Zenzile Miriam Makeba was born on March 4, 1932, in the black neighborhood of Prospect, close to Johannesburg. Her Swazi mother Christina Makeba worked as a domestic helper and sangoma, or traditional healer.
Her Xhosa father, Caswell Makeba, was a teacher who died when she was six years old. Makeba subsequently stated that before Makeba was even conceived, her mother had been warned that any future pregnancies might be fatal.
Both Miriam and her mother’s survival seemed improbable following a difficult labor and delivery. Frequently murmuring the Xhosa term “uzenzile,” which translates to “you brought this on yourself,” during Miriam’s mother’s recovery, Miriam’s grandma, who was present for the birth, persuaded her to give her daughter the name “Zenzile.”
Who is Miriam Makeba’s husband Sonny Pillay?
While living in England, Miriam Makeba married Sonny Pillay, a South African balladeer of Indian heritage; the couple split up shortly after. Sonny Pillay wasn’t popular like his wife at the time, and due to this, not much is known about him.
