How does Mathabane describe his father in the memoir, Kaffir Boy: The True Story of a Black Youth’s Coming of Age in Apartheid South Africa?

Mathabane describes his father as a "short, gaunt figure, with a smooth, tight, black-as-coal skin," and "large prominent jaws." The "sole function" of his "thin, uneven lips" appears to be "the production of sneers." "Born and bred" in the tribal reserve of the Vendas, he rules his house according to tribal law, "tolerating no deviance."