Wednesday, January 9, 2008, 01:01 AM
Posted by Robert Harrison
Blog Reflection Of Langa
Sunday 6th January 2008
Robert Harrison
The second day of our trip to South Africa started with a trip to Langa, the oldest township in Cape Town. This trip meant a lot to me personally having been to Langa before on a cricket tour in 2000 to notice the development which has taken place during this time. There is a great sense of community within the township where everybody is looking out for each other, like one big family not as individuals.
We started by watching a small dance session, similar to ‘Stomp’ dancing, which included about 7 young males who were learning the dance moves that their ancestors had once danced in the mines for entertainment. There was also 1 female dancer because the community is trying to teach the young males how to respect women at a young age. These kind of opportunities to dance are very important so the children can stay away from potential dangerous lifestyle choices.
There was also a small pottery school which was self-sufficient, and undertakes many projects which are very important for Cape Town, especially when they are holding important conferences. They also offer training to the local people of the townships, for all ages from 18 and up. Business entrepreneurship is encouraged now in Langa, which is something which I had not been aware of in my previous visit to the township. There were obvious signs of development over the past few years, and the community is definitely working hard to develop itself.
We then enjoyed a very active Ethiopian church service; although we could not understand the language being used we were greeted by the community. Everybody was singing, and the leader of the service would chant, and everybody would respond together, this again shows the strength of the community in townships like Langa. One of the ministers of the church pulled the males to one side after we had left the service, and told us how important it was that we were strong for our women, “strong like a totem, not just our wives and our daughters and our girlfriends, but all the women in the world.”
The group was very fortunate to then be able to witness a ceremony of one of the local tribes who were meeting in Langa for the coming of age ceremony, where the young males were to become recognized as men. This ‘initiation’ process is expected of you by the people from the tribe, and it is my belief from speaking to a few of the tribe that if you do not undergo this then you will be banned from the community. The process usually includes about 30 males, between the ages of 16-18, it is not until 18 that your parents force you to take this initiation. They are taken away for between 6 weeks and 3 months.
I was told by their chief that I can’t share the sacred ceremonies in writing because they do not want the world to know, but I can say that it involves learning about the tribes past, and learning more about their culture including dancing and singing rituals. Hearing the chanting from the ‘new men’ of the tribe in their Suto language was a great experience.