Monday, January 17, 2022

Kinship

In the Eastern Cape this month, I sought to renew a few contacts. I had a nice surprise when I visited one of wife E's aunts. It was the first time I had seen her in years, and she didn't know I was to visit. When I walked in the door, she cried out, "Unyana!" ("Son!"). OBSERVATION: This reveals, not only affection towards me, but more broadly, the kinship thinking of Xhosa people. There are brothers and sisters and parents and children everywhere. One does not experience this, or even know that it exists, as an outsider.

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