Sweet centenary for cane fields labourer
AFIRST-generation descendant of indentured labourers who has worked most of her life on the sugar cane fields on the North Coast of KwaZulu-Natal celebrated her 100th birthday at the weekend.
Gengamma Subramoney, whose parents arrived from the North Arcot district of Tamil Nadu in the late 1890s, was born at the Hulletts Sugar Estate in Kearsney on May 6, 1917.
Her parents, Seelan Subbiah and Ganamma, were indentured at the Hulletts estate. Two other siblings, Mariamah, and SP Naidoo, were also born at Kearnsey. The eldest sibling, Gurumah, was born in Tamil Nadu and was brought to the then Natal colony by her indentured parents.
After Gengamma’s parents completed their first term as indentured labourers they moved to the nearby Tongaat Sugar Estate. Here her parents and all the children toiled in the fields as labourers.
When the children reached 10 years and older, they were forced to toil in the cane fields as labourers.
They earned as low as £1 a month and lived in very poor conditions.
While the parents worked in the sugar mill, the children worked in the cane fields as labourers. As the children grew up, their parents taught them a lot about their Tamil culture and traditions.
From this knowledge, the children helped to build temples in Tongaat and Mount Edgecombe.
When the children were between the ages of 18 and 21, the parents moved to another estate in Spitzkop, near Tongaat. Gurumah, the eldest daughter, had an arranged marriage to a first generation descendent of indentured labourers and moved to the Tongaat Sugar Estate.
When Gengamma turned 21, arrangements were made for Gengamma to marry Subramoney Govender, also a first-generation descendent of indentured labourers. Here too, Gengamma joined her husband to work in the sugar cane fields, planted paddy rice, vegetables and sugar cane.
Despite the hardships and tough conditions, Gengamma and her husband persevered with their lives and had 10 children.
Her sister Mariamah had four children and moved away to Malacca Road in Redhill.
Her brother, SP Naidoo, had four children and lived side by side with his father, mother and sister.
One of Gengamma’s sons, Kista Govender, who now lives in Red Hill, recalled that life was very tough for his parents and the children.
“My mother endured many hardships, especially with the upbringing of the children. We had to walk 20km a day to get to school and she used to worry about our safety. As a mother she also had to carry water in buckets for about 2km just to ensure that we were comfortable and had food.”
He said he had recollections of the 1949 riots and how his mother took precautions to ensure that all of them were safe.
“During the riots, I was about three years old and can remember how my mother grabbed the children late at night and ran into the bushes for safety.
“In about 1959, we had to move to another sugar estate in Kranskloof. After we became teenagers, we got married and moved out to settle in and around Tongaat, Durban and Johannesburg.”
He said his grandfather died at the age of 120 and his grandmother at 60.
“Of the first-generation family members only my mother is alive today, celebrating her 100th birthday.”
Most of Gengamma’s sons are still involved in farming on the North Coast.
Two of the sons live in Esenembe, one in Shakaskraal, and one in Tongaat, now oThongathi. One son lives in Phoenix and a sister in Johannesburg. The eldest son and sister live with Gengamma in Esenembe.
While farming has been in the blood of Gengamma’s family, most of her grandchildren have migrated to other fields such as IT, electronics, education, mechanical, entrepreneurship, insurance, web developing, business management, catering and logistics.
Gengamma has visited Tamil Nadu to connect with her roots but she was not successful in making any contacts with the family of her parents.
She has also visited Bangkok, Singapore, Mumbai, Dubai and Mauritius. In South Africa she has visited Cape Town.
Despite losing her parents, husband, two of her children, three daughters-in-law and two grandchildren, she is still going strong.
Govender said the family members saluted their mother for being such an inspiration to the family, friends, temple members and children.
“Hard work, positivity, strength and wisdom have been her recipe for a long life. Most importantly, her days as a labourer and working on the fields have kept her strong and healthy. Her dedication, commitment and faith in prayer have seen her through her difficult times, especially dealing with the death of loved ones.
“Our mother has taught us to respect and pray before you start the day. She has sacrificed all her life for us and we believe we have to express our gratitude to our mother for all she had done for the family. She bore her hardships without any complaints and went the extra mile to ensure all her children went to school and progressed in life,” he said.
“Up to this day, she is able to do washing, cooking and cleaning with ease. Her favourite food is calabash and sour herbs. She makes the best fish curry.”
To honour their matriarch, a 100th birthday celebration was organised by her eight surviving children, 28 grandchildren and 30 greatgrandchildren at the Tongaat Town Hall on Sunday.