their own tribal language. In the case of the black characters in Mother to Mother, that language is Xhosa.
The result of this structure, with black native languages forbidden from being taught in schools but being the main form of communication at home, is that the blacks grow up speaking at least three languages – a tribal mother tongue, English and Afrikaans – whereas the white ruling classes will usually be limited to speaking only the official “white” languages.
The fluid ease with which Mandisa and her family switch between these languages and the interesting way in which the languages interact with and influence each other are looked at in this study guide in the chapter on Style and Language (p. 114).
The quality of teaching was also an issue. Over 90% of all the teachers in white schools were properly trained and certified teachers[6] whereas only about 15% of the teachers in black schools were trained teachers. The pass rate for exams and graduating among black students was less than half what it was for white students.
The issue of education is very important in Mother to Mother – Mandisa talks about it on pages 71–72, for example – but more as a matter of context and environment. It is another one of those outside influences contributing to the violence and unrest of the society and more specifically to Mxolisi’s development and behaviour as a young man. The generally low quality and restrictive nature of segregated education in the apartheid state had the effect of increasing ignorance, unemployment and despair throughout the black population. With no real education – we can see how Mandisa is constantly frustrated in her efforts to educate herself – people have no chance to get well-paying jobs or to improve their position within society. The lack of perspectives creates more despair and frustration, on the one hand: and on the other hand, it provokes radical and at times violent resistance and protest.
The student protests
The school boycott was sparked by the deteriorating quality of education in black schools, the school age limit of twenty, and the policy that denied students representation by a democratically elected Student Representative Council.[7]
The student protests of the “Young Lions” in 1993 which Mandisa talks about were part of a long tradition of protest and resistance, but in this year they were particularly energized by the frustratingly slow pace of change and improvement in society and politics following the release of Mandela, among other developments. Mandela had called the Young Lions “the government-in-waiting”[8] because so many of their leaders were gifted, intelligent and energetic individuals who spoke passionately and articulately about the need for change in South Africa and an end to the oppression of the blacks. But many of these young people had come out of a nation-wide movement which had boycotted schools, protesting the state-led efforts to keep the black population in a state of passivity and ignorance.
While many of these young people wanted to become lawyers or politicians and active, professional members of society, most of them had little or no official education. Mandisa first mentions the student protests and education boycotts on page 10, describing how a student organisation (COSAS) told students to boycott schools out of solidarity with striking teachers. For Mandisa, this playing at politics and social unrest is unreal, a dangerous and stupid game which is stopping the young people from understanding life – as she sees it, by wasting their youth and not going to school, they all but guaranteeing that their lives as adults will be no better than her generation’s: “if they’re not careful, they’ll end up in the kitchens and gardens of white homes … just like us, their mothers and fathers” (p. 10).
| 2.3 | Angaben und Erläuterungen zu wesentlichen Werken |
ZUSAMMENFASSUNG
Sindiwe Magona has written a two-volume autobiography (the first part of which was her first published work), a biography of Archbishop Ndungane, as well as short story collections, poetry and novels. She has also written more than 100 books for children – we won’t be looking at these in this study guide, however.
The novels
| PUBLICATION DATE | TITLE |
| 1998 | Mother to Mother |
| 2006 | The Best Meal Ever |
| 2008 | Beauty’s Gift |
Mother to Mother was Magona’s first published novel, and it remains her most famous and successful work. The Best Meal Ever is set in a South African township and is about a girl having to look after her younger siblings. Beauty’s Gift is a novel about a group of women and how they deal with the HIV/AIDS-related death of one of their circle of friends.
Short story collections
| PUBLICATION DATE | TITLE |
| 1991 | Living, Loving and Lying Awake at Night |
| 1996 | Push-push! And Other Stories |
As with her novels, Magona’s short stories draw on her personal experiences and are all concerned with South African social issues, in particular those affecting women.
Poetry
| PUBLICATION DATE | TITLE |
| 2009 | Please, Take Photographs |
Autobiographies
| PUBLICATION DATE | TITLE |
| 1990 | To My Children’s Children |
| 1992 | Forced to Grow |
To My Children’s Children, Magona’s first published work, is an open letter to her grandchildren in which she tells the story of her own life up to the age of 23, and shares what she can of Xhosa culture and traditions. She presents herself explicitly as a “Xhosa grandmother”, and the book is of interest as a personal memoir, as an eyewitness account of the apartheid era, as an anthropological study of Xhosa tribal customs and folklore, and as a study of how women of all ages suffer and are oppressed under patriarchal social systems. Forced to Grow continues her autobiography from the age of 23 on.
Biography
| PUBLICATION DATE | TITLE |
| 2012 | From Robben Island to Bishop’s Court |
This is a biography of Archbishop Njongonkulu Ndungane, who was a pioneering anti-apartheid activist who was imprisoned on Robben Island, where Nelson Mandela also spent many years in prison. After being released from jail he continued to work to end apartheid, and campaigned for the rights of HIV positive people, equal rights for women and protecting the poor and dispossessed.
Children’s books
| PUBLICATION DATE |