Celebrating the Winter Solstice & Xhosa New Year

Celebrating the Winter Solstice & Xhosa New Year

Traditionally, The Xhosa new year begins in June when the Pleiades star constellation becomes visible in the sky. Hence, the month of June is referred to in isiXhosa as 'eyeSilimela', translating to 'the month of the Pleiades'. The visibility of the Pleiades symbolizes new life and new beginnings. The Pleiades is also culturally referred to as "the digging stars" since the winter solstice traditionally marks the beginning of the agricultural year when the soil is prepared for planting, hence this cosmic event is celebrated with prayers asking for blessings and renewal.

For this workshop, we will gather at the Kariega River Mouth to make a prayer asking for new beginnings and blessings for our families and communities by making offerings of plant seeds (traditionally pumpkin and melon seeds are used).

All those who wish to ring in the new year in a Xhosa indigenous style can to join. As a traditional healer, I will be facilitating the workshop and will guide attendees through the process of prayer and seed offerings to the sea. Participants will also be free to ask questions if they wish.

The price for the event will be R150 per person. In terms of numbers, I do not have a limit and anyone who is interested can sign up. The workshop will take place at the Kariega River Mouth at 1pm on Saturday 21 June 2025.

Thandokazi's Bio

Thandokazi May is a trained traditional healer (iGqirha and iTola) and PhD candidate in the Rhodes Anthropology Department that specialises in trauma care and management. Her work as a healer and scholar is guided by the teachings of the Xhosa indigenous health model that defines health as a state of stable relationships between the self, family, community, ancestors and environment. Her positionality as a traditional practitioner allows her to utilize auto-ethnography as a tool in her research. She holds a Bachelor's degree in Biology from Luther College in Iowa, USA, and a Master's degree in Pharmacology from Stellenbosch University. Her PhD explores the cultural use of indigenous healing cosmologies in the management of historical and intergenerational trauma amongst the Xhosa-speaking people of South Africa. Using historical trauma theory, she explores how within the Xhosa cultural framework trauma is conceptualized and healed through the use of dreams, ritual and knowledge from the ancestors.