For millions of South Africans, "going home" is far more than a routine trip from the city to a rural town or family homestead.
As Heritage Month highlights the spaces where culture is truly lived, returning to ekhaya represents a profound return to identity, language and belonging. It is a necessary pilgrimage back to the people, traditions, and values that defined us long before careers, ambitions, and the pressures of adult life took over.
For many, this connection becomes particularly visible during the festive season, when thousands of South Africans make the annual journey home to spend Christmas and the holidays with their families.
"The National" recently interviewed Maskandi artist Khuzani Mpungose about why going home remains an important grounding experience, even as his career has taken him from his hometown of Nkandla to major stages in South Africa and beyond.
“Going home is not simply about travelling from one place to another. It is about returning to the source of who I am,” he says.
Ekhaya is where identity begins
The "Ijele" hitmaker says home connects him to the people, land, language, traditions and values that shaped him before he became a household name.
At his family home in Nkandla, he is not simply the successful musician known for performing to large audiences. He returns as a son, brother, relative and member of his community.
That distinction, he says, is important.
“Before there was a career, there was a family. Before there were audiences, there was a community. Before there were awards, there were people who believed in me when there was no guarantee that the dream would succeed.”
The experience illustrates why the concept of ekhaya remains significant in South African culture.
Home can provide a sense of identity that exists independently of professional success or social status.
Mpungose compares it to the roots of a tree: its branches may stretch far, but its survival depends on what lies beneath the ground.
“The further I travel, though, the more clearly I understand the importance of my roots,” he says.
Going home reconnects us with culture
For Mpungose, returning home also means reconnecting with ubuntu and a communal way of life.
City living can be fast-paced, with people consumed by work, traffic, deadlines, finances and career ambitions.
Returning home creates an opportunity to slow down and reconnect with relationships.
It can mean greeting elders, listening to family stories, checking on relatives and neighbours and simply sitting together without the pressure of a schedule.
Mpungose says these seemingly ordinary moments help keep him connected to the cultural foundation of his music.
“I also reconnect with isiZulu in its richest and most natural form. I reconnect with the expressions, humour, wisdom and storytelling that are part of the environment in which I was raised.”
That connection is particularly significant for a Maskandi artist.
“Maskandi is the music of lived experience,” he says. “It carries our history, our joys, our hardships, our relationships, our disagreements and the way we understand the world.”
For him, staying connected to home therefore means staying connected to the people and experiences that inform his creative work.
Why simple moments matter
Going home can also provide something that money, luxury and travel cannot necessarily offer: belonging.
The entertainment industry requires Mpungose to constantly move between performances, interviews, recording sessions, rehearsals and other commitments. Home provides an opportunity to step away from that pace.
“A shared meal becomes more than food. It becomes an opportunity for the family to sit together, talk, laugh and remember,” he says.
These moments can become especially valuable as families become more dispersed across South Africa.
Children may live in different cities from their grandparents. Siblings may spend most of the year apart. Relatives who once saw each other regularly may now only reunite during major holidays.
The festive season creates a moment when those relationships can be renewed.
For Mpungose, being present is more important than the material aspects of the holidays.
“Money can buy many things, but it cannot buy back time,” he says.
Home keeps heritage alive
The family homestead is also a space where heritage can be passed between generations.
Stories are shared, elders speak to younger family members, traditional foods are prepared and family histories are remembered.
Language, customs and values are often transmitted through these everyday interactions rather than formal institutions.
Mpungose believes that progress should not require people to abandon where they come from.
“I can embrace modern platforms, travel internationally and take Maskandi into new spaces without removing its soul,” he says.
That perspective speaks to a broader question about heritage in a rapidly changing South Africa: how do people remain connected to their cultural identities while living increasingly modern, urban and global lives?
For Mpungose, the answer begins with remembering where you come from.
Going home is not going backwards
As the festive period approaches, many South Africans will once again make long journeys to their family homes.
Mpungose believes that returning home should not be viewed as a rejection of progress.
“Going home is not moving backwards,” he says. “It is not a rejection of progress.”
Instead, he sees it as an opportunity to reconnect with the people and values that made progress possible in the first place.
He also encourages people to be present when they return home, particularly with older family members.
“Sit with them. Listen to them. Ask questions about the family and its history.”
Ultimately, going home can be a form of remembrance and gratitude.
The festive season eventually ends. Families will return to their cities, jobs and responsibilities, and the roads will become quieter.
But the memories created around the family table, the stories shared by elders and the time spent together can remain long after the journey home is over.
For him, that is the real value of ekhaya.
“Whenever I return home, I remember that I am carrying something much bigger than myself. I am carrying a name, a history, a community and a culture.”
And perhaps that is why, for so many South Africans, going home continues to feel like coming back to oneself.
zamandosi.cele@nationamg.co.za