“Wathint' abafazi wathint’ imbokodo!”

Her beaded necklace captures and stimulates her distinct and native nature. Small and hallow, delicate, strong and sparkling crystal stone beads are a refection of her heart. Long straight strikingly built strings reflect on her strong and struck soul. Ancient glowing golden brown gems dug deep in the mellows of the earth, yellow and warm as the suns mighty rays, wistful ashy black streams of pure velvet, white crystals as soft as snow, all of these blissfully enriched colours are a reflection of her skin. The diamonds and squares, circles and triangles, ovals and rectangles, bold and dim shades, the highlights and the cut lines that are dashed into her life, the chords, buttons, needles and wires connecting her to the rest of the world; these are all reflections the paths she has taken, the direction she is yet to take and those which will be told of her by others. Her snap glows in the anguish and the intensity of her strings, as the tears of beads fall apart her pain scatters an immense cry of a wounded lioness. She will lick her wound and as it heals, build another string of beads to add to her beautiful ensemble. She wears her beauty around her neck and it numbly stings in with the sweetness of a honeybee’s aroma. She is a magnificent creation of wisdom and spirit, she is the purport of solid strength and cannot be moved. You strike a woman you strike a rock; “Wathinta abafazi wathinta imbokodo”.


By Bongiwe Tutu