According to the traditional norm, I would be classed a young Zulu woman because my dad is Zulu. This is despite my mother being a Tswana woman. Even though I come from two different tribes, I was raised by my mother therefore I grew up much more connected to my Tswana roots.

I was born in Nelspruit, Mpumalanga and bred in different parts of the country wherein I adopted the local culture that influenced my personality. I am someone who is not as religious as others because I am much more connected to my spirituality beliefs influenced by my multicultural background. There are many occasions in my life that cannot be explained by western norms so I turn to cultural norms.

The first belief that I know of in the Tswana culture is of the moon and stars. When a baby is born, it is known across many cultures that the newborn and mother are to be confined indoors for a period of time before beinf seen by external relatives. With the Batswana, as I was told the baby is taken outside on their first full moon and is awakened from their slumber to bear witness to the moon and stars. By doing this it is believed that the baby will develop emotionally strong but should this easy ritual not be done, the baby will suffer from emotional instability.

In the Zulu culture there is a ceremony conducted for young women who have come of age. This is known as 'umemulo', a ceremony that celebrates the celibacy of a young woman. Umemulo is marked by celebrations within the family that signify that a young woman is now stepping into the age of marriage.

What these two distinct cultures have taught me is that the importance of one's self is unique. As a spiritualist, the first one was passed down to me by my late mother who told me this in case I have children of my own one day.