WATCH | Criselda Kananda shares the wisdom of Zindzi Mandela

25 July 2020 - 15:55
By nonhlanhla msibi AND Nonhlanhla Msibi
Media personality Criselda Kananda has urged people not to lose touch with their roots.
Image: Via Instagram Media personality Criselda Kananda has urged people not to lose touch with their roots.

Media personality Criselda Kananda has paid tribute to former ambassador to Denmark, Zindziswa “Zindzi” Mandela.

Zindzi died earlier month in a Johannesburg hospital, leading to an outpouring of tributes on social media.

Adding her tribute to the politician, Criselda shared a video of Zindzi speaking to Felicia Mabuza-Suttle on The Felicia Show about the importance of knowing where we come from and where we are going.

"You will not know where you are going to if you don’t know where you are coming from. South Africa needs to have a culture of tolerance, for us to be able to survive as a community. We need to be able to respect other people’s culture and other people's beliefs," said Zindzi.

"Especially since there is now scientific evidence that says that we are the original people on earth. I think we need to respect and research whatever answers we may have for our own survival in our culture."

She spoke highly of the traditional healer and author Baba Credo Mutwa, saying that he is her spiritual father.

“I feel blessed and honoured to be associated with somebody like him. He is like a typical example of the saying that when an old person dies, a thousand libraries burn down and he embodies that”.

In her post, Criselda wrote: Nizilibele Ba Nizalwa Ngobeni Na? (Have you forgotten who birthed you?)

She added that knowing and remembering where we come from will help us navigate where we are going unapologetically with conviction, and that knowledge kept our forefathers grounded and incredibly wise.

“I just worry about our children. I don’t know if they are equipped or are they even interested in our indigenous wisdom. Strangers referred to our ways as dark, quackery and barbaric and we believed them and helped spread the lies."