Christina Kim

Several times a year, the whole family would go back to Constantia to bring dahlias and lilies to the tombstones in the family graveyard.

Several times a year, the whole family would go back to Constantia to bring dahlias and lilies to the tombstones in the family graveyard.

And those pinecones are what brings us back to the almonds that Ernestine smelled while visiting that German Christmas market many years later. The one that transported her back in time to her grandmother's kitchen in South Africa, to Grassy Park, and back to Constantia.

And those pinecones are what brings us back to the almonds that Ernestine smelled while visiting that German Christmas market many years later. The one that transported her back in time to her grandmother's kitchen in South Africa, to Grassy Park, and back to Constantia.

And those pinecones are what brings us back to the almonds that Ernestine smelled while visiting that German Christmas market many years later. The one that transported her back in time to her grandmother's kitchen in South Africa, to Grassy Park, and back to Constantia.

They'd roast the pine nuts, together with her grandmother, aunts and cousins, and make a traditional sweet dessert known as tamalecki.

They'd roast the pine nuts, together with her grandmother, aunts and cousins, and make a traditional sweet dessert known as tamalecki.

They'd roast the pine nuts, together with her grandmother, aunts and cousins, and make a traditional sweet dessert known as tamalecki.

Ernestine's smell-triggered memory was layered, complex. It was happy, it was sad. It was both a window into a childhood memory and a whole country's history. And at its core, it was an act of resistance. Because at the same time that Ernestine's family was making tamaleke, the brutal system of apartheid was literally obliterating her sense of smell.

Ernestine's smell-triggered memory was layered, complex. It was happy, it was sad. It was both a window into a childhood memory and a whole country's history. And at its core, it was an act of resistance. Because at the same time that Ernestine's family was making tamaleke, the brutal system of apartheid was literally obliterating her sense of smell.

Ernestine's smell-triggered memory was layered, complex. It was happy, it was sad. It was both a window into a childhood memory and a whole country's history. And at its core, it was an act of resistance. Because at the same time that Ernestine's family was making tamaleke, the brutal system of apartheid was literally obliterating her sense of smell.

Throughout the 1980s and 90s, the anti-apartheid movement was growing in Grassy Park. And the response by the South African apartheid government was fast. Riot police were a daily presence, and the air always smelled like burning tires and tear gas.

Throughout the 1980s and 90s, the anti-apartheid movement was growing in Grassy Park. And the response by the South African apartheid government was fast. Riot police were a daily presence, and the air always smelled like burning tires and tear gas.

Throughout the 1980s and 90s, the anti-apartheid movement was growing in Grassy Park. And the response by the South African apartheid government was fast. Riot police were a daily presence, and the air always smelled like burning tires and tear gas.

Tear gas is an assault on the senses. It's meant to disorient and dislocate. But in the face of that, Ernestine's family made sure she knew that the smell of pine cones, of rich, fertile earth, of dahlias and lilies, and of sweet tamaleke were part of her. That she and her family were more than burning tires and suffering.

Tear gas is an assault on the senses. It's meant to disorient and dislocate. But in the face of that, Ernestine's family made sure she knew that the smell of pine cones, of rich, fertile earth, of dahlias and lilies, and of sweet tamaleke were part of her. That she and her family were more than burning tires and suffering.

Tear gas is an assault on the senses. It's meant to disorient and dislocate. But in the face of that, Ernestine's family made sure she knew that the smell of pine cones, of rich, fertile earth, of dahlias and lilies, and of sweet tamaleke were part of her. That she and her family were more than burning tires and suffering.

It's been 30 years since the end of apartheid in South Africa. And until recently, Ernestine lived just a few blocks from where she grew up in Grassy Park. She still goes back to Constantia, only now she's bringing her three kids and passing the smells and rituals on to them.

It's been 30 years since the end of apartheid in South Africa. And until recently, Ernestine lived just a few blocks from where she grew up in Grassy Park. She still goes back to Constantia, only now she's bringing her three kids and passing the smells and rituals on to them.

It's been 30 years since the end of apartheid in South Africa. And until recently, Ernestine lived just a few blocks from where she grew up in Grassy Park. She still goes back to Constantia, only now she's bringing her three kids and passing the smells and rituals on to them.