Food‚ language and tradition of diverse cultures are the essence of the heritage of children born from multiracial families.
Mark Andrew Sunners‚ a hip hop producer‚ was born in Liverpool in England from a white English father and Xhosa mother from Grahamstown. He was raised in Gaborone in Botswana.
He describes himself as “a bit of a cultural cocktail”.
“I follow both sides. When my mother was still alive I would go to umgidi [traditional celebration of a rite of passage] and imisebenzi [traditional ceremonies] with her as often as she asked. I do from time to time now‚ but definitely not as often.
As a “multicultural” Sunners says he celebrates “typical Western holidays”‚ “but I don’t celebrate a lot of my Xhosa practices as much as I did growing up”.
“I don’t feel I belong to just one culture because I don’t. I belong to both. It is difficult to celebrate Heritage Day purely from a Xhosa or from an English perspective.
“I celebrate Heritage Day with those who mean the most to me‚ family and friends alike. We are all South African‚” says Sunners.
Born from a Xhosa father and English South African mother‚ Cayla Zukiswa Jack‚ 20‚ a University of Cape Town student‚ says a mixed race woman she prefers being in a “diverse” atmosphere.
“That is where I feel comfortable.”
While Jack says her family is not a very traditional one‚ they do observe certain rituals such as umgidi.
“My mother is not as traditional as most white families are. We celebrate Christmas but it is not a big thing to us a family‚” says Jack.
“The way I celebrate my heritage throughout my life and not just on Heritage Day is through food‚ family gatherings and storytelling.”
Jabulile Ngwenya is the daughter of a white Canadian mother and a black Swazi-South African father. For her: “Food and storytelling brings people and families together in a beautiful‚ dynamic way.”
She was born in Canada‚ moved to Swaziland‚ where her father is from and eventually moved to South Africa‚ where she spent her adult life.
Ngwenya feels she cannot celebrate one culture over the other.
“To do so would be to deny who I am. I embrace my heritage‚ taking the good from both sides for at the end of the day; I am a child of God who has been blessed with a rich heritage that steers me into the future‚ and one which I will bless my children with.”
She says that as a mixed race woman‚ “I am cognisant that there is so much more to people than what you see on the outside.
“Getting to know someone for who they truly are‚ and not just what they look like on the outside alone is a joy.”
– TMG Digital
Mixed race children celebrate their ‘cultural cocktail’ heritage
Food‚ language and tradition of diverse cultures are the essence of the heritage of children born from multiracial families.
Mark Andrew Sunners‚ a hip hop producer‚ was born in Liverpool in England from a white English father and Xhosa mother from Grahamstown. He was raised in Gaborone in Botswana.
He describes himself as “a bit of a cultural cocktail”.
“I follow both sides. When my mother was still alive I would go to umgidi [traditional celebration of a rite of passage] and imisebenzi [traditional ceremonies] with her as often as she asked. I do from time to time now‚ but definitely not as often.
As a “multicultural” Sunners says he celebrates “typical Western holidays”‚ “but I don’t celebrate a lot of my Xhosa practices as much as I did growing up”.
“I don’t feel I belong to just one culture because I don’t. I belong to both. It is difficult to celebrate Heritage Day purely from a Xhosa or from an English perspective.
“I celebrate Heritage Day with those who mean the most to me‚ family and friends alike. We are all South African‚” says Sunners.
Born from a Xhosa father and English South African mother‚ Cayla Zukiswa Jack‚ 20‚ a University of Cape Town student‚ says a mixed race woman she prefers being in a “diverse” atmosphere.
“That is where I feel comfortable.”
While Jack says her family is not a very traditional one‚ they do observe certain rituals such as umgidi.
“My mother is not as traditional as most white families are. We celebrate Christmas but it is not a big thing to us a family‚” says Jack.
“The way I celebrate my heritage throughout my life and not just on Heritage Day is through food‚ family gatherings and storytelling.”
Jabulile Ngwenya is the daughter of a white Canadian mother and a black Swazi-South African father. For her: “Food and storytelling brings people and families together in a beautiful‚ dynamic way.”
She was born in Canada‚ moved to Swaziland‚ where her father is from and eventually moved to South Africa‚ where she spent her adult life.
Ngwenya feels she cannot celebrate one culture over the other.
“To do so would be to deny who I am. I embrace my heritage‚ taking the good from both sides for at the end of the day; I am a child of God who has been blessed with a rich heritage that steers me into the future‚ and one which I will bless my children with.”
She says that as a mixed race woman‚ “I am cognisant that there is so much more to people than what you see on the outside.
“Getting to know someone for who they truly are‚ and not just what they look like on the outside alone is a joy.”
– TMG Digital
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