Traditions

The novel Mother to Mother by Sindiwe Magona also explores the role tradition plays in the lives of the Xhosa people and how this represents the values they have. For example, names are shown to be an important tradition for the Xhosa people. Mandisa explains that Xhosa people give their children significant names: 

Children are named by grandparents, more often than not. Events around the birth of the child feature a lot regarding what name the child will be given: Mfazwe, was born during a war; Ndlala, during a time of famine, Ndyebo, during a time of plenty; Ntsokolo, strife; Mbalela, drought; even the towns where the father worked as a migrant labourer when the child was born are sometimes used. […] The history of the tribe, the state of the cl...