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‘IZIKHOTHANE’ HIT SWAZILAND

14/09/2014 07:52:00 BY JOSEPH ZULU

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MBABANE – The widely- condemned materialistic youth culture known as Izikhothane in South Africa has hit Swaziland by storm.

Pupils in at least three Swazi high schools are said to be so obsessed with it that it is affecting their studies. They burn money, destroy expensive clothes and pour expensive drinks on the ground.
The Izikhothane live well beyond their means, spending more money than they and their parents can afford in order to be cool. This South African craze is as intriguing as it is shocking.

Several townships in Johannesburg, mainly Soweto in the south and Diepsloot in the north, claim to be the birthplace of Izikhothane youth culture, also called ‘Skhotane’ and ‘Ukukhothana’ in other neighbourhoods.
Izikhothane is derived from a Zulu term meaning ‘to lick’.

In this particular case, some say it refers to the action of licking the fingers to peel through bundles of money to spend on clothes, shoes and alcoholic spirits. Others say it refers to being drenched in Ultramel custard, which is considered a luxurious dessert in black townships. This custard is then licked off the bodies of the wealthy youths. In Swaziland, it is said to be practised mainly by high school pupils along the Mbabane-Manzini corridor.
Times SUNDAY reporters visited some of the schools where pupils have formed similar groups known as Tikhotsane.

The local version of Izikhothane is referred to as Tikhotsane.
During a visit to KaBoyce High school in Mbabane, pupils spoke about how Tikhotsane wasted expensive items. They also said pupils who practised the culture had a taste for expensive clothing labels. The high spending youths only buy a certain brand of foods.

The items could be food, clothes or any other item deemed valuable.
They do this to show off that they could afford expensive items then destroy them. At the school, Tikhotsane existed in classes between Forms I and IV. “The aim is to get something of value then destroy it. We can’t just destroy anything. It has to have some form of value,” said a pupil.

The form II pupil said one way of showing this was by purchasing an item such as Ultramel vanilla custard, usually considered expensive. The pupil said this was done in front of pupils, especially females, who screamed as Tikhotsane danced or tore up their expensive items or money.

He said Tikhotsane sometimes took a full litre of Ultramel vanilla custard then spilt it on the ground or used it to wash their hands.
Another expensive item they used to wash their hands was Red Bull energy drink. Both commodities cost at least E20, almost three times more than fermented maize meal (Emahewu) of the same quantity. “This has made us popular,” said one of the pupils.

The popularity of Tikhotsane was evident when more of them arrived during the interview.
Screams from their colleagues were signs that they were admired. “These are some of them,” the pupils shouted, pointing at two Form I pupils who declined to be interviewed.
Another member of the group explained how he purchased a brand new pair of All Star sneakers and cut it to pieces. He said the pair cost him E600 but he tore it up at school.
More Tikhotsane members said some of the clothes which they tore up could cost as much as E3 000.

The pupils then asked reporters to return on another day so that they could demonstrate how they destroyed some of the items.
Pointing at one of his colleagues, who was drinking Mageu fermented maize drink, a Tikhotsane member said he would not drink such publicly because it had no value.
The pupil also said they normally destroyed clothing brands such as All Star, Nike or others to show off. “We don’t just destroy cheap Chinese labels,” he said.

Other members of the group said they sometimes destroyed banknotes by tearing it in front of fellow pupils. “This is usually done during break time,” they said.
They said in one instance, a E200 note was torn to pieces, which were then put together and pinned on one of the classroom doors. They said some of the pupils always had as much as E500 in cash each day, in their pockets, just to show off.

Contacted for comment, Simon Mthunzi, head teacher of KaBoyce High School, said the way pupils behaved had nothing to do with teachers, as they did not know what happened during break time.
He referred questions to the pupils’ parents. “They are the ones who buy them such things,” said Mthunzi.

When asked if the administration was aware of pupils tearing money within school premises, Mthunzi said this was the wrong question to ask teachers.

He said the teachers had no idea what went on during break or lunch time. “You should direct those questions to the right people. How would we know that?” he said. He also said pupils were only allowed to wear proper school uniform. Mthunzi said teachers at the school were concerned about teaching the pupils.
Pupils at Kobe Ramokgadi Private School in Ezulwini are also involved in this practice.