Heritage Day: South Africa's Rich Culture Should Not Be Forgotten

I couldn’t let today pass without celebrating South Africa’s Heritage Day. But you’re probably wondering why should you care? In reality, unless you’ve visited South Africa, it may mean nothing to you, but it should.

Getaway to the Motherland: Unplug South Africa ~ January 18-28, 2019

Like America’s Jim Crow era, South Africa has the unfortunate history of apartheid that divided the country for many years. That’s not to say the racial tensions are gone, because they still exist here in both countries.

That said, when South Africa became a democracy, September 24th became known as Heritage Day as a way to come together as a nation. Or as Nelson Mandela so eloquently explains:

“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.

“We did so knowing that the struggles against the injustice and inequities of the past are part of our national identity; they are part of our culture. We knew that, if indeed our nation has to rise like the proverbial phoenix from the ashes of division and conflict, we had to acknowledge those whose selfless efforts and talents were dedicated to this goal of non-racial democracy.”

#HeritageDay vhaVenda Vhahashu 🇿🇦🇿🇦🇿🇦❤️❤️ pic.twitter.com/2ULpC8Ixme

— ⭐️💫 KhweziLomso 🌟✨ (@Bongani_XabaA) September 24, 2018

I wish we had a Heritage Day here in the United States. As a whole, we have made great strides towards perceived equality, but we have a long ways to go in actuality.

Sometimes I wonder what life would be like if we had a day dedicated to uniting this country. I can’t claim July 4^th as that day because my ancestors and the ancestors of many others were far from free on July 4, 1776.

Martin Luther King Day has historically been my version of Heritage Day, but as I said, it is that way for me, and it’s not acknowledged nationwide as a day of unity. Heck, many employers don’t even recognize it has a holiday.

As I searched for how South Africans celebrate Heritage Day, I also discovered some new disturbing news. In recent years there has been a campaign to rename this national holiday as National Braai Day. If you aren’t familiar with the word, a braai is essentially South Africa’s version of a BBQ.

Could you imagine turning a day of celebrating a country’s diverse history into a day to BBQ? Many Black South Africans see this as a “deliberate distortion of African history and heritage.”

This would mean disregarding on Heritage Day:

The Ndebele people, who are known for their multi-colored houses and colorful beadwork designed by women.
The Zulu nation, who initially celebrated Shaka Day on this day in honor of the original Zulu warrior, King Shaka Zulu.
The Venda people, where drums are a big part of traditional customs and artwork has a spiritual connection.

So though I’m not South African, I feel a kindred spirit to celebrate their diverse heritage today by sharing a little of their history. I always find it interesting when you start digging into the history of another culture, how it’s often not far from your own.

But if you never travel or dig, you remain in your own cultural bubble. How sad is that?

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