CULTURE RUNS THROUGH YOUR VEINS

By Mhleli Mkhize

 

 

Activate yourself to duty by remembering your position, who you are, and what you have obliged yourself to be-Thomas Kempis quote

Part of the reason one may start research their family history would be to satisfy their curiosity about the unique heritage and culture their family shares.  Growing up in the South isn’t like growing up anywhere else in the world – we talk funny, we have strange sayings, we have traditions that are odd to outsiders, and we celebrate each and every one of the oddities that make us different

September marks the annual Heritage Month in South Africa. The theme for this year’s Heritage Month is ‘Reclaiming, restoring and celebrating our living heritage’.

accesssories of the Zulu tradition

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Heritage Month distinguishes aspects of South African culture which are both tangible and intangible, creative expression such as music and performances, our historical inheritance, language, the food we eat as well as the popular memory. The Liberation Heritage of South Africa is characterised by peoples’ identification with particular spaces and places shaped by historical events and collective memory.

Not many people understand the real significance of or meaning behind Heritage Day which is celebrated annually on 24 September. For some, it is an opportunity to simply get together with family and friends for a braai, but does this take into account the number of cultures that make up our “rainbow nation”?

Former South African President Nelson Mandela briefly enlightened it when he said the following in a Heritage Day speech: "When our first democratically-elected government decided to make Heritage Day one of our national days, we did so because we knew that our rich and varied cultural heritage has a profound power to help build our new nation”.

Mthokozisi Zondo a very young traditional doctor said that “Heritage Day is an important public holiday in South Africa as it recognises different aspects of South African culture and encourages South Africans across the field to celebrate their cultural heritage, the diversity of their beliefs and different traditions. Heritage not only refers to our historical inheritance, creative expression and food, but it also embraces the various languages that have become entrenched in our cultural systems.”

 

The black population of South Africa is divided into four major ethnic groups; namely Nguni (Zulu, Xhosa, Ndebele and Swazi), Sotho, Shangaan-Tsonga and Venda. There are numerous subgroups within these, of which the Zulu and Xhosa (two subgroups of the Nguni group) are the largest.

Ndumiso Mzokweni an exhibitor in the Digital media Festival which took place at the Durban University of Technology said that, having to exhibit some of my clothes here has been a great achievement for me ever considering I was exhibiting for the first time to the students and to its management, I believe in culture believe in the creativity it allows me to have. I’d say let us remember who we are embrace our identities.

Freedom of cultural, religious and linguistic expression is now enshrined in the constitution. The term Ubuntu, meaning “I am because you are”, is used to engender respect for other people.