Hlubi men share their love for their culture

With a vast variety of cultures in South Africa, Heritage Day is the perfect opportunity for South Africans to share their customs and love for their culture.

Khotso Modise and Lonwabo Lamla shared their appreciation for their Hlubi culture with the Randfontein Herald.

Lonwabo explained it is a combination of Lesotho and Xhosa cultures, although there is a combination of other cultures which also form part of the Hlubi culture and they are unsure of how many cultures form part of the combination. They do however know their culture has a ‘rich history’.

Khotso explained his culture means everything to him and where it all started for him. Their rituals are also an important aspect of their culture.

Lonwabo added one of their rituals is for children to be introduced to their ancestors to guide and protect them, this is called Imbeleko. Boys aged 16 and older also go to the mountains where they are taught how to be a man, how to protect their families and how to survive as a man. They are also taught to respect women, young and old, how to be a married man and take care of their wives.

“I am proudest of going to the mountain where we learn to survive and how to treat women. I am also proud of our food and song,” he noted.

They also carry sticks with them, which they explained is for playing together.

“There is no culture like ours. We want people to recognise and realise that we come from different cultures, yet we form one culture,” Khotso said.