Cut to the chase
Teboho is handed an official new title and a new name when she’s welcomed into the royal Mukwevho fold.
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It’s official: self-proclaimed drama queen Teboho (Liteboho Molise) is becoming a certified Vha-Venda wife. The Mukwevho elders have prepared a naming ceremony to accept her into the family on Wednesday 8 November and “Teboho is over the moon! She finally feels worthy and part of the family,” says Liteboho. Her character has been dreaming of the day that the Mukwevhos accept her as their own ever since she got married to her mayor hubby Mulalo (Sydney Ramakuela) in August 2013. But Teboho isn’t ready to get down and dirty with scrubbing the floors, washing dishes and acting like a kept wife. “Teboho isn’t used to cooking and kneeling at the sight of Mulalo. The process of getting a Venda name isn’t quick and she just wants to get it over and done with at this point,” adds Liteboho. “I don’t think she will just bow to tradition now.”
A LENDING HAND
But it’s not like a baptism where you are dipped in water, a prayer is recited and you’re done. The admin with a renaming ceremony is enough to scare Teboho off and she didn’t think she’d be kneeling whenever she addresses Mulalo. “This process has become frustrating for her,” says the actress. But before she quits the crash course, she visits her sister-in-law Susan (Maumela Mahuwa) on Friday 10 November for advice. “In Teboho’s world, no one knows what it’s like to be a proper Venda wife like Susan. She is married to Chief Azwindini (Gabriel Temudzani) and grew up in Venda – she knows exactly what Teboho is facing,” says Liteboho. While Mulalo didn’t mind that he wasn’t going to marry an “authentic, traditional venda woman” in Teboho, she has always wanted to prove that she’s fully invested in their marriage and learning more about his culture. “Teboho is a Sotho girl straight from Lesotho. She didn’t think that she would land in a village around Venda. She’s up for the challenge and to prove to everyone that she can stay in Venda and make it work,” says the actress.
DROP A NAME
Teboho is presented as Nyamukamadi by the elders on Wednesday 15 November. “Her name means ‘water bearer’ but the meaning isn’t clear to Teboho at the time,” explains Liteboho. She is obsessed with her new role and can’t stop talking about improving her understanding of the Venda culture on Friday 17 November. “But this isn’t the woman that Mulalo fell for. It feels like Teboho has taken this new name too far. Besides, he loves her whether she is Nyamukamadi or not, so Mulalo doesn’t want her to think that she has anything to prove,” Liteboho reveals.
TAKE IT BACK
Teboho is taking her new personae seriously and by Monday 20 November, she has ditched her usual fashion and is only wearing traditional Venda attire. “When something is still new to you, all you want to do is surround yourself in it,” laughs Liteboho. And like the showoff that Teboho is, she makes sure that everyone in town sees her parading around. But that comes to a crashing halt on Tuesday 21 November when Teboho learns that the locals are making fun of her name and she demands that the elders give her a new one. “They think Nyamukamadi doesn’t suit Teboho. They claim it’s old-fashioned for someone like Teboho, but little do they know of its significance in the Mukwevho lineage,” says Liteboho. “The name belonged to a queen – just wait until Teboho finds out! There is no way that she will give it up then!”