Thirty-one-year-old Thendo Rathiyaya, who is known for driving around Lukau Tshishivhe village and the surrounding area in her donkey cart, cruised to the Tshilamba complex with a group of young children clad in traditional attire for the Heritage Day celebrations on Monday morning (25 September). They were received by loudly ululating locals and some even raised their traditional hats when Rathiyaya parked her donkey cart like a professional truck driver.
Rathiyaya made headlines in April this year when she used her donkey cart to escort a high-profile wedding from Tshandama village to the Tshilamba complex, which is about a kilometre away.
In an interview shortly after the children had alighted from the donkey cart, she told Limpopo Mirror how she started driving the donkey cart almost 20 years ago. "My parents and grandparents used their donkeys for ploughing and fetching water when I was very young, and I always accompanied them. They taught me how to drive the donkey cart when I was about 10 years old, and that was where it started for me."
She prided herself for being one of the best donkey-cart drivers in the country, even though she is a woman. "Driving donkey carts and riding donkeys and horses are not just for men anymore. We as women are just as capable. I charge very little for transporting people and goods from Tshilamba and the surrounding area," she said.
Rathiyaya extended an invitation to other young women who want to learn how to drive donkey carts to pay her a visit. She also offers her donkey cart services to transport couples for weddings, social gatherings, community meetings, or other functions.