WRAPPED IN LOVE: DEAR RIBANE, MERRY CHRISTMAS

Words: Lesego Ntsime | Images: Supplied

Joburg-based siblings and artists; Tebogo, Manthe, and Kay Kay Ribane - collectively known as Dear Ribane - take authenticity to unimaginable heights.

In many ways, the Ribane siblings are an experience you allow yourself to be utterly engulfed in. An ethereal and transcendental experience.

Tebogo, Manthe, and Kay Kay Ribane are siblings who can be best described as trailblazers. From major collaborations, to the even simplest Instagram post, it is clear that behind every endeavour rests intention - one that is derived from authenticity.

So when you show up as your fullest self with this much ferocity, how boldly do you step into Christmas?

Superbalist chats to Dear Ribane to find out:

Growing up, Tebogo, Manthe, and Kay Kay ushered in Christmas by waking up at 5am to catch a glimpse of the sun dancing as per an occult rumour. It is perhaps this same fervour in childhood that has blossomed into a consistent commitment to carving out their own path, fearlessly so. As adults, they now begin the day with prayer, prepare the Christmas meal, and head off to church (that unyielding intent making an appearance again).

As a sibling powerhouse, it comes as no surprise that the Ribanes’ Christmas revolves primarily around family. One can tell that it simply isn’t Christmas without their loved ones to celebrate with.

“It’s a special feeling to be around people you share blood and a bond with,” they remark.

Whether they are making muses of their family members and conceptualising shoots that celebrate and immortalise them or planning on buying plenty of data to converge with family members via phone calls and Zoom (as the pandemic would have it).

The holiday season always feels like a fervent reawakening of all the values that truly make life. For Tebogo, Manthe, and Kay Kay; a ubiquitous value they live by throughout the year is gratitude and there is no better way to honour existence than gratitude.

“We carry gratitude with us throughout the year. It’s often during the holidays that you feel most grateful for what you have but we try to carry that feeling throughout the year,” they share with us.

Christmas is both intimate and collective - every exchange from family members to strangers is infused with care. For the Ribanes, it is vital that they share their willingness to live and extend kindness to others. Compassion is evidently a pressing matter to them.

“For us, it’s important to have a willingness towards life, a willingness to be kind, to show up, to be there for people. And that is what we want others to experience from us,” the siblings assert quite humbly.

It’s in the way they touch on celebrating one another’s wins and creating ample room to recognise their achievements. A bond anchored in reaffirmation is one that is most certainly unbreakable.

“Showing up and celebrating each other is the biggest way our bond is strengthened.”

When we talk about gifting, they mention intentional gifts - “gifts that have a deeper meaning” to them. Journals and cameras capture (and encourage them) to remain rooted in the present moment. There is no “best gifter” among them because they speak different languages of gifting.

Kay Kay is described as an essential gifter, Manthe the go-all-out gifter, and Tebogo the consistent gifter. There are dimensions to this love, but it is evident that it is immense enough to hold space for every difference.

Styled by Manthe. Shopped by you.

Gold.

That’s the colour that encapsulates this family’s Christmas.

“For us it symbolises the treasure of Christmas and how valuable people are to us.”

Their fondest Christmas memory?

Spending the day with both their maternal and paternal sides of the family when they unveiled a tombstone to commemorate and honour the memory of their dearly departed parents.

“We usually alternate between families, but in 2019 we unveiled the tombstone of our dearly departed parents to both sides of the family and we all celebrated life together as one big family,” they warmly add. A celebration of life and an affirmation of the transcendental power of love.

Styled by Tebogo. Shopped by you.

On a lighter note, this family is on the affirmative side of the trifle wars. “A Christmas staple!” they call it.

“Even the intricacies that a making a trifle call for, are such a special reminder of Christmas,” they comment. Like the artists they are, they value it most for the complexities in its process.

Want to dig into a Ribane family favourite this year? Try this Traditional Trifle recipe:

Ingredients

400g mixed berries

Frozen lemon — zest only

125ml castor sugar

60ml water

Cream cheese

100g blueberries — frozen

125 ml cream — fresh, whipped

80g fresh pomegranate (optional)

Fresh mint leaves

1 l yoghurt — strawberry flavoured

Swiss rolls — cut into thin slices

1-1,5 l custard

250 g raspberries — frozen

125 g gooseberries

Method

1. For the berry sauce, put the frozen berries in a medium-sized saucepan and heat for a few minutes until they soften, then crush them with a fork. Add the lemon zest, castor sugar, and water and cook for 5 minutes until the mixture has thickened and reduced.
2. Layering: Whisk the cream cheese until soft and smooth and put in a large dish. Add the yoghurt a little at a time, beating well after each addition to prevent any lumps from forming. Continue until all the yoghurt has been combined with the cream cheese.
3. In a deep glass trifle dish, arrange the Swiss roll slices up the sides and on the base. Add a layer of custard and then the cream cheese mixture.
4. Drizzle the cooled berry sauce around the edge, followed by a layer of mixed berries.
5. Repeat the layering with the Swiss roll, custard, cream cheese mixture, berry sauce, and mixed berries, until the dish is filled. Top with cream and more berries.
6. Garnish with the pomegranates (if using) and mint leaves and serve immediately or cover with clingfilm and keep in the fridge until you need it.

Source: Food24

Love is the boldest act of all, and this the Ribane siblings have a profound understanding of.

At our most intentional and authentic, we love. Fiercely and unapologetically. On Christmas and every other day.

Styled by Kay Kay. Shopped by you.