Portrait of some South African families
Steve Hayes
Compiled by Paul Faber, and edited by Annari van der Merwe and Paul Faber
Published by Kwela, Feb 2003
ISBN: 079570139X
Hard cover
A lavishly illustrated, coffee table book showcasing the lives of nine
South African families over four or five generations, in each case ending
with a teenager.
All the family histories span the twentieth century, but reach further back
into the past in cases where records exist.
Together the family stories present a picture of the amazing complexity and
diversity of South African society and history.
At the same they provide an impression of present-day, post-1994 South
Africa. Some of the featured families - each coming from a different
cultural, economic, social and geographical background - have played a
prominent social and political role, while others have lived their lives
quietly and in obscurity. Each has however produced some remarkable
individuals.
A team of well-known South African photographers, artists and writers
researched and portrayed each family.
The text, each chapter written by a different author or team, was
constructed from interviews with living members of these families and
historical research.
The visual material includes historic photographs as well as new images by
some of South Africa's best-known photographers, specially commissioned for
the book.
Household items, original documents and artworks created for a major
exhibition at the Royal Institute for the Tropics (KIT) in Amsterdam are
also featured.
The families are:
1. The MTHETHWA family:
Zizwezonke Mthethwa is a sangoma whose ancestors includes Dingiswayo, the
Zulu king in the 1800s. He lives in KwaZulu-Natal. In African royalty, he
is of blue-blood stock. He banished his eldest son, Mfamawezulu, from his
household for not becoming a sangoma but some of Mfamawezulu's 15 children
want to be around their grandfather to learn the history of their ancestor.
2. The NUNN family:
The family of John NUNN, 19th-century adviser to King Cetshwayo and later a
controversial chief in his own right and landowner. Cedric NUNN is one of
the book's photographers. [Anne's comment - see John DUNN]
3. The RATHEBE family:
The life of singer Dolly RATHEBE tracks the music and culture of the 1950s,
including forced removals from Sophiatown.
4. The PLAATJIE family:
The PLAATJIE family, beginning with author and intellectual Solomon
PLAATJIE in Mafeking and Kimberley. Includes the recently divorced ex-wife
of North West Premier, Popo MOLEFE.
5. The STEYN family:
Some of the descendants of Boer Republic president Marthinus Theunis STEYN,
last president of the Orange Free State, are still living on the family
farm near Bloemfontein.
6. The LE FLEUR family:
A century ago, Andries Stockenstrom LE FLEUR was leader of the Griquas, and
his descendants, including magistrate Andrew LE FLEUR, are active in the
Griqua and Khoisan revival movements.
7. The MANUEL family:
The family traces their roots back to an 18th-century Indonesian rebel
leader. The exhibition concentrates on Simonstown seaman Ebrahiem MANUEL.
Ebrahim MANUEL from Grassy Park on the Cape Flats found the missing links
in his genealogy and travelled to Indonesia in search of his slave
ancestors' past.
8. The GALADA family:
Cynthia GALADA, from the rural Eastern Cape, has built a family and a
career in Cape Town. The exhibit reveals the details of an urban life with
rural roots.
9. The JUGGERNATH family:
This family arrived from India in the late 19th century to work on sugar
cane plantations near Durban.
TJ
How de we look at each other? What do we know about each other? Do we
understand each other? Are you with me? Am I with you?