INHERITED TREASURES

What makes a house a home? For many people it is the loved items that have been passed down from generation to generation. This heritage month, we spoke to celebrities about their treasured heirlooms

NIPHO MKHIZE

AN ACTOR, songwriter and singer, set to release a new EP in November, Nipho Mkhize says heritage is “about where you come from, things that are in your blood”.

He showed us his mother’s old-school bread cutter.

“She tells me she used it in the 1970s to make and sell sandwiches.

“My dad was a regular customer,” he said with a smile.

“This little bread and polony business led to my parents’ relationship, and here I am.”

Although the bread cutter has made way for sliced bread and is no longer used, it still holds sentimental value for the Mkhize family.

“Being in the arts means you never know from where or when your next cheque will come, so I might have to carry on the family business.”

PROVERB

THIS CELEBRITY wears many hats – entertainer, host and co-producer of SA Idols, host of Kayasette & Winners Circle on Kaya Fm, host of The Mic on SABC3, hip-hop recording artist, voice-over artist, philanthropist, father and non-executive director at Flight Centre Travel Group.

He has housed a grandfather clock and an upright piano given to him by his grandmother.

“My mom died in April this year and I moved my grandmother to a retirement village close to me in Joburg.

“She gave away most of the possessions in her Kimberley house, except a few key items, including the clock and piano, which she insisted went to me, as growing up I had played the piano and I always loved the clock.”

Both are now in Proverb’s dining room, where he regards them fondly. He hopes his children will grow to love them as much as he does.

“They play the piano, and I hope to keep both items in the family.”

For Proverb, heritage is a reminder he is a South African and what it is that makes him proudly so: “It’s a celebration of all that is authentically, but also uniquely South African and what sets us apart. It’s a time to reflect on the positive that unites us.”