The Mbhashe area of South Africa’s Eastern Cape province is a landscape of hills, fields and river valleys leading to the Indian Ocean. All along the ridges are the homesteads of the Xhosa people who have lived here since before colonial times. In years gone by, all these homes would have been round buildings (“rondavels”) plastered with mud and thatched with local grasses. Today, many are built with bricks and cement and roofed with zinc. Some houses are rectangular, with decorative pillars, verandas and flat roofs.
South Africa’s history of labour migration saw generations of people forced to leave these family homes to find work. But many people strongly connect with rural homes, where umbilical cords are buried as an indication of symbolic attachment to the place. People return home during holidays, when they are sick, to attend ceremonies, after retirement, and to be buried.
The rural Xhosa home looks somewhat different these days. Missionaries and colonists introduced buildings constructed using sun-dried brick and mortar with corrugated iron sheets for roofing. Migration, urbanisation and economic status also influenced the change. People admired urban architecture and could afford their desired building materials, and migration allowed designs and plans to travel.
