Ways to embrace our Heritage

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We celebrate our diversity this time of year, as we do every September in South Africa. The goal is to embrace our differences and cultivate South African culture for what it truly is, recognizing all races and genders. Here’s some ways to embrace our heritage this Heritage Day,

Visit a Heritage Site

South Africa has a long history. There are numerous educational sites to visit to learn about our beautiful country while also helping our tourism industry, which has been severely impacted by the pandemic.

Here is a list of some of the best heritage sites to visit in South Africa,

These are only a few of the extraordinary places you can visit and you should add these to your bucket list of places to see. These destinations are certainly places that every South African must visit at least once in their lifetime.

Read books

Reading about our past can be eye-opening. Educating yourself on the history of our country gives insight and helps us develop a deeper knowledge of how to better the future. Take a deep dive into our history with these books,

  • Tomorrow is Another Country
  • A History of South Africa
  • The Anglo-Boer War 1899-1902
  • Country of My Skull
  • My Traitor’s Heart
  • Portraits of Power
  • New Babylon/New Nineveh
  • Cape Town: The Making of a City
  • Midlands
  • Three-Letter Plague
  • The True Confessions of an Albino Terrorist
  • Maybe include a book about the Khoisan?

Braai with family and friends

What is Heritage Month without a braai? The 24th of September is National Braai Day. The day we all unite around fires to practice the art of braai or shisa nyama. Make this Braai Day a memorable one with some traditional dishes. Share your recipes in the comments section to give others a taste of your culture.

Learn a New Language

South Africa has 11 official languages and a multilingual population fluent in at least two languages, although this is not exhaustive of the people and languages spoken in South Africa, such as the Khoisan people and their language, Khoekhoe. This Heritage month challenge yourself to start learning one or some of the languages spoken in our multilingual country. Here are a few examples,

  • isiZulu – Hello – Sawubona! (to one) / Sanibona! (to many)
  • isiXhosa- Hello – Molo (to one) / Molweni (to many)
  • Afrikaans- Hello – Haai! / Hallo!
  • Sepedi/ Setswana/ Sesotho- Hello – Dumela (to one) / Dumelang (to many)
  • Xitsonga- Hello – Avuxeni
  • siSwati- Hello – Sawubona
  • Tshivenda- Hello – Ndaa/Aa
  • isiNdebele- Hello – Lotjhani / Salibonani
  • Khoekhoe (Khoisan language) – Halau
  • Sign language

Heritage Day is all about unity. An important way to help us understand and appreciate each other’s differences, is to learn about our past and celebrate our diversity. How will you be celebrating Heritage Day this year? Share your plans down below.

If you or a friend need advice or help, you can contact me here on Ask Choma, send a Facebook message or a Twitter DM, or a WhatsApp Message (071 172 3657).

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