Braai Day limits SA’s heritage

HERITAGE started its semantic life in the Middle Ages with the fairly specific meaning of “inheritance, that which is inherited”, essentially a personal notion, but has steadily acquired more senses.

It was previously bound up with tradition, referring to cultural practices which are handed down from generation to generation, but heritage itself increasingly came to refer to national institutions which are respected, even venerated.

In Britain, for example, heritage is increasingly focused on the upper classes and especially the royal family. In Europe and America, the emphasis is more on democratic heroes and institutions. In South Africa “heritage” is, or should be, more multicultural and democratic in its emphasis, reflecting the demographic mix of the society. This makes the current carnivorous emphasis, embodied in the promotion of an unofficial “Braai Day”, unfortunate and limiting.

In recent decades, heritage has become bound up with global tourism, embodied in the list of World Heritage Sites. These range from amazing ancient artefacts like Stonehenge and astonishing cathedrals, to remarkable natural wonders like Table Mountain.

The basic change has been from something personal, then to a cultural practice or institution, increasingly to something that belongs to everyone.

Geoff Hughes is an emeritus professor, Wits University.