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Worksheet: From Nelson Mandela: A Biography by Martin Meredith
Mandela was born in the simple surroundings of a peasant village
on the banks of the Mbashe River in Thembuland. But for his royal
connections, his childhood would have been no different from those
of many others there. His great-grandfather Ngubengcuka, however,
was a Thembu king. And although Mandela was descended from only
a minor branch of the dynasty, his link with the Thembu royal family
was to have a marked influence on both his character and his fortunes.
His father Gadla Henry Mphakanyiswa, was the village head at Mverzo.
A tall, respected figure, he presided over local ceremonies and
officiated at traditional rites for such occasions as births, marriages,
funerals, harvests and initiation ceremonies. He had no formal education
and could not read or write. But he had a keen sense of history
and was valued as a counsellor to the royal family. He was also
wealthy enough at one time to afford four wives and had thirteen
children.
Mandela's mother, Nosekeni Nkedama, was the third of Gadla's wives.
She bore four children, the eldest of whom, Mandela, was her only
son but the youngest of Gadla's four sons. Like Gadla, she could
neither read nor write. While Gadla adhered to the traditional Qaba
faith, involving the worship of ancestral spirits, Nosekeni became
a devout Christian, taking the name Fanny.
The Xhosa name given to Mandela at his birth on the 18th July 1918
was Rolihalhla, which meant literally 'pulling the branch of a tree',
but more colloquially 'troublemaker'. But the name by which he became
popularly known was an English one, Nelson, given to him by an African
teacher on the first day he attended school.
The landscape around Qunu - undulating hills, clear streams and
lush pastures grazed by cattle, sheep and goats - made an indelible
impression on Mandela. Qunu was the place where he felt his real
roots lay. It was a settlement of beehive-shaped huts in a narrow
valley where life continued much as it had done for generations
past. There the peopled dyed their blankets with red ochre, a colour
said to be beloved by ancestral spirits and the colour of their
faith. There were few Christians in Qunu and those that were there
stood out because of their Western-style clothes.
The Mandelas' homestead, like most others in Qunu, was simple.
Their beehive huts - a cluster of three - were built without windows
or chimneys. The floor was made of crusted earth taken from anthills
and kept smooth with layers of fresh cow dung. There was no furniture,
in the Western sense. Everyone slept on mats, without pillows, resting
their heads on their arms. Smoke from the fire filtered through
the grass roof. There was no opening other than a low doorway. Their
diet was also simple, mainly maize, sorghum, beans and pumpkins
grown in fields outside the village, and amasi, fermented
milk stored in calabashes. Only a few wealthy families could afford
luxuries like tea, coffee and sugar, bought from the local store.
Having four wives, each living in her own kraal several
miles apart, Gadla visited them in turn, spending perhaps one week
a month with each one.
Mandela's household in Qunu was often full of relatives. Uncles
and aunts were as responsible for the children as the children's
own parents and were referred to as 'little fathers' and 'little
mothers'. Even though Mandela remembered his father for his stern
countenance, Mandela tried to emulate him by rubbing white ash into
his hair in imitation of the tuft of white hair above Gadla's forehead.
From the age of five, Mandela was set to work as a herdboy, looking
after sheep and calves and learning the central role cattle play
in Thembu society. Cattle were not only a source of meat and milk
but the main medium of exchange and the measure of a tribesman's
wealth. As the price of a bride was paid in cattle, without cattle
there could be no marriage. Significant events like funerals were
marked by their slaughter.
Much of Mandela's time was spent in the open veld in the
company of members of his own age group, stick-throwing and fighting,
gathering wild honey and fruits, trapping birds and small animals
that could be roasted, and swimming in the cold streams.
Lesson plan: Biography and autobiography
information exercise
From the Nelson Mandela online resource
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