Bear in mind it’s the 9th month
of the year, which means amongst other things is the month where we are going
to celebrate our Heritage day (24th September). As diverse our
cultures are, but still it depends on us what do we make of this wholesome day.
The Xhosa, Zulu, Sotho, Tswana, Venda and Ndebele to mention but a few, are all
going to be celebrating their cultures/heritage; and to a huge extent culture
and the beliefs attached to it is what differentiate us from each other.
There’s no culture that is better than the
other trust me, I mean all our cultures have tendencies to laugh about (Whether
good or bad). Because of these tendencies we tend to enjoy our cultures, as
boring or exciting as they are, the fact is that these are our cultures and we
need to respect them. So the quest for outstanding heritage celebrations
depends greatly on how you value your cultural background. As contemporary the
world is becoming, culture as well seems to be fading away and the born free
generations are becoming Eurocentric as time allows them.
We genuinely need to contemplate where are
we coming from and going future-wise, what makes our heritage? Why do we need
to celebrate it? It’s like telling me to constipate when a person lets go of
their culture, because it constitutes who you really are (Your roots). As much
as we are free to live like whatever way we want to, but we also need to be in
check with our genesis. Even the people you consider being your role models DO
celebrate their heritage as well. So long ago heritage was respected and
valued, so seek yours too.
As of the upcoming Heritage day, we thought
of asking some few Celebrities and the public what does this day mean to them.
Remember as a rainbow nation this is the day/time that we’re going to stamp a
great mark showing the continuing celebrations and appreciation of our heritage
as Mzantsi people. So it is vital for us
to cherish this wonderful day as it is/was greatly affected by a number of
reasons, which amongst each other included the apartheid government system. As
we generally act as if apartheid is or was rather transmissible from parent to
child, we honestly do not need to allow it to hinder our nation’s union and the
road to prosperity. We need to dispraise our miserable past and let our freedom
dash. Boom! Prepare yourselves and let the celebrations begin (Cultural
activities, braai and beer it’s all up to you). I relish to this year’s
Heritage day celebrations…
Celebrity/Public Views on Heritage
Day
What does Heritage day mean to you?
Ntsiki Mazwai (Writer, singer and Poet)
It is meant to be the day we celebrate our culture and
customs, but it ends up being about partying...
Bongani Nxumalo (Musician, radio and television personality)
Culture plays a key role in my life as a
Zulu man. It’s easy to forget who we are living in civilization, being a
metro-sexual man and a musically inclined cultural man. I remember back in the
day in KZN the 24th of September was known and was always celebrated as Shaka
Day in commemoration of Inkosi UShaka who is a Legend in our Zulu Culture. A
lot of activities would happen that brought back the essence of culture in a
growing Zulu boy. So this day should actually not only represent a free Holiday
for us to pump up the sound in the boot and braai some meat and drink! But
a day where we do a lot of preservation of culture and appreciate the different
diverse cultures this country has. People like Shaka Zulu played a significant
role in uniting different cultures in our lives in order to create the kind of
independence we enjoy today. So Heritage day for me is vital in that I want to
bring back those indigenous knowledge systems into our slowly but surely dissipating
culture. I also believe the department of arts and culture should help
Musicians bring back cultural songs that would entrench the power of song in
our culture.
Bongolethu “Beekay” Kwedana (GoTv Channel 1™ Presenter and
Ambassador)
Heritage
day neh! For a guy who grew up in a mixed community, it’s kind of hard to
really say much about this but I’ll give it a shot... okay no... I really don’t
know hey. LOL! All I know is that I have ancestors.
Siphosethu
Sajini (HR Management student at Unisa)
Well for
me Heritage day is more like a reminder of who we are and where we come from in
terms of our traditions and heritage...I can say that this day (the 24th
September) is very important because each and every second, minute, hour, day,
month nor year there are new offspring born and that offspring one day will
want to know about their roots. So this is where the 24th September
fits in, because on that particular day people are celebrating and showing off
their heritage. So this day is a reminder to each and everyone.
Cebo “Umxhosa” Solombela (Xhosa Poet)
Kum Inkcubeko iqulathe imvelaphi okanye
ndingathi ‘sikhumbuza Ubuntu bethu. Ikwasikhumbuza kanjaqo ekubeni sibuyele
embo. (To me Heritage is composed/consist of where we come from, I can say it
reminds us of our humanity. It also reminds us to go back to our ancient times)
©The views expressed above do not in any way represent GoXtra News, but are those of the concerned writer. 2011. Follow us on twitter here Find us on Facebook here /leave your comments below or email: editor@goxtranews. For publication ERRORS: publisher@goxtranews.com
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