what's in a heritage?

so today is the youngest of South African national holidays, Heritage Day. Or is it? Some refer to this day as Shaka Day. Others, actually most people, refer to it as National Braai Day. Listen to the radio shows, read the newspaper articles, and hear people speak about this day this week, and you would not be blamed for thinking that South Africa dedicated an entire day to celebrate braai-ing, or bbq-ing (for my non south african buddies). Although we saw almost no sunshine today, i'm sure this did not keep thousands, millions, from braai-ing and preparing potjies (pronounced "po-i-keys"). So why are south africans celebrating braai meat? What heritage are they celebrating?

I managed to come across this unbiased (i think) background of heritage day:

In KwaZulu-Natal, the 24th of September was known as Shaka Day, in commemoration of the Zulu King. Shaka was the legendary Zulu King who played an important role in uniting disparate Zulu clans into a cohesive nation.  The Public Holidays Bill presented to the Parliament of South Africa at the time did not have the 24th of September included on the list of proposed public holidays. As a result of this exclusion, the Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP), a South African political party with a large Zulu membership, objected to the bill. Parliament and the IFP reached a compromise and the day was given its present title and seen as a public holiday.

  

So are we then meant to celebrate the Zulu kingdom today? and how does braai-ing fit into the culture of the zulus? i spoke to a few south africans about my many questions and they gave me many interesting responses. most agreed that it was a day to celebrate sa's many diverse cultures and its ability to understand, tolerate, and share in others' cultures. 15 years ago, former president nelson mandela stated that the reason for declaring this day a holiday was to acknowledge that the rich and varied heritages in sa have a profound power to help build the new nation. He added that in order to rise from the ashes of division and conflict, it was essential for sa to acknowledge the sacrifices and talents of all the cultures residing in these borders. Yesterday, many organisations encouraged their employees to come to work dressed to showcase their cultures. At my client i saw several people dressed in full indian attire, zulu and xhosa wear. there were even some in "other" african wear, from east and west africa.

However, i didn't see anyone in afrikaans gear or british gear. those from british descendants claimed they hardly have a culture to display. i guess i can't blame them for that! however, the afrikaans have a very rich and celebrated culture. why were they not participating in this national holiday. ask many of them what they're doing to celebrate the holiday and they would give you a stare like you were the dumbest thing in the world, and almost in unison tell you they were going to braai, all saturday. of course. in all fairness, quite a few/a lot of blacks, indians, etc also use this day to braai and affectionately label the holiday as national braai day. but how did that come to be? how did heritage day become braai day? seems to water down the significance of the holiday no? or perhaps, it seeks to find some common ground, as with rugby or cricket, that most south africans can cling to in hopes of finding some sense of commonality - a hope for a nation striving to come together?

For the all-too-educated blacks i spoke with, this watering down of an important holiday to something as meaningless as burnt meat did not fly too well. one replied to my questions by stating:

"first we need to reflect on what we have inherited before creating a new so-called heritages of a new consensus. And truth is that what we have inherited this far is causing discomfort to those that stand to loose from the critical review"

That's deep and powerful and all-too-personal for so many. He added:

Braai day is a good idea, they just need to find a separate date for it and not undermine the significance of what brought about heritage day. People died a people suffered for this day to be symbolic.

other bloggers and twitter-ers shared similar sentiments. everyone loves to braai or to go to a braai in sa. that's a national consensus! but should this "new heritage" overshadow the real significance of heritage day? on a broader note, shouldn't we as a society be careful not to lose historical significance of our history, lest we forget where we came from and where we're going? do we all wanna end up like the british decendants who seem to believe they have no heritage? my father loves to remind his children to never forget whose we are and where we come from. he was reminding us in a way, not to lose our heritage, perhaps knowing full well how easy and convenient it often is to forget.

Happy Heritage Day South Africa! and in the words of a twitter-er that i fully respect: "Celebrate your roots but let other people braai too"

never forget

Maybe because its the 10yr anniversary. maybe because Osama bin laden was brought to justice this year. maybe because death, and near-death experiences, had been on my mind particularly much this past week. I'm not sure but for some reason, this 9/11 felt a bit different from the rest. 


10 years ago, benjamin netanyahu, former and future prime minister of Israel, after what had been the most shocking, surprising and devastating attack on the US on US soil (at least of my lifetime), declared: "Today, we are all americans - in grief, as in defiance" Many around the world would go on to echo that sentiment, including the influential french (yes, french!) newspaper, le monde. but what does this seemingly hyperbolic sentiment really mean? Was it simply europe standing by its long lost brother in a sign of profound solidarity, the same way the US had stood by it in 1962 when JFK declared himself a Berliner? maybe. i'm not sure. but i can remember at the time, in the fall of 2001, it felt good to know that america was not alone. others would rally behind it in a time of mourning, of grief, of loss, and of pain. 


10 years ago, i remember being shocked and horrified, more so speechless, at the sight of the towers collapsing live on television. in tears of God-knows-what as friends and classmates tried desperately, and mostly unsuccessfully, to reach loved ones in and around new york. i remember the following day, trying desperately to think of what good could come out of this. would the country rally together like we've never seen before, the way schools *almost* rallied together after columbine? would the country use this as a way to reach out to foreigners and those of other faiths and embrace them in the way the country was built to do? or would it bar down its doors, live in fear and isolation, reach new levels of intolerance?


10 years ago, i remember discussing this with my friends, lecturers and family. no one had the answer, but everyone wondered the same thing. there were so many directions to take, and we only hoped the country would take the right one. not content to wait for someone to tell us what to do, we began to conjure up ideas of how we would remember this moment. as someone too-conservative-for-my-liberal-friends and too-liberal-for-my-conservative-friends, i decided an appropriate response would be one of tolerance and love, giving back in any way we can. i campaigned for and advocated teach for america, peace corps, missions work...anything to show that while some may despise the way america does business, the genuineness and philanthropy of americans cannot be denied.


10 years ago, i, and many of my friends, felt what the new york times described as a "heartfelt desire to be changed", to change things. we wanted to be called on to do more for our country, to make this "senseless horror count for something....there was courage and unity on the streets of the city and all across the country". truly, on september 12, this feeling of unity was felt around the world. 

so maybe, that was what netanyahu and many others meant by "we are all americans"? that the world was unified with americans. not simply that, but perhaps, also, the world was at a turning point, ready to be changed. ready to embrace the change that was apparent on september 12. the bombings of 9/11 affected more than just americans. 372 is the number of those that lost their lives in the trade towers who were not americans. the wars that followed 9/11, the bombings, the attacks, the fighting made this a global fight on all corners of the world. it wasn't long before my family would feel the effects of 9/11. because we are all americans, my uncle, my nigerian uncle, chose to join the US army. he was sent to afghanistan shortly after. leaving behind a daughter and pregnant wife, he went to serve a strange country, yet one he believed in, this time in iraq. now, he's in north korea, still serving this country, because we are all americans.

uncle serves as an example of how we wanted to remember and commemorate 9/11. ready to leave his family behind to serve a cause greater than himself. to show others in his unit and across the globe that americans can be a force for good. he didnt go to war to kill. he went to serve. one of the most humble people i know, he went to counsel, to teach, to work, to defend and to learn. politics aside, there are lessons to be learned from this attack, just like there are lessons to be learned in any act of violence or terrorism. i just hope its not too late.

"may God bless the memories of those we lost"

post-post: i was overwhelmed to the point of numbness with the coverage of the 10th anniversary. I sat glued to the cnn and al jazeera, with my laptop on my lap shifting from the new york times to cnn.com to pretty much anything else i could find. so i share some with you:

My Unfinished Business: Keller, a news writer, turned opinion editor, turned executive editor recounts his and other journalists' defense of the defenseless war in Iraq and questions what he would/could have done differently.

Loss and Hope: Remebering life on September 12.

The 9/11 Decade: The most complete, indepth and surprisingly fairly balanced coverage of the 10th anniversay. Al Jazeera is on a league of its own! 

Portraits of a Changed America: Perhaps this should be portraits of a changed world. One could argue it needs to include photos of atrocities caused by american troops in the world after 9/11. Also a good story:  http://us.cnn.com/2011/US/09/10/911.changed.america/index.html?hpt=hp_c1