Some call me Hahani, or even Dabawo, but I am mostly known as Rakgadi, says Mantwa Chinoamadi, producer of the renowned Standard Bank Joy of Jazz festival.
She says it not with pomp, not even with power, but with an ease like its not a title she carries but rather a truth that carries her.
In our communities, titles are more than mere names they are positions, placements, deeply woven into the fabric of black identity.
Rakgadi is not just the aunt who brings sweets at family gatherings or calls to check in during exams. Rakgadi is the firm hand at a funeral, the voice that steadies a family during lobola negotiations, the woman who speaks with her eyes when elders are too weary to explain. To be called Rakgadi is not just to be known it is to be trusted.
When I first met Chinoamadi, it wasnt her CV or her reputation that walked into the room. It was her presence. Her words Have you eaten? Did you get a drink? Do you know where youre going? floated through the air like a melody, warm and anchoring.