Our Blended Heritage

The entrance to the Castle of Good Hope

Since Eidul-Adha*, or the Feast of Sacrifice, falls on Heritage Day this year, I thought I would share a little of our Cape Malay history.

The Slave Lodge 

Soon after Jan van Riebeeck arrived in the Cape, slavery was introduced to satisfy the Dutch East India Company’s need for labour. After an initial shipment of slaves from West Africa, slaves were imported from the east coast of Africa, Madagascar, Mauritius, Ceylon, India, the Malay Peninsula and the islands that make up modern Indonesia. 

For the following 180 years, South Africa was a slave state. Although the slaves were not associated with Malaysia, they spoke Malay, a kind of universal language from the area. The Nationalist Party government in all their wisdom introduced the Population Registration Act in 1950, whereby they divided the “coloured” people into seven (yes, 7) subgroups, one of which was the Cape Malay group.

Some early 20th century  Muslims in the Cape
(courtesy of the Simonstown Heritage Museum)

Many of them were political exiles and skilled craftsmen – carpenters, tailors, and cooks, who were able to earn a living and eventually buy their freedom and settled in the area known as the Bo-Kaap. Many of the slaves managed to hold onto their Muslim faith and culture and even though there was intermarriage, their religion and culture kept them together. 

Young Bo-Kaap residents

Bo-Kaap street 

Perhaps most representative of the blended history of the Cape is Malay cuisine – predominantly Indonesian in origin, the dishes have been influenced by India (curries, rotis, samoosas), Netherlands (baked puddings tarts and biscuits, e.g. melktert to which they added their own nutmeg or cinnamon), and the French Huguenots (preserves); exotic spices have been added to create dishes like bobotie, pickled fish and sosaties and accompaniments of sambals and blatjangs.

*Eidul-Adha, or the Feast of Sacrifice is celebrated about 70 days after Ramadan at the completion of the hajj, or pilgrimage to Mecca - . A young goat or lamb is sacrificed to commemorate Allah’s command to the prophet Ebrahim (or Abraham), to sacrifice his son. The meat from this animal is distributed to the needy, family and friends. 

Read more: 

Echoes of Slavery: Voices from South Africa’s Past by Jackie Loos, published by David Philip 

The Cape Malay Cookbook by Faldela Williams, published by Struik

For more on Heritage in this blog, see also:
The Slave  Route Challenge 
Celebrating Africa
Lavender, Potjiekos and Travel 
Orpheus in Africa 
Walking through History 

Wise Women (and Dr Spock)

I have had quite a woman's week. It started and ended with two of Cathy Eden’s Midlife Matters workshops, exploring the concerns, challenges and strategies of being an aging woman in our society. We all threw up our arms in protest at the idea that we could possibly be “wise women”. Perhaps we have images of old crones bent over bubbling pots and can't quite face that yet. 

On Monday evening I had the almost surreal experience of attending the first in a series of antenatal classes with a friend who has asked me to be her birth partner. There I sat in a circle with 12 sets of prospective parents – all first time and about half my age. One of the exercises that they had to do was to list all their birthing and parenting concerns.

Well, the session was indicative of one of the challenges that we face in this 21^st century – too much information and too little knowledge. People had lists that filled A4 pages - I couldn't believe how worried they were about everything - postnatal depression, choosing between natural birth and a Caesar, breastfeeding, routine, and balancing work and parenting in general. All valid I suppose, but I wanted to shout, “All your baby needs is you!” The internet has become their enemy because they suddenly are faced with the worst-case scenarios of every aspect of what is essentially one of the most natural stages of life.

I had to sit on my hands to keep myself from jumping up and responding to each one. It wasn't appropriate for me since I was there in a different role and didn't want to step onto the toes of the facilitator. But I realized that I could have dealt with each of those concerns through the experience that I have as mother, occupational therapist, yoga teacher and traveler. It was especially hard to keep quiet when one of the future dads said spontaneous weekends and travel were soon to be thing of the past. I wanted to wave my hands in the air and say, “Look at me, we've travelled the world with our children!” I’ll have to tell him that during the tea break next time.

It was an unexpected reminder of how much I've learned; without being aware of it, life has made us wiser and we still have a role to play in a society challenged by the technology revolution, climate change disasters, wars and conflict, and all the anxiety that this brings to giving birth and raising children. As Dr Benjamin Spock said way back in the 1940s, "You know more than you think you do." (The Common Sense Book of Baby and Childcare)

Yesterday I attended a talk with another wise woman Dr Azila Reisinberger, who officiated at the Mezcla of a Wedding I attended little while ago. She is Head of the Hebrew Department at UCT, a champion of women’s rights and gender equality, acting rabbi and member of MENSA. She spoke about women in the bible, which was fascinating and entertaining and appealed to the Christian, Muslim and Jewish woman in the audience. Her real gift is her ability to highlight the traditions and beliefs which are common to different people and cultures and bring them together in a celebration of humanity. Wise Women of the World, Unite!

Clued up on Culture

Yesterday I went shopping for a gift for visitors from the Middle East. I hadn’t met them before, although my husband had. I wanted to buy something meaningful – which is difficult when he was as scant with information as he usually is in situations like these and had no helpful suggestions.

I rejected neutral gifts like scarves/shawls (coals to Newcastle and all that). Foodstuff wouldn’t do and you don’t buy perfume for anyone else unless you know what they like. Something South African would be great, so I dashed off to the Carrol Boyes shop at the nearby mall. 

While looking at the beautifully displayed pewter and stainless steel artworks on the shelves I remembered, in time, that I couldn’t be buying anything with the human form or figures, especially not naked, for fear of offending religious and cultural customs and beliefs. Eventually I settled on items which were not too big to transport, which I trusted would not offend and which would convey the feelings of welcome and friendship we wished to. 

In the Middle Eastern countries like Qatar or Saudi Arabia there is a process of doing business. You do business with people you know and trust. There is a ritual of exchanging gifts, sharing meals and getting to know each other, that cannot be hurried.

After negotiating this task, I remembered a valuable little book I bought a few years ago. It is called “Clued up on Culture” and is a guide about religious and cultural observance in South Africa, aiming to raise awareness about the diversity of the different people who make up our still new democracy. The primary function of the book is to advise the reader on what to do and say when confronted with the life stages of traditional Africans, Hindus, Christians, Muslims and Jews.

As Barney Pityana, of the SA Human Rights Commission says in the foreword: “It helps...to be conscious of the richness and glorious diversity that is a gift to our country...as a result...understanding and tolerance are promoted."

If you have ever wondered whether to send flowers when a Muslim colleague loses a family member or whether you should remove your shoes when entering a Hindu home or what to wear to a traditional African wedding, this concise handbook is a worthwhile investment.

Clued up on Culture by Barbara Elion and Mercia Strieman is published by Juta Gariep Publishing Company (Pty) Ltd

A Mezcla of a Wedding

Last week I attended a real mezcla of a wedding. In Spanish mezcla means a blend, a mixture or a medley. Spanish, Jewish, Catholic, South African and American cultures came together in what I like to think of as a new South Africa celebration. The bride, a friend’s daughter, is Jewish/South African/American, while the groom is Basque and Catholic.

A female rabbi, Dr Azila Reisenberger, was performing the ceremony and she took care to explain the meaning and origins of the different rituals that formed part of the union. The bride’s parents walked her down the aisle accompanied by a traditional Basque tune to the chuppah  or canopy under which the ceremony took place.

We had a little giggle when the rabbi asked the groom to identify his bride when the veil was lifted. This, the rabbi explained, has its origins in biblical times when Jacob, who was in love with Rachel, was tricked into marrying the wrong sister after working for their father for 7 years in lieu of a dowry!

The part of the ceremony that I loved was where each person in the retinue read out a blessing to the married couple and poured a little wine into a silver cup. By the time 8 people had done this, the “cup was running over” with blessings and it was given to the couple to drink from and share with their parents. Then it was time for a Jewish song and after the signing of the register, the groom’s sister played the flute while her father did a traditional Basque dance for the couple.

We followed the bridal party down through the vineyards (stopping to nibble on biltong and nuts) to the reception hall where a marimba band contributed the South African flavour.

Mazeltov! to these young people who have embraced the differences in each others’ cultures and traditions and at the same time enriched everyone at the wedding with the opportunity to be a part of a beautiful medley.