The streets of Gugulethu were alive with music, dance, whistles and ululation as more than 500 young women, in Xhosa tradition, celebrated their emergence and eligibility, without parading ready availability particularly to members of the opposite sex.
Organised by Ludonga Foundation, a Gugulethu-based non-profit working with girls, the two-day event, held at JL Zwane Centre in Saturday 29 and Sunday 30 August, stressed the importance of grooming girls to be better people and to instil discipline in them.
Founder Khanyisa Mthini described Ludonga as a safe space for young women to socialise and share their challenges and experiences.
She started it in 2019 to educate girls about their culture, which includes encouraging chastity until marriage.
The foundation has branches in various communities, including Langa, Mfuleni, Nyanga East, Saldanha, Ceres, Paarl and Strand. In Gugulethu it has more than 30 girls on board.
Mthini said Ludonga hosts similar events in communities in Cape Town and beyond, where Xhosa culture has a direct bearing where young girls walk the streets dressed in traditional attire to showcase their cultural orientation as young women and the values they showcase, particularly when applied to young women and girls.
Making history in Gugulethu
“We are making history by establishing such a foundation in Gugulethu,” Mthini said. “I am grateful to Gugulethu parents for allowing their children to join the foundation. We will conduct monthly checks just to see whether they still embody the fundamental values of Xhosa culture.”
She said the event also aimed to promote the value of organisations such as ours, which promote the value of Xhosa traditions and culture, particularly in urban township communities and to recruit many more young women.
Mthini encouraged parents to enrol their daughters in the programme. She stressed it helps to eliminate the scourge of teenage pregnancy and sexually transmitted illnesses (STIs). She said, as part of instilling discipline, Ludonga also educates the girls about risks associated with certain behaviours.
“We are six examiners. Each child joins voluntarily. When the child comes to join she does so accompanied by her mother or a guardian, starting from age 8.”
Mthini described Ludonga’s work as a calling, one it had never crossed her mind she would one day be pursuing. She said it all began when she was asked by one of the girls in Langa to look after her.
From Langa to a movement
“The whole thing started in 2019 in Langa. I was invited to a Icamagu Heritage and Cultural Event at Guga Sthebe to speak. Afterwards girls came up to me to take pictures with me. A week later one of them came to my house in Langa and asked me to be her guardian. She said she wanted me to examine her, which I also agreed to.”
According to Mthini the girl came back later with 19 friends, all with a similar request.
She told City Vision virginity testing was more widespread in the Eastern Cape, an activity she initially had no idea how to conduct. She at first sat down with parents to inform them about the massive job their children wanted her to do, and they agreed to it. Mthini had to do research, read books and ask relevant people.
She said to consolidate the cultural aspects the foundation encouraged young girls to refrain from diets such as fries, fatty foods, milkshakes and bubble gum.
One young woman, Sibahle Mtati (20), a member of the foundation, said she had joined the group last year, describing the experience as helpful and educational.
“I like the fact that we are encouraged to stay pure. We are also educated on how to carry ourselves.”
To know more about the Ludonga Foundation and its aims and objectives, and to interest your daughter in joining contact Mthini on 078 164 1283.
