Africa is the Future

Two excellent websites to check out: Africa is the Future and Africa, The Good News.

Constitution Hill

 In South Africa, Human Rights Day is celebrated on 21 March, in remembrance of the Sharpeville massacre which took place on the same day in 1960. This massacre occurred as a result of protests against the Apartheid regime in South Africa. Human Rights Day seemed like the perfect day to visit Constitution Hill and learn more about South Africa's history.

Constitution Hill Precinct in Braamfontein Johannesburg has a very complex history going back to 1892 when the Old Fort was built under the Zuid Afrikaanse Republiek. Functioning as a prison, except for the brief period of the South African War (1899-1902) when it was a military defence post, new buildings were added to the site in the late 1900s and early 20th Century: the so-called Natives’ section and isolation cells known as Sections Four and Five where black male prisoners were held, a Women’s Prison (1907), and an Awaiting Trial building (1920s).

All these buildings together were known as the Fort, a place that was notorious for its harsh treatment of prisoners: who ranged from common criminals to hundreds of thousands of ordinary men and women who contravened colonial and apartheid legislation such as hut tax laws, beer brewing laws, pass laws and the Group Areas act. Many political prisoners were also incarcerated at the Fort. Boer military leaders were imprisoned during the South African war 1899-1902. In 1906 and 1913 Indian passive resisters (including Mahatma Gandhi) were incarcerated. Read more here.

                                     'The Accused': One of the sculptures displayed outside the Constitutional Court

Constitution Hill is now the seat of the Constitutional Court of South Africa. The first court session in the new building at this location was held in February 2004. Outside the court building is an enormous sign in 11 official languages. You enter through the impressive 9m wooden doors that feature plaques carved with words and sign-language symbols conveying the 27 rights enshrined in the Constitution. Upon entering you find yourself in a spacious hall with decorated pillars designed like trees (memories of Sagrada Familia!), honoring the age old African tradition of seeking justice under the trees.

We loved the simple design of the court which was so different from the more common ornate styles. The bricks you see towards the back are part of the old fort building and were used in the building to show history, solidarity, and the strength of old and damaged bricks when put together. The walls have glass sections to show that transparency is greatly valued. The beautiful beaded South African flag in the court was another highlight of the tour.

The Languages of South Africa

South Africa has 11 official languages (and scores of unofficial ones):

1. Afrikaans
2. English
3. isiNdebele
4. isiXhosa
5. isiZulu
6. Sesotho sa Leboa (Pedi/Sepedi)
7. Sesotho
8. Setswana
9. siSwati
10. Tshivenda
11. Xitsonga
12. Indigenous creoles and pidgins   

South Africa's linguistic diversity means all 11 languages have had a profound effect on each other. South African English, for example, is littered with words and phrases from Afrikaans, isiZulu, Nama, and other African languages. And African-language speakers often pepper their speech with English and Afrikaans.

Most South Africans are multilingual, able to speak more than one language. Most South Africans speak English, which is fairly ubiquitous in official and commercial public life. The country's other lingua franca is isiZulu.

 Constitutional Court Sign in 11 languages!

In terms of linguistic classification, the official languages include two West-Germanic languages (English and Afrikaans) and nine Bantu languages. Four of these are Nguni languages (Zulu, Xhosa, Swati and Ndebele) and have many similarities in syntax and grammar and three are Sotho–Tswana languages (Northern Sotho, Southern Sotho and Tswana). Tsonga is a Tswa–Ronga language.

Here are some great free online language courses offered by UNISA (University of South Africa). Salani kahle!

Notes from Wiki and South Africa.info

Hartbeespoort

This morning, we woke up very early and drove to Hartbeespoort, informally known as "Harties", a small resort town in the North West Province of South Africa, situated on the slopes of the Magaliesberg mountain range and the banks of the Hartbeespoort Dam. The name of the town means "pass of the hartbees" (a species of antelope) in Afrikaans. It was previously known as Schoemansville, named after General Hendrik Schoeman (1840 - 1901), a Boer General in the Anglo-Boer War who owned the farm that the dam was built on. The dam was originally designed for irrigation which is currently its primary use. It is fed by the waters of the Crocodile and Magalies rivers.

Picture from intotravel.co.za

So, why did we wake up so early? To make it in time for Om Die Dam ('Around the dam'), the annual 50k ultra marathon (they also have a half-marathon and a 5k). The sun hid behind the clouds and granted us some beautiful running weather. The 5k path led us through quiet, hilly residential streets with beautiful homes (most with barking dogs, who seemed ready for the annual onslaught of morning pedestrians).

After the run, we walked to the Hartbeespoort Aerial Cableway (apparently the longest monocableway in Africa) and took a ride to the top for a spectacular panorama of the town, the calm waters and the endless mountains.

Searching for Sugar Man

It was only fitting that the first film we watched South Africa was ‘Searching for Sugar Man’. The documentary is about an American singer, Rodriguez, whose two albums released in the 1970s failed miserably in the US. He gave up on his musical career and went back to his mundane life of construction work.

Somehow, unbeknownst to him, the albums made their way to South Africa and Rodriguez became immensely popular over the years. He was a household name; his albums treasured as much as Michael Jackson’s or the Beatles’. But nobody in South Africa knew anything about him, and presumed him dead. The movie is about a South African fan (later joined by others), who set out on a long journey looking for, and eventually finding Rodriguez.

The movie is very well-made, with some lovely shots of Cape Town, and is accompanied by the poignant music and lyrics of Rodriguez.

The Beauty of the Irrational

"The Beauty of the Irrational" follows Ryan Sandes, a South African Ultra-Runner, as he returns to the Fish River Canyon to run the 5 day, 84km, Fish River Canyon Hiking Trail in the fastest time possible. He completed the run, self-supported, in amazing time of 6h57min! Thanks for sharing, H.

The Beauty of the Irrational from The African Attachment on Vimeo.

African Folk Tales

At the library today, I came across a McCall Smith book with an interesting title, ‘The girl who married a lion’. The book is a collection of short African Folk Tales from Zimbabwe and Botswane. The stories feature people and animals (which talk, of course!). As McCall Smith puts it so nicely in the introduction, the stories draw us into “a fascinating world view in which the boundaries between the animal and human worlds are indistinct and fluid”. The idea is very much along the lines of Aesop’s fables and Panchatantra stories but the stories are completely different from the ones I grew up with, featuring a totally different landscape and culture.

Of course, I had already decided to read it once I realized it had a foreword by good old Mma Ramotswe! Now, who can resist her solid recommendations? ;)

Serengeti = Maasai Mara...

... just across the border!

The Serengeti ecosystem is a geographical region that is located in northern Tanzania and extends to south-western Kenya. The Kenyan part of the Serengeti is known as Maasai Mara!

The Serengeti hosts the largest terrestrial mammal migration in the world, which is one of the ten natural travel wonders of the world. The Serengeti is also renowned for its large lion population and is one of the best places to observe prides in their natural environment. Serengeti is derived from the Maasai language, Maa; specifically, "Serengit" meaning "Endless Plains". Much of the Serengeti was known to outsiders as Maasailand.

Serengeti's Official Website.

Sources: Wiki & Image from utalii.com

Elegant Artwork

I loved today's Google Doodle celebrating Miriam Makeba's 81st Birthday. Here is my favourite song by her, Soweto Blues.
Happy Birthday, Mama Africa!

Hello Madiba!

First stop, Nelson Mandela Square, a large shopping center in Johannesburg. Looking up at a 6-metre statue of Madiba is simply wonderful!