Residents of Extension 9 say they refuse to use the newly built R6-million community hall until the proper sacrificial rituals are conducted.
This is after a construction worker, Sindile Coko, died on site while the hall was being built. “No cow ritual at the hall, no opening of the hall,” said Sandiswa Mini, a resident living next to the hall.
Residents of Extension 9 say they refuse to use the newly built R6-million community hall until the proper sacrificial rituals are conducted.
This is after a construction worker, Sindile Coko, died on site while the hall was being built. “No cow ritual at the hall, no opening of the hall,” said Sandiswa Mini, a resident living next to the hall.
“A person died here and we don’t want his spirit to haunt us.” “He [Makana Mayor Vumile Lwana] must open the hall the traditional way,” said a neighbouring resident who didn’t wish to be named.
“Something will go wrong if a cow is not slaughtered here.” Locals are aware that the day before the opening ceremony, a sacrifice did take place, but it was at another venue and therefore did not follow the custom.
The sacrifice, known as Umsebenzi wokuxhela inkomo, involves a cow being slaughtered on the premises. This is a traditional Xhosa ritual to prevent the site being haunted by the spirit of the deceased.
Once the cow has been sacrificed to the ancestors, the spirit is appeased and the land or the building is
cleansed.
Makana municipal spokesperson, Thandy Matebese says “The municipality does not conduct traditional ceremonies,” claiming that the sacrifice that took place in another ward was “just a braai.”
He says the municipality “will not mix traditional family affairs with openings of public institutions,” adding that the “municipal facility and traditional Xhosa community ceremonies are two different things.”
In response to the residents boycotting the hall, Matebese says: “They asked for a hall and we provided. We are trying to meet their needs.” He emphasises, “We are not making money from the hall.
I don’t care if they choose not to use it, they are making their own lives difficult.” Matebese confirmed that the council would not reopen the hall or perform any ritual.
“We are a government institution and we will not partake in any cultural rituals,” he says, adding that culturally the family members of the deceased are responsible for laying him to rest, not the council.
Meanwhile, jagged rocks and gravel are strewn around the hall’s car park and an abandoned road construction vehicle has been left behind. “It’s open for business,” said Matebese.
The hall has been complete and open for use for more than two months, he says, referring to the incomplete car park as “minor cosmetics”.
The hall has been clouded in controversy since its opening ceremony in May. It started with locals toyi-toying and barricading the entrance at the opening ceremony, protesting against a lack of communication from the municipality by not being officially invited to the celebrations.
“They didn’t want the opening, they chased us away,” says Matebese. While the municipality declined to comment on not inviting local residents to the event, Matebese said they employed a ‘loud hailing’ strategy.
He claims that they “had a car with a speaker box telling people there would be an opening”. Residents continue to await a reopening ceremony and refuse to use the hall until the ritual is performed. The building has been complete for two months yet no one has used it.
