You Mean There Is A Costume Change AND I Have To Sit At The VIP Table?

A day full of dancing, the brass band, speeches, present giving, hugs, and a lot of fun...

Part one involved us being escorted into the yard by the band and everyone sitting at the head tables being led under the tent, one by one. I sat at the head table, surrounded by all my guests, listening to speeches by neighbors, friends, family members, colleagues, pastors, and The Word of God.
Here's my first traditional outfit. Beautiful, eh? MmaDiapo and I matched and it was pretty great. I gave a speech that was pretty off the cuff.. but didn't forget key people I wanted to remember because I had written all their names on post its- The Phokungwane Family and MmaDiapo, The United Presbyterian Church of Metz, The Rapola Family, The Ladies Literacy Group of Metz, Maruleng Community Home Based Care, Kodumela ADP, The Post Office, Lafata Project and all the drop in centers in the area, and the community at large.
This was the present line. It got pretty long with some people bringing actual gifts and some people giving money. I received all kinds of traditional bowls, baskets, mats, spoons, pottery, sheets, towels, and even got a new teapot! As for the money, 2,100 rand was collected which is, well, a lot. Each person who gave something had their name written in a book and the list of names covered 4 pages front and back. As Mrs. Party, I had the responsibility of deciding what to do with the money. The only request I had was that MmaDiapo buy Emma, a woman who's been working for her, and her family mealie meal and some other foods.. the rest was to go towards party costs. MmaDiapo ended up buying mealie meal for several families, paying Emma and another woman who helped her bonuses, and gave many other people extra money to treat themselves to cold drink for a job well done. That was above and beyond what I expected.. but I am not at all surprised.
MmaDiapo, Rejoice, Mmapula, and Maite representin' all that's traditional. Word! We've got some Sotho, some Venda, and, of course, some Bafana Bafana, the South African Football team.