South Africa is proud to be the rainbow nation, made up of people of different cultures, and they celebrate this diversity yearly on 24 September during Heritage Day. For Heritage Day multiple museums in Cape Town were offering free entry, so I decided to experience the South African cultural diversity through visiting some museums on my list.
In the morning I started off at the Slave Lodge. The Slave Lodge has served several purposes over the past centuries: initially it was erected to house the slaves of the VOC (Vereenigde Oostindische Company; Dutch East India Company), hence the name, and following multiple extensions and modifications among other things it has housed government offices and the supreme court. Nowadays it features as a museum commemorating the history of slavery in South Africa.
Whereas South Africa did not feature (largely) in the Atlantic route between West Africa and the Americas, which was the most trafficked slave route, Cape Town was an important transit point for the Dutch en route to their Indian colonies. Although slavery was illegal in the Netherlands, the Dutch kept slaves in the Western Cape to provide labor to supply their ships and work in the fields. The Slave Lodge gives a historical background on slave trade in South Africa and the hardships and death toll the slaves were subjected to during transit, including a walk-in installation that evokes the cramped conditions of slaves aboard a slave ship. I learned that most slaves were given a first name, often of biblical origin, and that their last name was derived from their place of origin. In this fashion, in 1653 Abraham van Batavia was the first slave at the Cape.
Other exhibitions in the Slave Lodge dealt with the struggle against Apartheid in the past century. One exhibition detailed the life of Fred Carneson, how his Communist Party strived for equal rights, and how he got brutally suppressed by the government. Another interesting exhibition showcased the important aspect of musical expression as part of the South African identity, and how music served as a moral boost during the struggle against Apartheid and how it was often a means of criticizing the government. My visit to the Slave Lodge was concluded at noon by a unique dance exhibition for the occasion of Heritage Day, with a dance academy for disadvantaged youths putting up a very energetic and impressive performance.
After this visit of the Slave Lodge I enjoyed a quick lunch sitting on a bench in the Company’s Garden, a nice green spot in downtown Cape Town, after which I visited the neighboring National Gallery. This art gallery is not extremely big, which suited me perfectly as I freely admit to not being the greatest art aficionado as I tend to get bored when looking at art for extended periods. However, I quite liked the collections of the National Gallery, which mix historical and contemporary pieces based on a unifying theme. These themes gave an intriguing insight into the South African psyche, and the stories that were constructed in this fashion were quite interesting. Definitely a better experience than for example looking at dozens of 16th-century self-portraits in a row!
Next, I walked over to the Bo-Kaap. Formerly known as the Malay Quarter, this neighborhood historically housed the Muslim residents of Cape Town. There I visited the Bo-Kaap Museum, a traditional house which has been converted to a museum. The museum is very small, and to be honest, if not for the free admission because of Heritage Day, even though the normal admission fee is minimal, it might not really be worth it.
The distinctive colored houses are typical of the Bo-Kaap.
After a day filled with museum visits the evening was approaching and I walked towards City Hall. Despite the name, City Hall does not house the city administration anymore nowadays, instead at the moment there are various performances going on for the Fringe Festival. I attended the Eat, Post, Love theater performance, a critical piece on finding love in our social media-obsessed society. It was a decent performance presenting some astute observations in a witty fashion, and I can now say that I am fully up to date on how (not) to use Grindr in the Cape Town scene.