Happy Tears

Gertrude Mbetsi taking a break one day at the Mapusha studio.

I cry a lot, a musing after the school shootings in Connecticut. 

Maybe it’s genetic, as I see it in my siblings who haven’t spent near the time and energy I have uncovering and cosseting vulnerabilities. At first it was stories, books and movies that made my eyes well up and spill over with tears, then it was boys and personal pains but I find in my 7th decade more often my tears are ‘happy tears.” The phrase was coined with laugher in the weaving coop by Gertrude, the oldest, sturdiest and most outspoken of the women. She ran her fingers down her cheeks, then pointed at me, laughing, “Happy tears, you cry happy tears.” Soon all the women in the coop understood the phrase and we chuckled about it together. 

She’s right, I do. Invariably, when I hear the women singing together tears roll down my cheeks which is what Gertrude was referring to. It’s not only the beauty of their blended voices but the way they come together, sing together and the great heart I always feel in this cooperative communion. It touches me.

As far as I can tell, the women of Mapusha rarely cry themselves, not at death, not at birth not at any of the other indignities in  their lives of rural poverty. But, last year Gertrude came to me and said with a proud smile, “I cried this weekend, happy tears.”

I laughed and asked what made her cry. 

“ I watched Eulender (her 15 year old grand-daughter) running in a foot race for her school, when she passed me by I could see how hard she was trying,” she touched her chest with her hand, “ Her heart was so very strong.  I cried.”

Smiling, I nodded, I understood. 

This weekend the continual coverage of the killing of twenty first graders plus brought many tears to my eyes. I cried for what I could only imagine was a terrifying loneliness in the killer and for the shocking grief of the whole community. As the tears rolled down my cheeks, I could feel all the millions of people in these gun-filled states we live in whose eyes filled with tears this weekend. It isn’t happy tears this time but it is a sign of caring and compassion. It is a national communion, of sorts. 

I’m beyond embarrassment at my own tears whether they are the mark of a genuine sap or the response to the continued assaults on my staunch idealism or, maybe simply the stigma of caring and caring intensely. 

My prayer for this new year is for an ever stronger heart, boundaries stretched so that the well of caring grows deeper. May I shed hundreds and hundreds of tears.  

The image I hold for the world is that in this new year we increasingly join together like a gigantic youtube flash mob. More and more people becoming proclaimed members of the official network of caring and caring immensely for every blessed being and this whole world of ours. May we find a million ways for the net of our caring to be strengthened so all the pains and losses are increasingly shared, absorbed and absolved in cooperative communion.

Happy tears to all! 

Gertrude's rugs

Holiday Greetings from Mapusha and me,


Dear Friends of Mapusha, 

I wanted to give you a year end report on our favorite weaving coop as they wind down their work on Friday with a great feast, courtesy of friends here in Portland. It will be a braai, for sure, with much meat for everyone, pap and some sort of small nod to vegetables. The extra bonus is that each woman will take home a live chicken for their family's Sunday dinner! So think of the celebration on Friday when you wake up, smile as though you could hear their singing, dancing, praying, celebrating. They are, in part, celebrating the many acts of kindness and generosity that have come their way through all of you. 

I'm pleased to report that small and big miracles continue to abound for these women,  strengthening everyone’s faith.When I walked into the Tillamook’s Pioneer Museum last month and saw the walls hung with Regina, Lindy, Lizbeth’s weavings I felt such a burst of pride. Their work is beautiful and has evolved over the years I've been with them.  They made it through the year once again with a small salary each month for each woman, despite no coherent marketing plan. And, this January, thanks to the generosity of a woman from Alaska who has never even met the weavers, we will break ground on their new studio. It will be off the mission grounds, within the New Dawn community complex where currently the Katlego nursery school, the Seeds of Light Art Center and the soon to be refurbished Community Center  will join forces to become a true community hub, a center of support and empowerment for all.

Nick Verona (Seeds of Light volunteer) hanging the New Dawn sign, Gertrude with Zanile on her striped rugs, Lindy's Tillamook tapestries

When I was there in September talking with the architect, getting permission from the local chief, etc, etc. I boxed and sent home nine of Gertrude’s small striped rugs (picture of Gertrude with rugs and Zanile above). Four are already gone but I have detailed the others below, so if you or someone you know would like a bit of Gertrude’s Africa on your floors please let me know. They are approximately 2 1/2’ by 3’, hand spun and dyed Karakul wool, woven by Gertrude - $100. I could send or deliver immediately.

If you really don’t want a rug but do want to support the women in the launch of their new beginning, you can send a check made out to Mapusha Weavers, c/o Barrie Gleason, 109 Summer St., Somerville, Ma. 02134. I am hoping to start work with them in January on some new sales items especially created with visiting tourists in mind - small bags with beads and bells, natural dyed silk scarves.  All donations this year will go towards the time and materials necessary to bring our new products from vision into a reality, ready for sale in the new studio where we hope to have many visitors.

me with the women on the steps of the Blyde Lodge after our Visioning Day!, the bird and animal mobiles for display, women with new natural dyed scarves

It is strange for me to be here for the holidays. Each time I see a particularly lavish display of lights I imagine  how the children of Rooibok would respond - absolute enchantment. I set off in early January to manage this studio building project and do all I can to get local marketing happening for Mapusha. One could ask are these two actions truly within my skill set?  The answer is “They soon will be!”
 creche child,                               art class kids playing where the new jungle gym will go!

Having been a hermit of a writer for the last year I am relieved to report that I’m handing my book over to an editor before I take off. I look forward to returning from Africa in April with the new studio up over there and ready to go out into the world myself, here. I hope to see all the friends I haven’t seen for too long and see how I can bring my own unique brand of inspiration to this side of the world. 

My Mapusha story would have been very different without the support of all of you. It’s a great story of what can occur when people join together. The words in Tsonga on the  New Dawn Center sign say just that - Working together we have power!  
The women of Mapusha asked me to “Please thank our friends so very much.” So from us to all of you a most heartfelt thanks.
May the new year bring joy, inspiration and many blessings to you.

with love, 
Judy 

Pictured below are two rugs woven by Gertrude Mbetsi this fall in the Mapusha studio. They are simple, sturdy rugs, 2 1/2' x 3', hand spun Karakul wook, hand dyed and woven by Gertrude.

The cost is $100 and the benefit is supporting the Mapusha Weaving Cooperative and having something made with such craftmanship and care.

If you would like a rug please note the description and send me an email - judithbmiller@gmail.com

greens, peach, navy

soft purple, grey, rose

f

Yahoo Mapusha!

Dear Friends of Mapusha,

I wanted to share with you the latest really good news for the women of the Mapusha Weaving Cooperative. It has been ten years since we began supporting these women and I know this latest report will make you smile.

When I was in South Africa last November-January they were having a terrible time with the new head priest at the mission. Despite the peaceful and collaborative relationship between the cooperative and the mission for the past 36 years, this Father wanted them to pay a high rent and, really, he wanted their studio.

It was difficult to watch but the women stood up for themselves, put up a good fight. They applied to the executive committee but word eventually came down from on high that they must pay an unfairly high rent. Regina told me they wanted to move, they were hurt and disillusioned by the actions of this Father (have to say, it felt like my own small version of the 'nuns versus the Vatican.')

Two weeks later, without my doing anything other than resolve to help them, a donor came to a friend of Mapusha’s, Jodi Miller in Alaska. She wanted to make a substantial donation to one of Jodi’s African projects. and when she heard of the problems with the mission, she chose to help Mapusha.

I called Regina with the news. Her response was,"Alleluhia, Alleluhia! My heart is soooooo big with happiness." 

They will build a new studio with this generous donation in the nearby compound where the local nursery school and the new Seeds of Light art center are housed. They will become part of a community hub with participants ranging from toddlers to school age artists to young mothers and old grannies. We hope to sink a borehole and begin a multigenerational gardening project. The women of Mapusha will be the elders, the trustees of this "New Dawn" project.

Somehow, becoming the elders in a vital community center feels the perfect next step in the process of claiming their rightful place and power. Anyone who has met these women will know what I mean and immediately understand the value these very solid women will bring to a community enterprise.

I am leaving in a couple of weeks to spend a month with them. We will do a day of visioning the future, experiment with eco-printing with Acacia leaves/pods/bark on fine cotton scarves, get the designs for the new studio in place -  move forwards!

I'm still working on the book about my time with Mapusha, first draft done, second begun. I have an inkling that this next trip may hold the core of the last chapter, not to give anything away.

Below is a picture of Gertrude with Zanile, Ambrocia's youngest daughter, sitting atop the small rugs she has recently been weaving. Also, a picture of the whole coop greeting their distant friends in front of the new mural on the New Dawn Center.

Thank you so much for your support. I will keep you informed on how our exciting new project is going. 

with love,

Judy

P.S. If you were thinking of someday ordering a Mapusha rug this would be a good time as I will be there to precisely interpret your wishes.

My dear friends of Mapusha, 

I have been happily reading the accounts of the American nuns who were reprimanded by the Vatican for spending too much time with the poor, not enough time fighting abortion and gay marriage. The way the nuns are standing up for their truth and the tremendous support they are receiving reminds me of my time this winter with the women of Mapusha.

Many of you know about the new Father at the mission who demanded a substantial monthly rent from the cooperative and had Regina sign a contract mandating eviction in three years (she was given a choice between three or four years.)

I arrived in November right in the middle of this brouhaha and struggled to find a way to deal with it. I wrote about it in emails to you and in my book  (first draft just finished!) but, I knew the women had to take the lead here, an impassioned American would not help at the mission. So, I sat on my savior tendencies and fumed in the car and in the middle of the night but I followed their instructions. I stood on the sidelines and cheered as they took on the head priest at the mission which has been the center of their world for fifty years.

They began by giving him the silent treatment.  They stopped all involvement with the mission but not the church. As Regina explained to me, “We love God and we love the church but we will no longer help with the cleaning and security at the mission.” 

One very hot day I arrived at the studio to find the Father had turned off their water and as I walked with Regina and Gertrude to the school to fill buckets, they explained to me that they knew they had truth on their side and they would keep fighting.  They told me how the studio was built by the mission with the help of the women. It was built for the poor women of the village and the mission has no right to claim it now after thirty-six years.

They lodged a complaint with the executive board of the church and eventually the rent was halved and eviction was taken off the table. They still think this is more than they owe for the water and electricity they use (it is) so, they continue to fight for their rights. 

It has been inspiring and encouraging for me to watch them raise their voices against injustice. I know the support they have received from us over the years has helped make this possible.  I wanted to share their tale with all of you for it seems, perhaps, the point; generosity and caring create trust and empowerment.

More soon about their latest beautiful rugs, their progress with computer and accounting skills  and their plan to create a Community Development Center.

with my love, hope and gratitude!

Judy

 top picture - Regina and Gertrude getting water

above picture - Mapusha women admired the new mural at the creche and waving to all of you

left picture - Zanile, Mapusha's youngest, sits happily on a commissioned rug just off the loom.

the animal tapestries completed!