12. Day 6 (Aug 22): Soweto: Tutu House, Mandela House, and Lunch

After our visit to Freedom Square we went to the Orlando West section of Soweto, specifically Vilakazi Street.  This street is the only street with houses, less than a block apart, in which two Nobel Peace Prize Laureates lived.  (Later we will look at the only prison in which two Nobel Peace Prize Laureates were imprisoned, including one different laureate from this duo.) 

The first house we came to was where Archbishop Desmond Tutu lives, at least part of the time.  Tutu has two houses — one in Cape Town and one here.  There is a blue circular plaque on the wall around the house that notes that Tutu has lived here since 1975.  The house is not open to the public. 

Tutu House and Guide

The gentleman in this picture was our guide around Soweto and the Apartheid Museum.  He hopes eventually to go to law school and is very well versed in the history of the struggle for South Africa and the principles of the Constitution.  He was not our guide throughout the entire South Africa trip although I wish he had been.  He was the auxiliary guide for Soweto and the Apartheid Museum.  (I detail the problems with our regular guide in the discussion later about the Apartheid Museum.)

Across the street and up about one block is the Mandela House which is now a museum.  It is the house where Nelson Mandela lived from 1946-1962 and to which he returned briefly after his release from prison in 1990.  Winnie Mandela lived in the house until 1977.  There are bullet holes in the walls and scorch marks from Molotov cocktails on the facade.  We did not go into the house.  The museum aspects of the house have resulted in the construction of a visitor’s center and entrance.  During the time that Mandela lived in the simple house it was not electrified.

Mandela House Entrance

Mandela , who is often called Madiba (his Xhosa clan name), is held in great reverence throughout South Africa including by many whites.  While some have not agreed with all his policies, he is honored for his role in leading the country from a racist, repressive government to one of the more progressive democracies in the world without the bloodshed many had predicted would ensue.  Many use his name and his philosophy.  As noted above, Madiba was Mandela's traditional Xhosa clan name and in South Africa it’s a term of endearment, respect, and familiarity.  (There is some dispute whether it is cultural appropriation for white Americans to use the term:  http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/worldviews/wp/2013/12/09/a-south-africans-guide-to-when-its-okay-to-call-nelson-mandela-madiba/)

This billboard, near his home, is from Mango Airlines (the low-cost subsidiary of South African Airlines) and tries to associate his values with theirs.

Mango Airlines Billboard

Politically, of course the ANC has the greatest call to Mandela’s legacy.

Vote ANC Poster

Of course, the area around Mandela’s and Tutu’s home would seem ideal for publicizing important political issues and that does occur.

Bring Back Our Girls Poster

This sign refers, of course, to the kidnapping of a number of young girls by the Boko Haram in Nigeria.

Now, on to lunch.  The Mandela Family Restaurant is just across a cross street from the Mandela House Museum, and is run by Winnie Mandela although not without controversy (http://www.sundayworld.co.za/news/2014/11/23/winnie-mandela-in-fight-over-restaurant).

Mandela Family Restaurant

But the place to eat for traditional South African cuisine in Soweto is not there but across Vilakazi Street and down a bit closer to Tutu’s house.  It is a large sprawling restaurant with both indoor and outdoor seating called Sakhumzi Restaurant.

Sakhumzi Restaurant

Now exactly what constitutes South African cuisine is an interesting issue.  The country is very large and diverse.  For example, besides English and Afrikaans which are languages of the white invaders, there are nine official African languages recognized by the Constitution and many more ethnic groups among black Africans.  So there is not a single black African ethnicity nor a single black African cuisine, although the apartheid regime certainly tried to impose that concept when it came to feeding black Africans in the prison system (which will be discussed in regards to the visit to Constitution Hill much later).

So, recognizing that the authenticity of this cuisine may be questionable (and, indeed, there is really no single cuisine), the restaurant served a number of dishes that are familiar to many black South Africans.  Served in a large buffet were such items as pap or miellepap which is a porridge made from ground corn, mash (potatoes), sweet potatoes, mogodu (tripe derivative served in a stew), beans, lamb and chicken stews, and butternut squash.  In the non-black African tradition the restaurant includes for dessert malva pudding which is Africaans in origin and consists of a sponge cake with apricot jam and often a cream sauce.

A picture of one plate with some of these foods is shown here shortly before I happily consumed it.

Plate with Some South African Food

After lunch is another opportunity for a South Africa history lesson – Hector Pieterson.

Link to full resolution photos