'SUKRAMELA KWEDINI!' (By: Olwam Mnqwazi)
- Olwam Mnqwazi
- Apr 18, 2022
- 7 min read
Updated: Nov 1, 2022
My History and Afrikaans teacher, who also happened to be my rugby coach was Mr Swangaza back when I was doing grades six and seven. He was a short, energetic and loud man whom you would never miss in a room or at the side-lines of the rugby field. He was a very present figure and would never shy away from shouting his instructions to you as you are busy trying to navigate the tough rugby opponent in front of you. Playing rugby was the best time of my youth. I did practise karate, but rugby gave me a great experience that I still relate to even in my 30s. We were in Ndzondelelo Higher Primary School which offered standards three to five (grade 5 to seven), before you went to high school. This meant that we were in school with mainly 11- to 12-year-olds for a good three years. The best transition ever. It was a good space to build self-esteem and spend time with those of the same age group before being launched into high school. In this level of schooling, I met some of my best friends at the time like Lazola and Mthuthuzeli who were far much brighter characters than I was. I benefited a lot from their boldness and daring attitudes. I knew that I did not have this boldness in me, but the two friends and my cousin brother, Masixole, provided me with sufficient camouflage and training ground for me. These were the guys who could sing at the top of their voices and would not worry about onlookers. They also knew they could sing well, and I had to find my tune between their loud voices. At family funerals, Lazola and Masixole would quickly rehearse a duet outside and render it to a standing ovation to the dismay of the strict elders who felt there should be no handclapping while mourning the dead. They were confident to talk about the girls they liked, dance in public and Masixole got into more trouble that I could desire even as a kid. I do not remember making many decisions that got us in trouble, but I remember being a reluctant follower knowing very well that we are all breaking the rules for the sake of having a short-lived adventure. These bad decisions included going swim in Buffalo River, Zwelitsha Swimming Pool or Da Gama dam (kwaTshatshu). None of us could swim very well but we swam isigagamfu just to keep afloat and moving in the water causing a big splash all along the way.
