Abdeyah da Costa with her book Faith, Fashion, Fortitude
When you step into the home of 100-year-old Abdeyah da Costa, affectionately known to many as “Aunty A”, you are immediately met with a sense of warmth, tradition and the overwhelming feeling that you are in the presence of someone who has lived through an entire century of South African history.
Aunty A, at first glance, appears serious, composed and dignified. But the moment she begins speaking, that perception softens instantly, replaced by the warmth and love so vividly spoken about in the recently released book, Abdeyah da Costa: Faith, Fashion, Fortitude, written collaboratively by her nephews and relatives Salie Manie, Ashiek Manie, Tughfa Hamdulay and Faseeg Manie.
The biography paints an intimate portrait of a woman whose life became intertwined with the social and cultural history of the Bo-Kaap community.
She greets me by reciting one of her favourite poems before asking about me first.
