Elderly women filled the East Bank hall in Alexandra on September 23, dressed in their traditional attire as they gathered to celebrate their cultural roots and reconnect with one another.

Resident Salome Mabi said the gathering offered them a rare chance to remind one another of their cultural origins and the importance of passing knowledge on to younger generations.

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“We also thought it was important for us as the elderly to know each other,” Mabi said, describing the event as one that promotes social cohesion and unity in diversity.

Another attendee, Linky Ribane, said the joy of reconnecting with people she had not seen in a long time was a highlight of the morning.

Dressed proudly in her Sepedi outfit complete with colourful beads and a doek, Ribane said her attire was a reflection of pride in her heritage. She recited her clan praises, identifying herself as “Tau,” meaning Lion.

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She was among scores of women who filled the hall, each dressed in traditional wear befitting the occasion.

The event was organised by the Ageing with Wisdom Elderly Forum in Region E, which called on multiple community organisations in Alexandra to take part in the Heritage Day celebrations a day earlier.

Forum representative Mmaki Makunyane said the day was built entirely around culture, from traditional dress to food and music.

“We call people here to remember their traditions. It seems like as South Africans, we have lost sense of our traditional practices,” she said.

Makunyane said she hoped attendees would leave with a renewed commitment to staying rooted in their culture, even at home, and to teaching their children their mother tongues, adding that traditional attire should not be worn only on Heritage Day, but every day.

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