Weaving mats for survival in rural KwaZulu-Natal

Sibonga Zikhali (left) and her sister, Nomkhuleko (right), make a living by weaving traditional Zulu mats from dried incema grass.

Sibonga Zikhali sits on the floor of her rondavel in KwaNibela, northern KwaZulu-Natal, with a wooden loom. She places a long blade of dried incema grass on top of the loom and rhythmically begins casting threads over it.

Her sister, Nomkhuleko, who is deaf, sits close to her, sewing a colourful design into a finished mat.

When she was young, Nomkhuleko went to a special school for the hearing impaired, but had to return home due to an illness. Since then, she has helped with the weaving.

Nomkhuleko Zikhali (left) adds a colourful design to a finished mat while her sister, Sibonga Zikhali, keeps weaving.

For as long as Sibonga can remember, weaving mats has been their only livelihood.

She says they usually sell their mats in Hluhluwe, 40km away. Sometimes they receive large orders. The mats are used for sleeping on floors. Small mats are sold for R80 and big mats for R150. Smaller ones can take a few hours to make, while larger ones up to a day.

Nomkhuleko Zikhali adds a colourful design to a finished mat.

“We used to go with our mother to KwaMbila to cut the incema, and then she taught us how to weave. I can’t even remember when I started, because I grew up doing it,” says Sibonga.

Their mother, Brenda, still does most of the cutting. Weavers are able to access KwaMbila through iSimangaliso’s Sodwana Bay gate, about 80 km from KwaNibela. Brenda goes with a team of women and they spend a few days in the park cutting the incema before returning to KwaNibela. They need to rent a vehicle, which costs upwards of R500 per person.

Brenda goes with a team of women and they spend a few days in the park cutting the incema before returning to KwaNibela.

Sibonga Zikhali uses a wooden loom to weave a traditional Zulu sleeping mat with incema, a perennial herb that can grow up to 1.5m tall.

Weaving has helped Sibonga send her teenage daughter to school. She will be in grade 10 next year. While Sibonga occasionally allows her to weave for fun, she is not allowed to contribute to the housebold through weaving work, like Sibonga and Nomkhuleko had to, when they grew up.

Occasionally, she does allow her to weave for fun.

“I don’t want her to have the same life as us. We weave because we are forced to but I want her to focus on her schooling,” says Sibonga.

The mats are used for sleeping on floors. Small mats are sold for R80 and big mats for R150.

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