Bound by love

Translated in isiZulu, isibopho means obligation, duty or bond – words that represent some of the truths of marriage. This is a concept and a series of dos and don’ts that many of us black women have been taught from a very young age: with lessons on how to secure a husband, how to keep him, and how to get along with his family. And when it comes to following these unwritten rules, Thandi Ndlovu (Zethu Dlomo) is the makoti of many a family’s dreams.

We meet Thandi, in the pilot episode of Isibopho, as the first person awake in the household preparing breakfast for her husband and in-laws. “When viewers meet Thandi she is a happy wife, mother and makoti,” says Zethu. “Her days are typical: cooking, cleaning and helping out sometimes at the family store. All is well in her world until suddenly her life is flipped upside down in a heartbeat…” adds the actress.

Following a family tragedy (we’re being generous here, they know what they did!), Thandi has a new duty to bear: To marry her criminal brother-in-law S’goloza (Sicelo Dlamini), a man who does not have the best intentions for her and the people she loves. But cooking, babies and keeping house is not the sum of any woman’s knowledge or potential, and there’s more to Thandi than meets the eye… or than S’goloza could ever suspect.

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PS: A lot has already gone down in episodes 1 & 2, but the great news is you can quickly get into the flow of the story, because all episodes will be available on Catch Up until January 2023!

Watch Isibopho Season 1 Sundays at 21:00 on Mzansi Wethu, DStv Channel 163, and on Catch Up

Thandi: Guided & graced

Before viewers were introduced to Thandi as a mother and wife in the first episode on Sunday, 10 July, we followed her through a bad dream in which she and her husband Mazwi (Lerato Makhetha) encountered a black cat while on a romantic walk. In the dream Thandi warned him of walking past it, but he continued to walk and just vanished in front of her eyes Thandi shouted for him, but all we heard were echoes and cries in the background until she woke up in a panic. Mazwi, who was then still alive and sleeping beside her, woke and comforted her. Was this dream a premonition of sorts? What is Thandi’s backstory that we don’t understand yet?

First of all, Mazwi’s loss represents more than loss of a marriage, it echoes loss of a family and a threat of loneliness – Thandi’s greatest fear. “Thandi lost both her parents when she was still a baby and was raised by her aunt and her husband,” explains Zethu. “She had a good upbringing in a warm and happy home though she always felt the loneliness and gap of losing her parents.” As a result of her loss, Thandi treasures family bonds, which is why she is so trusting of her mother-in-law Onica (Mazwi Sgoloza’s mother, played by the legendary Slindile Nodangala).

Dreams will feature significantly in Isibopho, so Thandi being protected and guided from the spirit world and open to its warnings, as her dream shows us, stands in her favour.

S’goloza & Thandi: losing love

Surprisingly, the fear of loneliness and rejection is something that Thandi and S’goloza share, deep down.

Onica’s household is deeply divided. On one side there’s Onica and her son S’goloza (the older brother), on the other side, both men’s father, Jacob (Dr Jerry Mofokeng wa Makhetha), and younger son Mazwi. Unfortunately, S’goloza’s father has always reminded him of his dark past, even when he tries to be better. Jacob even tells him in the first episode, “You were born at the wrong place at the wrong time”.

We first meet Sgoloza lurking in an unfinished building, meeting a group of guys for some obviously underhanded business. “S’goloza is an ex-con, he has been to jail for numerous things and has learnt through hardships in jail,” says Sicelo. “He tries to rehabilitate himself and tries to live a clean life when he comes out of jail but that becomes impossible because of family politics and him wanting to be close to his mom. He is forced to go back to his old ways.” This and Jacob’s love and honour for his “golden boy” Mazwi leaves S’goloza out in the cold, searching for validation and love from his mother Onica.

Although he gives off a tough exterior S’goloza’s relationship with his mother Onica and his girlfriend Mumsy (Dineo Lusenge) show us a man who’s capable of a deep love and loyalty. He even proposes to Mumsy in episode 1 when she wins a game of fafi. “He’s a loving guy, a consistent individual that goes all out for what he believes in,” insists Sicelo. “Marrying Thandi becomes a hard decision for S’goloza because he is very much in love with Mumsy. He truly and genuinely loves her but is now caught up in this plan to make sure he gets the inheritance.”

While the story is centred on the theme of losing love for both S’goloza and Thandi, the two might yet find a different kind of love in each other. “Thandi always viewed S’goloza as a criminal, the useless brother-in-law, although she respected him as ubaba omncane to her daughter Amahle. When she is thrown into marriage with him, she sees the other side of him; a vulnerable and sensitive S’goloza,” says Zethu, who emphasises, though, that Thandi will never love another man the way that she loved Mazwi.

Life teaches us…

Viewers will walk away from Isibopho with lessons in love and loss – and even how important it is for us to plan for our families before we pass away, from the equitable division of an estate, to drawing up wills in time. In a traditional family S’goloza would be entitled to the lion’s share of the estate as the older brother. “S’goloza is part of the family and is his father’s biological son, so when it comes to splitting the estate, all kids should be included. But because S’goloza lived a very rough life not much has been allocated to him, which is why he needs to fight for it himself,” explains Sicelo.

Watch Isibopho Season 1 Sundays at 21:00 on Mzansi Wethu, DStv Channel 163, and on Catch Up

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