Chapter 4: Embracing the Spitori Culture

I am Olebogeng Namane, born in the small town of Secunda in Mpumalanga, in the year 2000. At the time of my birth, my parents were already married and I had an older sister, so it has been the four of us ever since, with extended family members.

Growing up, I moved frequently between Pretoria and Secunda. Because my mother’s family is located in Soshanguve and my father’s family in Ga-Rankuwa, my parents made sure we spent equal time with both families. We are a Setswana family; however, my sister and I never really learnt the language because we were predominantly English-speaking from our school environment. Nonetheless, we did know Spitori, which is not an official South African language but a common dialect spoken by people from various areas of Pretoria. This is the dialect that not only I use, but also my family at large. To an extent, I can confidently say that this was also my culture since everywhere I went, I behaved like a Pretorian Spitori-speaking girl, and people were able to identify where I came from. I still struggle to speak Setswana as a result of how much I’ve embraced Spitori as an individual. It has become a way of life.