Spring and heritage mark the month of September in South Africa. National Heritage Day is a day that South Africans celebrate cultural diversity, our South African heritage and history. The day was declared a public holiday in 1996 so that South Africans could mark the occasion to celebrate their heritage and cultural traditions.
Indian South Africans, too, are equally as patriotic as their fellow South Africans despite the fact that Indian immigrants became citizens 101 years after the initial immigration from India and Pakistan. It was only in 1961 that the South African government declared all Indians in South Africa citizens. This call was long awaited and anticipated by our forefathers.
Today, we can proudly reflect on the initiatives that Hindu Indian immigrants, upon their arrival, engaged in to sustain their heritage and culture in a new homeland, South Africa.
This homeland was temporary for some, and permanent for others. They brought with them religious attributes in the form of both written and age-old oral traditions. They continued to place importance on Hindu lifeways, which were inherently Indian, after immigration to South Africa.
More than a century later, we admire and utilise some of the oldest temple structures in KwaZulu-Natal, but with little thought to the historical heritage of these temples. There are numerous temples located near and in residential suburbs that were demarcated as ‘Indian residential areas’ during the apartheid era.
The oldest temple structures date back before Indians became citizens in South Africa. The Umzinto Temple was built in 1864, the Mount Edgecombe Temple in 1875 and the Umgeni Road Temple was developed in 1885.
Indian South Africans of the Hindu faith still utilise these places of prayer today, which only emphasises the prevalence of our heritage, religion and culture.
Those residing in KwaZulu-Natal embrace every opportunity to initiate and participate in Hindu faith-based events that continually reinforce the Hindu lifeway.
Some critics will argue that this segment of society continually celebrates their heritage through their participation in religious and cultural festivities and practices, regularly adorned traditional clothing and consumed traditional foods throughout the year. Therefore, it is perceived that Heritage Day is not celebrated as much by Hindus as it is by other ethnic groupings in South Africa.
It is also further perceived by people of other faiths that Hindus living in South Africa have minimal challenges in up-keeping our heritage because of the early establishment of holy shrines and temples and generations of age-old oral and written traditions that Indian immigrants brought with them.
However, in reality, we have to make every effort to accommodate our religious practices in a globalised and modern society. Sometimes, we also need to remind ourselves that adopting traditional and cultural attributes in a contemporary lifestyle is an individual and personal choice, and we can still be proudly Indian South African.
Indian South Africans belong to a broader South African community which comprises of people of varied faiths, cultures and lifeways. As we look beyond the ethnic and racial variances, we share and exchange lifeways, values and ideologies. We inevitably adopt each other’s lifeways, political perspectives and world views relevant to our socio-economic circumstances.
The recent natural disasters (floods) and the July 2021 riots have also played a pivotal role in uniting us all, irrespective of our ethnicity, race and culture. The socio-economic challenges that have been the outcome of these events have further entrenched our identities as South Africans but have also undermined the racial and ethnic differences between us. The collective approaches to assisting each other in need have affirmed our solidarity as South Africans, despite our ethnic differences.
In these instances, do we fully acknowledge and embrace our hybrid identities? The hybrid identity can be highly complex, depending on various circumstances. At times, we can choose to be South Africans first and then acknowledge our heritage, and in other instances, we feel so strongly about our Indian heritage and patronage.
We have become products of a complex, ever-changing and developing South African society. We have had to adopt unique perspectives of social development, so we can live harmoniously amidst socio-economic and political turbulences which ignite a wide variety of outcomes. Our socio-economic and political circumstances have forced us to look to each other for support, friendship and care.
Annually, we enjoy and experience Heritage Day socials and fail to ponder that in contemporary times, we are evolving as individuals within our respective communities with hybrid identities. We are no longer sharing a similar identity with our forefathers and grandfathers. Our identities are now shaped and influenced by our circumstances and modern ways of life.
Heritage Day is indeed about honouring our multi-layered, complex and hybrid identities. By embracing this identity, we can genuinely celebrate more than one cultural presence in South Africa. This day can be fully enjoyed if we choose to adopt these hybrid identities entirely and embrace the changes brought about by socialisation, globalisation and evolving value systems.
On this Heritage Day, let's put our diverse ethnic differences, heritage and traditions aside and embrace a broadly South African celebration to mark the day. We should choose to acknowledge our South African hybrid identities and celebrate this pattern of socialisation. Perhaps newly founded traditions can assist South Africans to embracing their hybrid identities as we evolve as a nation.
Dr Sheetal Bhoola has a PhD and two Master’s degrees in the social sciences. She is a lecturer, researcher and a freelance writer. Bhoola has been the recipient of awards and academic scholarships throughout her career. Visit www.sheetalbhoola.com