If there was one person at Luju who could move effortlessly from a festival stage to a brewing pot, it was Thobile Makhoyane. A musician, cultural practitioner and storyteller whose work has long been grounded in African spirituality and indigenous knowledge, Makhoyane brought that same presence to the Nguni Foodways Culinary Stage, where she turned a demonstration on brewing umcombotsi into something much more meaningful.
To many festivalgoers, it was simply a demonstration on how to brew umcombotsi. However, by the time the session ended, it had become something else entirely. It became a conversation about memory, family, heritage and the responsibility of carrying traditions forward.
That was the atmosphere cultural practitioner, musician and performer Thobile Makhoyane created at the Nguni Foodways Culinary Stage during the Standard Bank Luju Food & Lifestyle Festival. Standing before a curious audience, she did not simply explain how traditional beer is brewed. She shared the history behind it, the people who taught her and the role it continues to play in Swati life today.
For those familiar with her work, the session felt like a natural extension of everything she has built over the years. Makhoyane has become one of Eswatini's respected cultural practitioners through her work as a traditional musician, performer and educator.
Whether she is on stage singing, leading traditional dance or speaking about indigenous customs, her work has consistently centred on preserving Swati culture and presenting it in ways that resonate with today's audiences.
Her performances draw deeply from traditional Swati music while embracing contemporary presentation, allowing younger audiences to engage with customs they may otherwise only encounter during ceremonies. Earlier this year, she was among the artists who performed at the MTN Bushfire Festival, where her set celebrated indigenous sounds, storytelling and identity.
The same values that shape her performances were evident at Luju, only this time the stage was replaced by cooking pots, maize and fermentation vessels.
What unfolded at the culinary stage was therefore not separate from her music. It was another way of telling the same story.
As she carefully prepared umcombotsi using methods passed down through generations, Makhoyane reminded the audience that traditional beer has never simply been about drinking."It is our tradition. No matter how modern we become, there will always be ceremonies that require traditional beer," she explained.
Whether during lobola negotiations, family gatherings, weddings or ancestral ceremonies, umcombotsi continues to hold an important place within Swati customs. It is often prepared for occasions that bring families together, serving both as a symbol of hospitality and as an offering that connects the living with those who came before them.
Throughout the demonstration, Makhoyane spoke with the calm confidence of someone sharing knowledge she has lived rather than studied. She explained that she learnt the craft from elderly women within her family.
The demonstration began with dried maize kernels that had already undergone the early stages of preparation. Makhoyane explained how the maize is soaked before being pounded and left to ferment over several days. The mixture is then cooked into a soft sour porridge before the brewing process continues.
As she moved through each stage, she resisted rushing the process. Instead, she reminded the audience that good umcombotsi depends on patience. She explained that fermentation cannot be hurried because it is alive.
Many audience members leaned closer as she described how foam develops naturally before settling again as the brewing process continues. She also explained that, in earlier generations, the yeast collected from previous batches was never discarded. Instead, it was carefully preserved and reused for future brewing or baking, ensuring that nothing went to waste.
.jpeg)
Throughout the demonstration, it became increasingly clear that Makhoyane was not only teaching people how to brew beer. She was documenting a way of life that is slowly becoming less familiar to younger generations.
She acknowledged that more families have recently begun approaching her for guidance because many younger people no longer learn these traditions at home.
That sense of preservation has long shaped her work as an artist. Through music, Makhoyane has consistently celebrated Swati identity, traditional rhythms and oral storytelling. On stage, she preserves culture through performance.
At Luju, she preserved it through food. Both approaches reflected the same belief that heritage survives only when it is shared. In many ways, the demonstration blurred the line between performance and education.
Every explanation carried the rhythm of storytelling. Every ingredient carried memory. Every stage of the brewing process became an opportunity to explain not only how things are done, but why they continue to matter.
The Nguni Foodways programme has always sought to celebrate indigenous food knowledge alongside contemporary culinary experiences. Makhoyane's demonstration captured that balance perfectly. While Luju remains known for fine dining, wine tastings and modern gastronomy, sessions such as hers remind visitors that indigenous knowledge deserves the same platform.
By the end of the afternoon, the audience had learnt how maize becomes umcombotsi.
More importantly, they had been reminded why those recipes still matter.
One would note that for Makhoyane, preserving culture has never been confined to a concert stage or a festival performance. Whether she is singing traditional songs, performing at festivals such as MTN Bushfire or teaching people how to prepare umcombotsi, the purpose remains unchanged.
Each moment becomes another opportunity to ensure that the stories, customs and knowledge passed down by previous generations continue to find a place in the present. At Luju, she did not brew traditional beer. She brewed people back to memory, nostalgia even.
.jpeg)
.jpeg)
0 Comments