
N. Goduka et al.
showing respect towards elders; respect for one’s body i.e. not defiling body with pre-marital sex; girls at ado-
lescence not eating highly protein foods like eggs and milk, thus delaying sexual activity; girls not eating lambs
that die but leaving that to the boys; boys and young men not engaging in sexual activities consumption of liquor
and drugs ;spirituality: showing respect and giving honour to Almighty God and believing that he is the giver of
good long healthy lives.
4. Conclusion
As the number of elderly people increase in the world, it is good to develop interventions that would contribute
to graceful aging and longevity. Genetics have been indentified in this study as a major contributing factor to
longevity. However, other factors include gender, spirituality, daily activity and diet. As in many other reports,
our results also show that being female tends to be associated with longevity. Normal diet which include vegeta-
bles and daily activities like gardening, household chores and walking are all contributing factors to longevity in
the Joe Gqabi District Municipality in South Africa.
Acknowledgements
We are grateful to the Department of Science and Technology (DST), National Research Foundation (NRF),
South Africa for funding this study through a grant awarded to the Research Chair for Indigenous Knowledge
Systems at Walter Sisulu University. Special thanks to Fr Mafu Ponya, Ms Nkamu Leola and the local commu-
nity of Joe Gqabi District Municipality for their contribution to this study.
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