Mdukatshani - Fifty Years of Beading

OBITUARIES We do not have photographs of all the crafters whom we have lost over the years, but here are a few of the beloved faces who enhanced our lives. We miss them all today.

Natty Duma couldn’t thread a bead, but for 30 years she held the project together as organiser, confidante, trouble shooter, and comforter. She knew every detail of the crafter’s lives, their joys, their anxieties, their despair. Their secrets were her secrets too, and she was always ready to take on their problems, armed as she was with unshakeable faith. Her schoolmates had called her Napoleon Bonaparte, a name that recognized her strength. She spoke her mind, she didn’t back down, and she was never scared of controversy. But it’s her laughter we miss the most now. She was a tease and a practical joker, and her presence could light up a day. Natty died in hospital in April 2011.

Khombisile Ndlela Mvelase never really mastered copper, but she could create anything with beads, needle and thread. Naturally competent, she became both organiser and teacher, and her early death in March 2019 has left a gap that cannot be filled.

Busisiwe Buthelezi

Velephi Chonco and Dingile Ntshaba

Khonjiwe Dladla

Dumalile Mvelase

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Mdukatshani – Fifty Years of Beading