Zulu culture and how self-sufficient and healthy people used to be when they lived traditionally, are the life lessons that Gogo Sangweni has instilled in me. She emphasized the importance of family and protecting your family by all means. Gogo Sangweni loved and adored her family. You could tell by the bright sparkle in her eyes when she talked about them. Her face literally lit up. She also valued unity and sharing what you have in the true spirit of Ubuntu. She maintained a positive attitude throughout her life and despite the negative impact of the mining operations on the family’s health, their houses and property, she hoped that all would be well again in the future. Finally, she stressed the importance of having the ability to comprehend what is said to you. It is not enough to listen the way most people tend to do without understanding what they are hearing. It is the ability to comprehend that brings the learnings that enrich one’s life.
As we were leaving Gogo’s home after the interview, we admired a lovely flowering pot plant on the verandah wall. Without a moment’s hesitation she went back into the house to get a small trowel and some newspaper to wrap the slips of the plant in. Such a beautiful gift to remember her by.
Hope you are resting well Gogo Sangweni. May your wishes that were not fulfilled here on earth before you died, be fulfilled in your afterlife through your family. Ube idlozi elihle ekhaya. Be a good ancestor to your family.
