Fiela Skippers – Onthouers | Rememberers
Fiela Skippers was 88 years old at the time of the interview, but asked her grandchild to confirm her age.
Fiela Skippers worked on farms for most her life, and most of the people who worked with her have died. She tells of her years working on the farms, but says she was never told stories growing up, as her parents were strict.
Fiela Skippers asks her grandchild how old she, Fiela, is and apparently she is 88 at the time of the interview. Fiela worked mostly for farmers throughout her life, and everyone who worked with her has passed away. Her father was too strict to tell them stories growing up.
I’m 88, this year I’ll be 89. For the rest I was, I’m just living here with my daughter, my husband passed away many years ago…
My name is Fiela, used to be Das but I married, didn’t I? Skippers. And now I am… sometimes I’m sick, I’m not healthy every day but I’m still around, by the grace of the Father. For the rest I’m just… Those years that I worked, I worked a lot for the farmers.
And the older members of my family are all dead, the young ones who worked with me are also all dead. I’m probably the only one left here on the farm. And then we, then I moved here, didn’t I, down from Karnemelkvlei. And then we came to live here. Now, we’ve been here for quite a few years, but I’m still alive… I have my sister who lives in town, but then I went blind with the stuff that the eyes get, that they call catars. I just say catars at the doctors. Then they worked on my eyes and ehh, then they recovered.
[gesturing to third person] She also worked, and then she had to leave her job. Her people moved, and then he… Now we just sit here. The people working at the packing shed had me for… A baby, she now looks after the baby because she was also a worker, but then they said she had to stay so that he could go work. So then she, she now works at the packing shed. And the other one works at the water shed, the eldest one. In this way we’re all here, bundled together. And this one works night shift.
Did your father and them tell many stories?
No, I was too small to…
He just said… He went to work at Valies [?? 02:50], up there at Karnemelksvlei. Now, in the evenings they would go drinking [inaudible 02:53], then he would hit us senseless.
I had a brother named Jan, he played the guitar a little. Then Pa would tell us in the afternoon, “Where have you been, you have to go get wood.” There wasn’t electricity and those things.
Then he tells me, “Ousie*, go and get the wood.”
Then I say, “Yes, we can go get the wood. Stop being naughty, you must also go.”
No, he takes his guitar and visits the other farm boys. Plays the guitar, and then they go somewhere. Now, I have a friend, her name is, what is the girl’s name again? Karolina, Lina. Then she tells me… “Ousie,” she says. Then she says, “Ousie, Ousie, where are we going?”
So I say, “We’re going into the [inaudible 03:39], and then we’ll just break off those thorn bushes and then we come back with the small ones.”
When they get there, we’re already back at the house, with the house things.
Hmm. “But you haven’t broken any wood for me.”
Then I ask, “Did you have a rope? You can see where we broke the wood, can’t you?”
“Yes, but I don’t see that wood. Tonight I’m going to give you a proper hiding, because you’re enjoying yourself too much. Playing the guitar. Go and dance with the farm boys, and children, but you don’t want to help me. When I get home in the afternoon, I have to clean the house, do the washing and all those things, but you sit and play the guitar.”
Pa never [inaudible 04:19] us with the hat. He took off his hat, then he hit us with it. I got my hiding. Every time I made a mistake, I had to suffer.
Then he says to me, one day he says, “Ousie, you know, you’re not being fair.”
“Pa only hit you twice.”
I say, “I brought my wood in, you haven’t even carried in water, and you play your guitar.”
So he plays his guitar until Pa comes.
Says, “Have you made coffee?” Asks me whether I’ve made coffee.
I say, “No, it’s your job. You have to make coffee.”
Fiela Skippers was 88 jaar oud ten tyde van die onderhoud, maar moes haar kleinkind vra hoe oud sy werklik is.
Fiela het haar lewe lank meestal op plase gewerk. Amper al die mense wat saam met haar gewerk het, is al dood. Sy vertel van die jare wat sy op die plase gewerk het, maar sê sy het nooit stories gehoor toe sy klein was nie omdat haar ouers so streng was.
Om seker te maak, vra Fiela Skippers haar kleinkind hoe oud sy, Fiela, is – sy is skynbaar 88 ten tyde van die onderhoud. Fiela het haar lewe lank meestal vir boere gewerk. Almal wat saam met haar gewerk het, is al dood. Haar pa was te streng om vir hulle stories te vertel toe hulle kinders was.
My naam is Fiela, Das gewees, maar nou is ek mos getroud, Skippers. En, nou is ek … partykeers is ek siek, en ek is nou ook nie elke dag gesond nie, maar ek hou darem nou nog, deur die genade van die Vader. Verder is ek mos nou net, daai tyd wat ek gewerk het was, het ek baie gewerk vir die boere.
En, my voorgeslagmense is almal dood, die jonges wat saam met my gewerk het, is ook al dood. Is seker nou nog net ek wat hier op die plaas is. En dan’t ons, toe’t ek mos getrek, hiernatoe, bo uit Karnemelkvlei. En toe’t ons nou hier gekom bly. Nou, ons is nou ook al ’n paar jaar hier, maar ek hou nog steeds … Ek het my suster wat in die dorp bly, maar toe’t ek mos blind geword met die goeters wat die oë het, wat hulle sê, die katare. Ek sê sommer katare by die dokters. Toe het hulle aan my oë gewerk, enne, daarvan af het dit nou weer reggekom. [wys na derde persoon] Sy’t ook gewerk, en toe’t sy maar haar werk moet los. Haar mense het toe getrek, en toe’t hy, sit ons nou maar hier. Die mense wat by die pakstoor werk het my as, ’n babatjie, nou kyk sy na dié want sy was ook ’n werker, maar toe sê hulle sy moet bly dat hy kan loop werk. Toe’t sy nou, sy werk nou by die pakstoor. En die ander een werk by die waterstoor, die oudste ene. Op dié manier sit ons nou maar hier op ’n bolling. En dié een werk nagskof.
Ouma, Ouma se pa-hulle baie vir Ouma-hulle stories vertel?
Nee, ek was te klein om…
Hy’t nou net uitgesê, hy’t mos by Valies [?? 02:50] gaan werk, doer bo by Karnemelksvlei. Nou, saans het hulle mos gaan doppe [onhoorbaar 02:53], dan slaat hy darem vir ons daar deurmekaar. Ek het ’n broer gehad met die naam van Jan, hy’t so ’n bietjie kitaar speel. Dan sê Pa vir ons agtermiddag: “Waar was julle, julle moet loop hout haal.” Daar’s nog nie krag en daai goeters nie.
Dan sê hy vir my: “Ousie, gaan loop haal die hout.”
Dan sê ek: “Ja, ons kan maar die hout haal, maar jy vat jou stout, dan loop haal jy ook.”
Nee, dan vat hy sy kitaar, dan hou hy tussen die boerklonge rond. Speel die kitaar, en nou loop hulle. En nou het ek ’n maat, die naam is, wat is die meisie se naam nou? … Karolina, Lina. Dan vertel sy my Ousie, sê sy.
Dan sê sy: “Ousie, Ousie, waar gaan ons loop?”
Dan sê ek: “Ons gaan nou in die [onhoorbaar 03:39] ry, en dan breek ons net daai doringbosse en dan kom ons met die kleintjies.”
Toe hulle daar kom, toe’s ons al weer by die huis, met die huisgoete.
Hmm. “Jy’t dan nie vir my hout gebreek nie.”
Toe vra ek: “Het jy ’n tou gehad? Jy kan mos sien waar ons hout gebreek het.”
“Ja, maar ek sien nie daai hout nie, ek gaan vanaand vir jou ’n ordentlike pak gee, want jy kry darem net té lekker. Speel die kitaar. Loop en dans met die boerklonge, en kinders, maar jy wil nie vir my help nie. As ek middag by die huis kom, moet ek huis aan die kant maak, wasgoed was en alles daai dinge doen, maar jy sit en kitaar speel.”
Pa het nooit vir ons iets [onhoorbaar 04:19] met die hoed nie, sy hoed afgehaal, dan slaat hy daarmee. Ek het my pak gekry. Elke tyd as ek ’n fout maak, dan moet ek onderdeur kom.
Toe sê hy eendag vir my: “Ousie, weet jy, jy’s darem nie reg nie.”
“Wat het ek dan nou gemaak?”
“Pa het jou net twee houtjies gegee”.
Ek sê: “Ek het my hout ingebring. Jy’t nie eers water ingedra nie, en jy speel kitaar.”
Nou speel hy maar kitaar tot Pa kom.
Sê: “Het jy al koffie gemaak?” Vra vir my of ek al koffie gemaak het.
Sê ek: “Nee, dis jou werk. Jy moet koffie maak.”