Previous Challenge Entry (Level 4 – Masters)
Topic: FEATHER (08/20/20)
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TITLE: Izimpaphe | Previous Challenge Entry
By Corinne Smelker
08/27/20 -
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My mother placed her finger against my lips. “Hush my daughter. This is something I did, your grandmother did, her mother did, and her mother before her...”
I turned away, “But Umama, it is 2020! I have a degree from Stellenbosch University. Siyanda is working as an engineer. We know we want to spend the rest of our lives together, what place does this ancient tradition have in today’s world?”
“Ah, Inyoni, I understand. I said the same thing to my mother. But it honours our tribe and our people. And I think that means more today than it ever has.” She gently took my shoulders and turned me around so we could look at each other. “Your father and brothers have worked hard on this, and it is honouring to them too.” She knew she had me there. I was the only daughter, and my father’s little bird, hence the name ‘Inyoni’. My mother knew I would do anything for him.
I sighed but couldn’t stop a smile from forming, “OK, Umama, you win.”
“I always do,” she laughed.
“So. What do I need to do?”
“All right…” she began.
Three days later I stood in my parents’ bedroom trying to ignore the tumultuous goings-on around me. My best friend, Thandi, finished fiddling with the ornate headpiece perched on my hair. “Inyoni, what do you think?”
I turned around and gasped. My fitted golden-coloured wedding dress was everything I had dreamt of, and my sapphire-blue crowned ceremonial headpiece made me look regal. “That isn’t me,” I sniggered. “Siyanda won’t recognize me! He only ever sees me in jeans, t-shirts and my Nikes.”
“Yes, but it will be a good surprise for him. Now, are you ready for the final piece of your ensemble.” She held my stare in the mirror and hugged me from behind. “Come on, you know it is more superstition than anything. If it breaks, what will your parents do? Cancel the wedding?”
And there it was – my fear. The fear that a -several-thousand-year-old tradition could actually stop my marriage to my soul mate. On a rational level I knew it was just a tradition – no different from my white friends wearing something new, something old and something blue, but I was still unsure. I timorously nodded, “All right. Let’s get it over with.”
Thandi reached over and picked up a delicate ring of intertwined vivid lilac, azure, yellow and emerald feathers, finely crafted by my father and brothers. There was a break in the circle that was wide enough for two people. She placed it around my waist, and I held onto it with one hand. When I met Siyanda at the altar, we had to stand together, and our parents would bind the ring around us. If the ring remained intact after our parents bound it together, the ceremony could continue. If it broke, technically the wedding was off. I knew my father had worked hard on ensuring the ring was both delicate and strong, but a small part of me was still worried.
“Come, it is time.”
My father met me in our back garden garden, transformed into a magical oasis for this special day. His eyes lit up, “My little bird, my Inyoni, you are radiant.”
I grasped his arm and we made our way past our friends and family to the altar. Now to the moment of truth. Our parents surrounded us, my mother gently took the ring and handed it to Siyanda’s mother, and together they twined the circle of feathers around us, drawing us close. I barely breathed as all four of them let go of the feathered ring and moved back a pace or so. Please hold. Please. Please. Please.
After what felt like hours, but I am assured was only 10 seconds, our parents clapped their hands and our mothers began to ululate (a form of celebratory chanting). Siyanda and I clasped hands and beamed at each other. The wedding was on and our lives together could begin.
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The Lilac-Breasted Roller is a bird found in the southern half of Africa. They mate for life, and as a result they feature widely in many African marriage cultures, including the Zulus and Xhosas. When the Dutch came to South Africa, they adopted these traditions, and the Roller is known as the ‘Wedding Band’ bird in Afrikaans – die Troupand.
Umama - Mother/Mom
Inyoni – Bird in Zulu
Izimpaphe - Feather in Zulu
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Thank for sharing this well written and informative piece.
Blessings~
Blessings~