Why Heritage Day matters beyond a day off
When the sun set on 24 September, streets from Cape Town to Limpopo buzzed with music, braais, and colourful displays of traditional dress. For many, the day is a much‑needed break from work, but beneath the celebrations lies a deeper purpose: reminding South Africans that their myriad cultures are not just relics but active ingredients for nation‑building.
Stellenbosch University’s Professor Chris Jones and Deputy Vice‑Chancellor Nico Koopman used the holiday as a platform to argue that heritage is a strategic asset, not a nostalgic afterthought. Their op‑eds, published in local newspapers, called for a “transforming and beautiful” approach to traditions—one that respects history while adapting to modern challenges like unemployment and inequality.
That call resonates across classrooms, community centres, and city halls. Schools are swapping textbook lectures for student‑led performances of folk dances, storytelling circles, and food fairs. In townships, elders are invited to share oral histories, giving younger generations a living link to the past. These activities do more than entertain; they stitch together a shared sense of belonging, a prerequisite for social cohesion and peace.
Heritage Day also serves as a gentle reminder that South Africa’s identity is a mosaic, not a single narrative. The holiday’s evolution from a Shaka‑focused commemoration to an inclusive celebration mirrors the country’s own journey from apartheid dividedness to a constitutional democracy striving for unity.
Living heritage as a tool for development
“Living heritage” is a buzzword the Department of Sport, Arts and Culture has embraced in a new draft policy. It covers everything from indigenous knowledge about medicinal plants to traditional craftsmanship in beadwork and metalwork. By cataloguing these practices, the department hopes to protect them from erosion while also turning them into engines of economic opportunity.
Take the example of the Xhosa ndaba storytelling tradition. Researchers have partnered with local entrepreneurs to record these narratives, then package them as podcasts and school curricula. The result? New jobs for storytellers, a revival of language use among youths, and an added cultural export that can be streamed internationally.
In the Eastern Cape, a cooperative of weavers has leveraged the policy’s emphasis on skill preservation to secure micro‑finance. Their hand‑woven baskets now appear in boutique shops in Johannesburg and Cape Town, fetching prices that far exceed the raw materials’ cost. The success story underscores how safeguarding intangible heritage can directly address poverty.
Academics stress that heritage must be seen as a dynamic resource. Professor Jones notes that “when communities feel their ancestors’ knowledge is valued, they are more likely to engage with state programmes, from health campaigns to climate‑adaptation projects.” In practice, this means integrating traditional water‑conservation techniques into modern irrigation schemes, or using communal grazing knowledge to inform sustainable livestock policies.
Critics warn that commercialising culture can dilute its authenticity. The draft policy tries to strike a balance by mandating community consent and profit‑sharing mechanisms. It also calls for education programmes that teach both the historical context of practices and their contemporary relevance.
Beyond economics, living heritage offers a framework for reconciliation. By creating spaces where Zulu, Afrikaans, Tswana, Indian, and coloured communities showcase and learn from each other, the day plants seeds of empathy that can grow into lasting peace.
As South Africa looks to the future, the message from academics, policymakers, and everyday citizens is clear: heritage is not a static museum piece. It is a living, breathing toolkit that can help solve the nation’s most pressing problems, from unemployment to environmental degradation. And every time a family gathers around a braai on Heritage Day, they are, knowingly or not, rehearsing the collaborative spirit needed for that toolkit to work.
