#274 Thathiswa Imbotyi Soup TransKei 2005

I thought i had a basic understanding of South Africa  after living here for a good few years. Yet , it was only in this remote village in TransKei , where i was drawing Thathiswa making her Imbotyi Soup that the penny dropped.

One fire, one pot to feed everybody. There is no dashing to the kitchen to grab a sandwich ,there is no fridge,no cupboards filled with tins or biscuits, not even a basket of fruit.. Someone will be collecting and carrying wood from afar, someone will go fetch water from afar, ( a few times a day) Grannie will be grinding the corn . the one black pot feeds all , everybody gets a share. and thats all .Then the process begins again..That was an eye opener for me .