Heritage: Not Just Something You Are Born Into

With September being Heritage Month, we thought it fitting to catch up with one of our clients and member of the Miway Warriors Running Club, Thuthukani Msomi, to chat about the significance of ‘heritage’ in his life.

As a husband, father, businessmen and preacher, Thuthukani wears many caps, yet still maintains the discipline required to meet his athletic commitments.

• When did you start running, and why?
  I started running in 2015, during my May/June exams because I didn’t have enough time to go to the gym.
• How do you juggle your family, social life - as well as running a business?
  My family and I love going to the gym! I influenced them in such a way that even if I forget to go to the gym they remind me.
• What does Heritage Day mean for you and your family?
  I encourage my family to celebrate our culture and the diversity of our beliefs and traditions in the wider context of a nation that belongs to its people. We make sure that we wear our Zulu cultural clothes the whole month of September.
• How do you celebrate Heritage Day?
  We mostly celebrate at work, where we come together in our traditional clothes, we bring our different cultural food for tasting, and we do our traditional dances.
• How do you uphold your native culture and tradition?
  My culture is very important to me because it has taught me about the spirit of Ubuntu. I have observed that people change when they move from rural areas to urban areas. We pay lobola for our wives and follow all the necessary processes before we get married; and we were taught that when you speak to elders you kneel, and you don’t look the adult in the face. The practice in the city is very different.
• What is your favorite food?
  Dumplings and meat!
• What do you love most about South Africa?
  South Africa is a nation with wonderful and varied cultures. This country has been called “The Rainbow Nation”, and that is what I love most.
• What keeps you motivated?
  Remaining fit and maintaining my body keeps me motivated. People always approach me and comment on my body and I would like to continue to inspire others to join the gym and become healthy.

Thuthukani reminds us that heritage is not just something that you’re born into – it’s something that needs to be cultivated and nurtured. It’s how you live your life, provides us with a sense of unity - and also allows one to better understand previous generations and the history of where we come from.