Beyond the Braai: A Cape Malay perspective on Heritage Day

As a Cape Malay woman in Cape Town, Heritage Day is... interesting. While I do enjoy the festivities and the good ol' braai as much as the next person, I would be lying if I said I knew exactly what to wear to the 'Wear traditional cultural clothing' day.

Do I rock normal modest wear? Do I google 'Indonesian traditional clothes'? (The correct answer for the latter is no, because I don't want to be cancelled for cultural appropriation.) 

Our heritage is not straightforward. We have an 'idea' of it, based on what our parents and relatives have told us and know. We know that our ancestry is a combination of things: 'some Indonesian, some English, some Indian, some this and some that', but it's not a solid answer. It's like the joke that we used to say back in the day when we said we are half-this, half-that, half-something, and half another thing. But only two halves make a whole, so how can you have multiple halves?

Even though it's a little complicated and unknown, this is not to say I am not proud of my heritage. I am quite proud of it and proudly South African too.

Why? Because Heritage Day reminds us just how colourful we are as a country. We are not a homogenous country. This is proven when we bring a bunch of different dishes to the potluck. This is proven when people rock up, or try to rock up, with their different traditional garb. 

While on pilgrimage some time ago, heritage is something I unintentionally thought about from time to time. But it also made me glad to be South African because people around the world actually like us (when they hear South Africa, you can expect the "Oh so Tyla" or "Oh, Nelson Mandela" comments. There is no in between.)

So what does Heritage Day mean to me? To sum it up, it's a confusing day, but it's also a day that makes me grateful to be South African.

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