By Thabo Monyela
TZANEEN- Love and respect towards humanity is Lucy Van Schalkwyk’s cornerstone towards embracing her African identity and encourages race-mixing.
‘Lucy wa molobedumutsonga’ as she’s affectionately known, had set tongues wagging with her fluent in Khelobedu and Tsonga languages in her short video clips which are making rounds across social media sites.
The bubbly 31-year-old white lady born in Tarentaal outside Tzaneen town, is not only fluent in Xitsonga and Khelobedu, but also bears the origin of both cultures, which she proudly embraces on a daily basis.
In what is perceived as uncommon practice from a white race, Lucy had soaked herself into the cultural lifestyle of Tsonga and Balobedu people, where she can be found dancing ‘xibelani’ (Tsonga traditional dance), drinking ‘umqombothi’ to appease her ancestors and eating termites.
She has recently turned to Tik Tok to encourage race-mixture while she’s embracing her part of African culture.
” I turned to Tik Tok to bring laughter to people and forge unity amongst black and white races” the multiracial actress said.
Lucy is a product of miscegenation which occurred in 1800, when the three German men arrived in South Africa, in which two of them got married to Tsonga and Lobedu women.
” The German who married a Tsonga woman gave birth to my grandfather, while the other one who married a Molobedu woman gave birth to my grandmother and subsequently the two children from German, Lobedu and Tsonga origins got married and gave birth to my mother who turned out as coloured and married to White man” she said.
Although she spent many parts of her growth with whites, Lucy had never abandoned her Lobedu and Tsonga origins.
At the age of 16, Lucy was already an actress of SABC Munghana Lonene FM’s Radio Drama called ” Mina Hi Mina” which is played in XiTsonga and she has returned to it as an actress again.
Lucy wa molobedutsonga said ” I am very fortunate to have married to a man like Jacquess Van Schalkwyk, who accepted me for who I am and very supportive to what I am doing” she said.
Lucy has recently partnered with Avuxeni Computer Academy to give away free Computer skills courses to 42 people, residing in Limpopo and Mpumalanga worth R214,149.00
