Matsulu gogo celebrates 100 years

The family and friends of Gogo Ananias Malele celebrated her 100th birthday in style on Saturday. Malele was born on September 23, 1920 at Moholoholo Farm. Old as she is, she still remembers her family history. “My relatives died one by one after they had unknowingly drunken contaminated water back in those days. My two siblings and I survived and we were taken in by my uncle, who raised us in Thabakgolo Village in Bushbuckridge,” she said.

Read: Milton Keynes and Skoda celebrate 115 years. Malele recounted how her husband had left her for job opportunities in Lydenburg and never returned. He got married to a younger wife in Matibidi. “I raised my children single-handedly. I worked on the farms and grew my own vegetables and mealies to feed them. Unfortunately, all my children also died and left me with their own kids,” she said. Malele has 18 grandchildren, 51 great-grandchildren and four great-great grandchildren.

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Asked what her secret to a long life is, Malele giggled, “I don’t know. Maybe it’s because I never remarried after my husband left me. “The respect I have for other people, God and my ancestors has kept me going this far,” she said. Due to her own experience in marriage, she always advised her family never to practise any form of polygamy. She urged them to love and respect their partners. Malele has no special diet, she eats anything served to her. Her favourite meal is fried pork, morogo and pap. Her eldest grandson, Lucky Morele, thanked everyone including the Tsele, Morele, Ngomane and Malele families and the neighbours for making his gogo’s 100th birthday a truly memorable one.