HERITAGE ! A simple word yet accompanied by a wealth of meaning! With National Heritage Day around the corner, the day far exceeds the superficial exhibition of clothing & foods that categorise us into a particular group & it is so much more than Braai Day or Yipee Yay!...another public holiday. Heritage Day is an extremely special day when we reflect on who we, as individuals are to OUR South African Society & how we can Contribute to a Culturally richer country by focusing on & giving thanks to our ancestors for our various Cultures which weve imbibed, and through Diversity, has United us into the strong Nation that we are. But what is the true meaning of CULTURE? Culture refers to the cumulative deposit of knowledge, experience, beliefs, values, attitudes, meanings, hierarchies, religion, notions of time, roles, spatial relations, concepts of the universe, and material objects and possessions acquired by a group of people in the course of generations through individual and group striving. The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) (2002) described culture as follows: ... culture should be regarded as the set of distinctive spiritual, material, intellectual and emotional features of society or a social group, and that it encompasses, in addition to art and literature, lifestyles, ways of living together, value systems, traditions and beliefs. South Africa has been called the Rainbow Nation because it is made up of so many diverse cultures. Cultural practices are how we talk and behave, the ways in which we pray, the special things we do when we have festivals, births, deaths etc. We have groups with different languages, religions, race, customs and traditions e.g. Zulu, Ndebele, Khoisan, Hindus, Muslim and Afrikaner people. All of these people are united by being South African and all of their ways of life form part of our country’s identity and culture. It is important to promote and be proud of our South African culture and identity. This helps South Africans to understand and respect each other and to learn from each other’s cultural practices. This is part of the Healing that Democracy has brought after culture was once used to divide South Africans in the past. For this reason the government has a project called “Proudly South African” that encourages South Africans to VALUE EACH OTHER AND OUR BEAUTIFUL COUNTRY!
Posted on: Tue, 16 Sep 2014 13:34:46 +0000
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