This Heritage Day, South Africans will be celebrating not just their heritage but also their ability to overcome strife and struggles as a nation unshaken through its adversities. South Africa is known as a rainbow nation because of its rich cultural diversity, traditions, beliefs and races. For many this upcoming public holiday on 24 September is regarded traditionally as Heritage Day and to others as National Braai Day.
Whichever way you look at it, Heritage Day, formerly known as Shaka’s Day, is a day for all South Africans to come together and take cognisance of the cultural wealth that exists between each community. Known as the Kingdom of the Zulus, KwaZulu-Natal can be proud of the African, Indian and European cultures that make this province the epitome of cultural diversity. Sport, Arts and Culture Minister, Nathi Mthethwa, at the start of September, launched Heritage Month declaring that it will be celebrated under the theme “The year of Charlotte Maxeke: Celebrating South Africa’s Intangible Cultural Heritage”. He called on South Africans to pass on their cultural heritage to children and emphasised the importance of celebrating diversity as a way to safeguard heritage treasures and bolster the collective sense of self as one united nation in diversity instead of employing diverse heritage as an instrument to cause racial, gender, ethnic, religious and linguistic features as has been the case under colonialism and apartheid.
“Our call to action is in our cultural endeavours to promote conversations and illustrations of South Africans sharing with each other in food, music, rights and created knowledge on indigenous practice system. The Constitution enjoins all of us to employ the diversity of our heritage as a source of strength and unity. In keeping with the ideals of utata Nelson Mandela we look to the national days like Heritage Day as levers to bring about cohesion and national unity,” Mthethwa said. In an address marking Heritage Day in 1996, the father of our nation, former president, Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela, said: “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.” So whether you choose to braai or just take a day off to spend with your family, be proud of your roots and be proud to be a part of a rainbow nation that is truly South Africa.
