Traditional practices
#WeAreSouthAfricans
#BhacaPeople

1. ITIYE

Itiye is more or less a thanksgiving ceremony. For us the Africa people, particularly the amaBhaca speaking people, thanksgiving is mainly done when we are giving thanks to our creator and our ancestors for whatever we are thankful for. Itiye also includes asking something from the creator and our ancestors, be it a job, blessings, a child, peace, or anything. This ceremony entails the slaughtering of a goat/ sheep. One of the two animals is slaughtered as a sacrifice which will be offered to the ancestors. Accompanying this animal would be a chicken; this chicken can be any colour except for the colour black because the black chicken is for removing bad luck or for dismantling calamities. So this chicken will be slaughtered first before the goat of the sheep as a way to gain entry when communicating with the late elders emsamu. 

this is what is is used when doing any Bhaca ritual

this is 'isinafu' which is mostly used when communicating with the ancestors. 

2. UMGIDI

Umgidi is a  ceremony done when the family is in remembrance of the deceased members of the family. This is also a way to give response to whatever the ancestors might be needing. For example if they raise concerns that they are thirsty, hungry or cold, the family will do this ceremony.

"How can alive people know that the late are hungry, cold or thirsty?" you may be asking yourself, well the thing with spiritual faith is that the dead does communicate with the living through a number of rhetorical visions, dreams or even through abstract/arbitrary/peculiar things or events that may be occurring to someone which would otherwise not occur on normal basis. For example someone might eventually get extremely ridiculous, doing wayward  and the most insane things just because the ancestors needs his/her attention. Also the need for this ceremony might be evident by having someone getting sick with an explainable sickness which the western doctors cannot even diagnose. Moreover other signs that the ancestors need your attention is when you collide with a set of coincidences driving/leading you to plots which will make you see that the ancestors are really trying to communicate something with you, like having your plate of food suddenly collapsing to the floor by itself, or losing all your money in a very peculiar way

the slaughter of an animal

women cooking 

3 UMGQABA BOVU/ UMHLONYANE

This ceremony is done when a girl child becomes of age, when she reaches her stage of womanhood or starting menstruation. As part of this ceremony a goat will be slaughtered as a celebration that the girl is finally a woman. During this period, a girl will be made to seat down alone, away from the people (but around the house), till her first menstrual cycle finishes. She will then be painted with red or dark shades of face paint and be advised in how she should behave since she is no longer a girl now but a woman who is prone to pregnancy and marriage now that she can menstruate. Other girls will come along and accompany her to wash in the river afterwards. But during the course of the day, Music and dance will lead the way.

people attending  umhlonyane
http://www.wakahina.co.za/articles/short-history-of-amabhaca

https://www.zapmeta.co.za/c?u=https%3A%2F%2Fbooks.google.co.za%2Fbooks%2Fabout%2FIbali_Lama_Mpondo_nama_Bhaca_Xesibe_Mpon.html%3Fid%3DqB6-HgAACA

This information that is use here in this blog is inspired  another blogger Noluvuyo Moli, who have more information about the culture of our people and their practices do visit her blog for more information.