Growing up in the rural Eastern CApe, Si Miriam September was not especially steeped in her Xhosa heritage, in particular one of its most visible and unique manifestations: traditional beadwork.

It would only be many years later. as a mature woman living in Cape Town, far away from the place of her birth, that September would first take up a needle and thread, and begin creating the intricate beadwork or which the amaXhosa are world famous. In so doing, she has proudly reclaimed her heritage - and is playing her part in helping it to thrive.