Lethabo Kgofelo

50638378

Cultural beliefs play an important role in shaping a person's thoughts, behaviour and attitudes.

As a Pedi girl I grew up in Limpopo, Polokwane. I can proudly say that the way my family has raised me and how the people in my culture do things shape my life and how i behave.

In the Pedi culture, the first thing that needs to be taken into consideration is the respect for elders. Respect for Elders plays an important role as it shows how you have been raised as an individual despite your age. A teenager's behaviour of having no respect for an elder person can be traced back to the parents and the people who raised the child. Like they say,'an apple does not fall far from the tree'

In my culture kids from the age of eight to sixteen have to go to the mountains every June and it is known as initiation, not going to initiation can simply explain how your behviour is a certain way. On the mountains, males and females perform different role, females are taught how to cook, clean and wash clothes from an early age and males are taught how to do men duties such as cutting the logs, and if you reach your teenage years or even adulthood not knowing how to do these thongs, people can easily point out that you did not go to the mountains and they refer you as a "leshoboro".