The Four Seamstresses

Mama le Papa owned about 3 Singer Sewing Machines. Although Mama is a trained Seamstress, Papa was also skilful with the machine. Etched in my memory, is my father pedalling our original Singer Machine, it had a yellowish table.

It was 1997; around the time I was a pupil at Seepapitso Senior, when Mama le Papa bought 2 more Singer Machines. The machines were placed inside the harabese, or the thatched 1 room house that was opposite the main house. I am told the harabese was my parents’ first house. They went on to tell me that my sister, Molly, 6 years my senior, spent a considerable amount of time in the harabese. Mama le Papa employed about 4 talented women. Inside the cloth, needle and Singer filled harabese, the four Seamstresses altered pants, made dresses, made pyjamas and made curtains. Having walked for about 2 kilometres from their homes, they started work around 9 and finished at about 5.

Often, during school holidays, when another woman, but this one worked in the main house, was absent, I cooked lunch for the four women. Not only the four women, but I also cooked for another woman at Borakanelo, Mama le Papa’s store, adjacent to our yard.

Quite often, there would be one or two handymen and I cooked for them too.

Most of the time the food was phaleche le morogo; dikgobe (corn and beans; and occasionally, madombi with meat, particularly in the event mama le papa had received some meat from one of our relatives. Or themselves had a slaughtered goat from one of my father’s goats under his cousin’s care at Ntlhantlhe.

I didn’t necessarily look forward to cook for such a big number of people. However, I always felt satisfied when their faces brightened, every-time I handed each one a tray of food.

Therefore, I am forever indebted to the four Seamstresses, the Shopkeeper and the Handymen as well as to Mama le Papa for giving me opportunities such as the aforementioned.