Tameez Laattoe of the District Six Entertainers during a final rehearsal on Friday in Bo-Kaap before the Tweede Jaar Minstrel carnival on Monday. The troupe was established in 2006 and has 1000 members comprising a band of 150 brass players, 50 percussion and 120 jingle players. They range from the ages of 11 to 24. Picture: Ian Landsberg.
Seehaam Samaai
The Cape Minstrels are synonymous with the Cape and the spirit of freedom, festivity and colour that the annual institution brings the residents and visitors of the Mother City is well known.
Rooted in the history of Struggle among the underclasses of the city for hundreds of years, the carnival will now be sponsored by a betting company.
Although there is already support among the klopse fraternity for this sponsor, the support is mainly due to the cash money and other material incentive the sponsorships may yield and the fact that there has been no cultural expression given over the past two years due to Covid (which itself is a challenge). It remains the prerogative of the City of Cape Town to organise the carnival, mobilise resources for the carnival and to make the resources available to the Cape Flats communities. Let us remind ourselves that this is a carnival of the people from the City of Cape Town municipal area for the world to remember our slave history.
Although gambling is viewed as a legitimate recreational and leisure activity in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), healthcare professionals and policymakers are well aware that gambling has the potential to become dysfunctional in a minority. (Ssewanyana & Bitanihirwe, 2018).
Gambling severely increases the risk of developing further problematic gambling behaviours and generational trauma that can be seen in and around the casinos of Cape Town.
Social problems associated with this kind of gambling threaten our youth, it is time to draw the line; and say this is it!
According to emerging research, problem gambling is increasingly becoming a public health concern in SSA, particularly among youth. (Ssewanyana & Bitanihirwe, 2018).
With 38 legally functioning casinos, South Africa now has the most casinos on the continent. While the gambling sector is thought to be good to the economy through employment and revenue, gambling addiction is becoming a public health problem in SSA, particularly among young people (aged 10 to 24). Indeed, research done in three South African townships discovered a disproportionately higher (7%) frequency of gambling-related problems in poor households compared with affluent households (3%). (Ssewanyana & Bitanihirwe, 2018).
One therefore cannot simply take the value out of the heart of our generational struggle by saying yes to the highest bidder.
The City of Cape Town has turned the festival into a laughing stock in recent years, funding is never sufficient, while the route has never been respected and the Bo-Kaap Community has not been engaged as equals.
Our youth are particularly facing unprecedented challenges. Gentrification is real and the appropriation of our history and culture always looms.
The original route from D6 to Bo-Kaap has been eroded over the years, while community involvement and benefit remain sorely lacking. The route has heritage value and requires recognition as such. The route has been challenged for many years in various forms. For instance, stopping the route before Bo-Kaap, not allowing back marchers , moving the Voorsmakie to Kenilworth racecourse, hosting ‘Tafels’, changing the name and allowing one organisation to monopolise the event.
The Bo-Kaap community has for many years challenged these through the Justice O Regan Minstrel and Choirs Agreement of 2007. Many might not see this agreement as sacrosanct, but it remains the only legal document which unifies all the Minstrels and Choir boards in the Western Cape. This agreement must be fortified through official heritage status and appropriate national, provincial and local government funding must be allocated to preserve the heritage of the route.
Proper consultative processes with affected communities like D6, Woodstock, Walmer Estate, Bo-Kaap and the Cape Flats like Lenteguer, Heideveld, Hanover Park etc must start early in the year and the City must allocate appropriate resources which will benefit these communities over years to come.
National government must give it heritage status so that future generations have to worry less about selling our culture to appropriating sponsors.
The sponsorship of the Kaapse Kultuur Karnival requires unique interests where patronage cannot enable influence on the specific practices of a cultural event. Changing the name of the world-renowned Tweede Nuwe Jaar to Hollywood Bets is akin to cigarette and alcohol advertising that carries a danger of an addiction tag with it.
The changing of the name of the event is clear cultural appropriation and advertising disguised as community upliftment. With these events you need to stay true to your values, so that there are more opportunities to build a deeper understanding of the spaces and power you occupy and the audiences you cater to and for.
Sadly, over the past few years the City of Cape Town has allowed and perpetuated the divisions and has given power to one group and community over the other. This led to one group to take over the creative or artistic forms, themes and practices in a manner that does not recognise the origin, meaning and true value of the heritage and cultural events like the Voorsmaakie, Tweede Nuwe Jaar event and route.
When dealing with Ou jaar Aand and Tweede Nuwe Jaar, it is important to consider the various experiences, stories and values at play for the brand, our communities and the culture at large. When we consider these factors, we can get closer to addressing what people really want from the Tweede Nuwe Jaar celebrations. If we don’t reflect on our values and lead with authenticity in negotiations, our community engagements and our social justice messaging, then we’re going to miss the mark in developing our communities.
We know funding remains a challenge but with engagement and better communication we can steer clear of selling our souls.
We live in unprecedented times … and we demand that this must be acknowledged as a Heritage Route with appropriate recognition for what this event means to the people of the City of Cape Town.
* Seehaam Samaai is a community and cultural activist and African feminist lawyer.