Let’s build a culture that unites all SA

World Heritage Day is held on April 18 every year, as endorsed by the UN organ, Unesco, in 1983.

In SA, Heritage Day is celebrated on September 24, also known as “national braai day” (that really is a misnomer.)

We would all like to encourage cultural activity and respect for humankind, the nation and particularly its achievements on such a day.

What do we first of all have to learn?

What is a nation?

The nation is made up of people who were born in the country, those who have no other country as their motherland.

The people may have different characteristics, a brown, black, yellow or white skin. They may speak any of our 11 official languages, belong to any of the multitudes of churches/religions, or even have no religion at all.

All that is required for a nation is that the people have a community of interests, love for and pride in their country.

We have to learn that there is no such thing as a “white civilisation” or “Western civilisation” alone.

There is only human civilisation to which all humankind have contributed.

The people of Africa made as large a contribution to civilisation and culture as any other in the world.

The promotion of different cultures as at present can cause untold harm to our children.

A six-year-old tearfully asked me what she had to wear on Heritage Day, as she wasn’t aware of a culture.

While thinking about an answer to this very serious problem, I thought about those who created the cultural-apartheid myth and now those who are sustaining it.

What do I say to a six-yearold?

Could I adequately explain this?

The social system that spawned tribalism and thus culture is a social formation that relates to a developmental stage in human society.

This is not a characteristic exclusive to Africa.

However, this has only been maintained in Africa for the purpose of dominance and exploitation by European colonisers.

In SA, we have Zulus, Xhosas, Vendas etc, and for historical reasons related to oppression and exploitation, the Africans have been divided, ruled and led to believe in this myth.

Why the myth?

In 2004, Livingstone Mqotsi wrote an essay entitled “Tribalism: An Archaism and a Divisive Myth”.

He stated evidence showing the concept of present-day “tribes” was a myth that had been developed into a fully fledged mythology by the advocates of “race” differences.

These ideas emanated from those who promoted the ideas of “white Western civilisation”.

What is being entrenched is further division among the peoples of Africa and particularly in SA with its history of apartheid. These “cultural” divisions breed discrimination and divisiveness.

It is unscientific and cannot be justified in any sense.

Surely, this is only creating further division among South Africans.

When are we going to build the SA nation and celebrate a South African culture?

We glibly speak of nonracialism – what does this mean? Non-racialism is the complete rejection of the theory of race.

Multi-racialism on the other hand is the mixing of different races – this today takes place in our schools, our churches, our sports fields, in fact in society.

Why, in this “enlightened” age, do we still classify people according to race and create division when we should be building a unified nation?

This is taking us back to the apartheid days. (Are those in authority now saying the previous regime was correct?)

People are now more racist than they ever were before.

At present, the myth is being maintained for the ruling party to maintain its hegemony among the voters.

What to do on Heritage Day?

● Visit monuments and sites such as the site of the Langa Massacre and the museum at the Old Drostdy;

● Write articles in newspapers. Bring out a school newspaper;

● Hang banners in town and on main traffic routes;

● Invite local and national speakers for one-day conferences; ● Organise discussions in cultural centres and other public spaces such as libraries on non-racialism vs multi-racialism;

● Put up exhibitions, photos, paintings, a history of the school;

● Launch books written by former pupils or by prominent authors;

● Work towards restoration or the erection of monuments promoting cultural history;

● Mount awareness campaigns;

● Create opportunities for twinning with other schools and the university.

Let us build a South African culture. Let us build the South African nation.

Hamilton Petersen

Uitenhage