By Nicole Steven-Jennings
A few years back, I embarked on a journey to the land of my ancestors from my mother’s side of the family. I wanted to see first hand the landscape, to connect with the traditions and to experience the heritage and culture of that place. It was an enriching experience. One of self-discovery, self-understanding and ultimately self-acceptance. I knew myself better after that trip.
My sister and I are the first generation from my mom’s side of the family born in South Africa. Despite my very different cultural upbringing, I consider myself South African. What does that actually mean? Well, to me it means many different things. It’s the warm hospitality and kindness that one can experience from complete strangers across the country. It’s about being surrounded by multiculturalism where different beliefs are respected, various cultural traditions are practised and a multitude of languages spoken. It’s this diversity that has, in my opinion, encouraged tolerance, flexibility and openness towards one another irrespective of our differences.
Culture is not static yet for some reason we seem to have a very rigid view of culture. It’s either this or that. Black or white and nothing in between. The beauty of South Africa is that it defies narrow racial and cultural categories and instead celebrates the melting pot that has come to represent our society. In an interview published on Anthropology South Africa, Johnny Clegg says:
“Culture is a form of coding reality. Codes are constantly changing as each new generation brings in a new way of coding.” (de Villiers: 2016)
Culture is just one lens through which we view the world. It is up to all of us to make an effort to better understand the different lenses that we have chosen to identify with. By doing so, we can better understand what it means to be human.
It doesn’t matter whether you were born here or not. Starting with the Bantu tribes, waves of migration to southern Africa have occurred for many many years. I feel a deep sense of empathy for those migrants who recently had to flee South Africa for fear of their lives. That is not the Ubuntu way. We should all be asking the question who decides who can stay and who cannot? What is that decision based on? We are all here having a human experience, expressing our hopes, desires and struggles along the way. In fact, we are all “scatterlings of Africa”. This is the place where the story of humankind began. This is home.
“It is music and dancing that makes me at peace with the world. And at peace with myself” (Mandela: 1999)
In a world where identity has become political and therefore a highly contested subject, to reject the cultural hegemony of the West has become the single most important act of rebellion of our time. Being curious and open-minded seems to be a good place to start on this journey of cultural understanding. To tell the stories, to sing the songs, and to share it all with others through authentic connection. As much as possible. To not let it divide us because we come from different ‘clans’ but instead celebrate how uniquely different we all are and to recognise that under the banner of humanity, we are one.
References:
de Villiers, M. (2016). Johnny Clegg: a shadow man. Anthropology Southern Africa, 39(1), 58–63.
Mandela, Nelson (1999). Assimbonanga. Johnny Clegg Live Performance.