Ethnicity is something we must celebrate and appreciate. There is a breeze in the air that speaks of cultural awareness, we see this in the pride people take in the newly named Zulu king. It is something we must celebrate, as our generation comes into an understanding of who are, fully aware of where we come from. It makes one question if the country often enough celebrates its beauty in diversity.
Yes, the Zulu nation is celebrating individuals who make strides in their personal capacity. There was never a conference of the nation to go out and do the most to gain mega-accolades. There are just individuals who happened to share the same tribal roots and when some of them win, their people celebrate them in a big way.
To begin to celebrate our heritage is not ethnically divisive, nor is it tribal – it is a celebration of who we are. We cannot shelve who we are in anticipation for 24 September each year, where Heritage Day is fighting for its relevance as Braai Day continues to gain traction.
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We are Sotho, they are Zulu – collectively we are South African. But I remain Motaung oa Rampai oa Mathibeli because I am of Sotho descent and I am proud of it. Why can’t we celebrate our culture without being made to feel we are blowing out the candles of others?
But while we are on about tribalism, we need to define what it actually is. That black Twitter made a few jokes here and there, that proud Xhosa people blow their own horn – is that tribalism? This is a society that is quick to call Xhosa women money hungry, liars and cheats.
And Xhosa men, too, are called gold diggers and being without goals and ambitions because they drive their VW Polos around and live the Instagram life. But when there are achievements – why is positive commentary tribal?
When Heritage Day must be changed to Braai Day to make it more inclusive, are cultural practices not slowly being eroded? May I raise my son to know who we are as a people?
