SPRING, glorious spring season is here!
It’s time to rejoice, dance and shake out all the winter cobwebs.
It’s a period to receive the promise of a new season filled with new displays of nature, from blooming flowers to whistling birds.
Growing up as a young boy in the rural heart of Zululand where there was no running water or electricity and people herded cows for a living, the beginning of spring was a magical and exciting period.
It was a special time, the introduction of different foods as well as a variety of community functions – from music, dance and everything in-between.
I still remember my grandmother’s morning call the day before the official start of spring, as she checked if all our new ‘church clothes’ were ironed and hung and that our shoes were polished and spotless.
There was nothing she loved more than showing off her smartly dressed grandchildren to her friends.
She firmly believed she had the greatest grandchildren, better than those of any other gogo in the area, and she wasn’t shy about telling them so.
The spring season kick-started all kinds of community activities and we treated each other like one big family, visiting each other’s houses, enjoying biscuits until we had stomach cramps – not to mention those ice blocks which turned our tongues red. .
After every festivity we only had two important tasks – to fold and pack our church clothes neatly inside gogo’s old kist and lock up the family’s goats.
It was a simple but glorious period, and nothing was better.
Now, years later, my heart weeps when I realise how things have changed and how this jolly season has become a show-off time for many young people.
They consume alcohol like there is no tomorrow and sometimes, sadly, there is not.
Liquor shops double or triple their profits during this time.
The youth go through so much trouble just to exhibit a lavish lifestyle they can’t afford – from extravagant pool parties to costly outings.
These days what used to be a period of joy, has turned into reports of shocking murder cases and rape incidents.
As we begin the spring season, I long for those old days and call on all Zululanders to find their way back to that magical time – simple, yet fulfilling.
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