The coloured people is the official South African term for the countrys mixed descent inhabitants. They are the third largest population group in the country and today number just over three million. The Coloureds (as they are commonly called) live primarily in the Western Cape. Subcultures exist within the broad grouping: Cape Coloureds, Griquas and Cape Malays. The coloured community has diverse origins. The Dutch colonials began importing slaves from as early as 1658. They came from elsewhere in Africa and from some of the islands of the Indian and Atlantic oceans. It was inevitable that admixtures were to follow. The Khoikhoi, Xhosa and white man added their own progeny over the decades. The Cape Malay has Indian, Arab, Malagasy, Chinese and Malay blood. These people are held together by their religion. They live mostly in Cape Town. The Griquas, who have a strong sense of identity, live in the Northern Cape. They are descended from Khoikhoi and white ancestors who met 200 years ago. Coloureds were traditionally fishermen, farm labourers and servants. Today, many still live on farms, as farm labourers and in rural settlements. However, a large number of this community has begun to take their rightful places in politics, commerce, industry, education and the arts. Coloured folklore and music has become an integral part of the cultural scene in South Africa In general and in cultural terms, there is very little to distinguish the coloured people from South Africans of European origin. Formal race classification seem to be unjust. Some 87% of coloured people are Christian; they are mostly bilingual, although Afrikaans is their first language. The coloured people were rather closely integrated into the Cape community. But in the 1950s they were removed from the voters roll. Their residential areas became legally delineated in terms of the Group Areas Act. New, soulless towns were built for the natural increase in population, such as Mitchells Plain and the Cape Flats. In the 1970s the famed District Six, the heart of the coloured community in Cape Town was sadly demolished. Today all suburbs are effectively multiracial, but the racial lines still remain.
Posted on: Wed, 12 Mar 2014 11:34:34 +0000