The family and friends of the late Phumla Lugulwana have broken away from the funeral rite of giving away the deceased’s clothes to relatives. Instead, they are auctioning them.
Phumla who together with her twin sister passed away last year due to Covid-19 complications, was a chief customer of the Maxhosa Africa knitwear brand founded Laduma Ngxokolo.
When she died, the award winning designer, Laduma, took to Twitter to announce his grief and heartfelt condolences to the family.
The auction which went online in November features mostly items that Phumla bought from Maxhosa Africa and according to organisers, funds raised will go towards a bursary trust for the twin’s children.
The auction is run by auctioneer Lungelo Matiwane and non-profit organisation NNX Adventures.
NNX Adventure’s spokesperson Xola Magodla said the decision to auction Phumla’s clothes as opposed to giving them away was to “change cultural stereotypes ”.
“We are basically rewriting the sociocultural narrative. All traditional practices were observed when she was buried but we felt the need to move away from the sharing of her belongings since she had high end clothing and other personal items,” he said.
He added that he felt that auctioning her clothes would serve a better purpose – and the interests of the surviving family.
“Some people outside of the family argue, culture doesn’t allow personal belongings to be sold and so on. We believe otherwise. Culture evolves and should never put us at a disadvantage,” he said.
There will be two unconfirmed speakers as yet who will address on Covid-19 lessons and controversies surrounding vaccination myths.
The on-site auction will be held at the President Hotel in Sea Point on Sunday December 5 from 10am. For details call Nomawethu 072 500 4313.