Posted on September 23, 2024
The Māori people, an indigenous Polynesian community in mainland New Zealand, are most famous for bringing to the fore of New Zealand culture the Haka. This tradition, a spine-tingling display of restrained force through the performance of a battle cry, is performed during a variety of occasions. The first time I witnessed one performed during a funeral— a coffin being carried out to a gravesite and a crowd on each side performing synchronized Haka— I finally understood the significance of it. Men and women, boys and girls alike were connected in that moment. Their spirits, the essence of their identity, were made tangible and manifest through the battle cry.
Heritage is often tangibly felt in such circumstances. We connect with the essence of who we are now, who we were in the lifetimes of our ancestors, and who we will be in our children & lifetimes by imbuing our spirit and identity in the way that we dress, the way we commonly behave, and the things that we build. There is a subtlety to what South African heritage has become in the past 30 years of democracy, a subtext to the different and more easily identifiable actions we partake in on the day to tap into this collective spirit. Heritage Day reminds us of our commitment to the very building of a collective spirit.
A celebration of our persistent attitude, despite our many differences, towards becoming one nation. Citizens across the country reflect on and pay respect to the acts that connect them to the community's history while also recognizing those that connect them to others beyond it. The day itself originates from “Shaka Day,” which was a celebration of King Shaka Zulu, who united the disparate tribes of what is now the province of KwaZulu Natal into a unified Zulu nation. The day, through its celebration of the incredible cultural diversity of the state, attempts to emulate this process and unify the different people of South Africa. Its inception, as a public holiday, in 1996 came at a time of great promise, the promise of the beginning of a new form of Heritage.
An era of democracy where all South Africans would carve their place in a new society that would establish a new united spirit. Like many other states around the world faced with the daunting task of social engineering on such a grand scale, South Africa is still quite a while away from where it intends to be. Rampant unemployment and the socio- economic disparities that have all but grown in our 30 years of democracy are but a few of the major hurdles to the building of this new state spirit and identity. Citizens who had experienced Apartheid South Africa differently because of their race and tribe continue to experience it differently because of this dark history. Consequently, South African identity is intimately intertwined with hardship.
South Africans are seen as those that endure, persevere, and continue despite. The most important part of building heritage is a continued commitment to a collective identity. This year marks 30 years of South Africans choosing to stay together. We choose, despite speaking over 11 different languages, to extend a hand to one another and pour our spirits into tangible things we believe define us. We continue to braai, we continue to support the springboks, we continue to protest and toyi-toyi.
We say, “Hulle weet nie wat ons weet nie,” and hold together despite every “Eish,” “hebana,” and “hayibo!” thrown at us. 30 years on, we continue to make our spirit tangible through endurance and perseverance.
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