Latest news with #ZukiswaWanner
Daily Maverick
25-05-2025
- Politics
- Daily Maverick
In a polarised world, the South African Secular Society plays a bold role in holding our diversity in mind
As a recovering Catholic suffering from residual guilt, I have been mortified into paralysis for missing the ceremony for the 2024 Secularist of the Year awards. I was one of the recipients, so you understand. My fellow recipient was the award-winning author and activist Zukiswa Wanner. Sharing it with her is beyond cool. Missing the award ceremony is not. The South African Secular Society serves as a unique space for people who seek to live their lives beyond religion in South Africa, a secular state. It is a civil society organisation registered as a nonprofit and defines itself as promoting 'secularism and the naturalistic world view'. Years ago, one of its founding members and now its vice-president, Rudy Nadler-Nir, told the story of registering the organisation with Home Affairs. The clerk who was on duty that day wanted to know if the society was a 'religious organisation', so little is secularism understood. The society was formed in 2014. Two years later, Home Affairs officially allowed it to nominate individuals to become secular officiants. Its chairperson at present is Rick Raubenheimer. The award Announcing the award, the society explained that the nominees 'were such strong contenders that it was decided to award the title jointly for the first time since the awards were introduced in 2017'. Zukiswa's activism includes gender justice, social justice and secularism. 'As a sociopolitico commentator she upholds a humanist approach, providing a positive role model of courage, integrity and the need to bear witness. She was awarded the title of African of the Year for 2024 by The Continent newspaper,' the society said. The award is given annually to an individual or organisation that the judges consider to have made 'a great contribution to the advancement of the just treatment of South African citizens by their government and society'. Previous recipients include Professor Sakkie Spangenberg, academic, theologian and one of the founders of the Nuwe Hervorming Netwerk, Professor Sean Davison, Dr Tlaleng Mofokeng, Dr Suzanne Walter, Dr Patrick Pillay and Hans Pietersen, founder of the Organisasie vir Godsdienste-Onderrig en Demokrasie. I am honoured to have been nominated and to have received this award alongside Zukiswa. It is one of those I will be proud to hang in my workspace for my children to keep and hold on to. Why secularism? The South African Secular Society's basis is the strict separation of religious institutions from the state and the equal recognition of all regardless of belief or lack of such before the law. This is why, when someone in South Africa is 'sworn in' in court or as a member of Parliament, there is an option of choosing how you wish to do this. You can swear an 'oath' or take an 'affirmation', which is an affirmation of faithfulness to the Constitution of South Africa. The society explains that the naturalistic world view 'is a comprehensive world view based in a scientific, empirical understanding of reality. It offers a positive, rational and fulfilling alternative to faith-based religions and non-empirical world views. The naturalistic world view supports atheism, agnosticism, non-theism, free thought and humanism.' Therefore, my agnostic and quantum curious self fits right in. Bill of Rights The Bill of Rights contained in the South African Constitution respects the culture and dignity of all people. It includes race and gender equality (adhering to the spirit of Ubuntu), and this is key always to hold in mind. In an increasingly polarised world, the society plays an important role in holding the diversity of South Africa in mind, including those who hold deep religious beliefs. Just as religion has played a part in calling out atrocities and hatred in its name, so has it had a hand in much of the bloodshed itself. Although Islam and long-established and organised Christian faiths such as the Catholics, Anglicans, Methodists, Episcopalians, Protestants and others have called for peace and espouse the true principles of the faith – caring for the poor and the vulnerable, calling out injustice, viewing the world as an inclusive one – others have weaponised religion. These sects and cults warp and twist religion into a nationalistic weapon of destruction to be used against perceived enemies, replacing the gospel with tongues. Somewhere in all this noise is the secular society we all live in. And somewhere is a society where like-minded secularists can move through the world. DM
News24
25-05-2025
- Entertainment
- News24
Cuisine and human connections lead rhythmic Africa Day ululations
25 May is Africa Day and instrumentalist Pops Mohamed says music is in the DNA of Africans globally Celebrated author Zukiswa Wanner says body language connects Africans beyond vocabulary According to chef Twain Mafoko, climate and colonisation both impact the African diet Half a decade after a gathering that took place in the 1950s to highlight how 'gatvol' Africans were with colonisation, what we know today as the African Union was formed.' To this effect, nations of the world gather annually on 25 May to commemorate Africa day and the threads that weave the 'scatterlings of Africa' together. A few experts shared their professional opinions to unpack some of these common denominators. HUMAN CONNECTION BEYOND WORDS It has been said that African people were able to understand each other across cultures and tribes, and language barriers were never a hindrance. Internationally acclaimed author Zukiswa Wanner explains that while some words are shared across multiple languages, African communication was never rooted solely in vocabulary. The role of body language in the continent has always been critical, with practices such as not looking elders in the eye out of respect, being one of the countless similarities that are observed cross culturally. Respect also means taking off your hat in the presence of family elders and this practice too has never been unique to any one ethnic group. Supplied Ugandan people bend when they greet but the Yoruba tribe in West Africa takes it a step further by even laying down to show respect; something that South Africans would recognise as being entrenched in the Venda culture. Most of the customs that African people undertake to show respect usually have more to do with age than gender as is evident in how a mother, sister and grandmother wouldn't be addressed in the same manner. We also don't have cousins, we have brothers and sisters…which is also across the board. My mother's brother and my father's brother would both be called uncle in English but in African culture they are addressed differently because calling them uncle doesn't nearly depict the dynamics of the relationship. Zukiswa Wanner Through her travels Wanner has observed this practice in various parts of the continent and as an African writer, she often has observed literature accommodating other ethnicities who navigate communication and relationships differently. A cousin sister/brother for example doesn't exist in the African sense or even European for that matter but the word surfaced as a tool to describe how someone whose parents are your parents' siblings is more than just a cousin. 'Africans don't say I ate a lot. They sate I ate and ate and ate…or I walked and walked and walked…we repeat things to highlight having done them for long time periods,' she adds. She explains the absence of the he and she pronouns in spoken language as the African way of recognising human beings as humans whose humanity is revered more than their biological makeup. The practice of addressing elders in the plural or third term can also be observed across various cultures and languages in an African context, cementing the interconnectedness of people in this continent. MUSICAL CONNECTION THROUGH JOY AND SADNESS Revered jazz veteran and South African Music Awards (SAMA) Lifetime Achievement Awardee Pops Mohamed says regardless of geographic location or emotion, African people lead all their gatherings with song and dance. Africans who were enslaved in other parts of the world are connected to their origins in the same way as convening musically appears to also be in their DNA. Mohamed also traces the origins of the Brazilian berimbau back to South Africa, saying it was originally played by Zulu women and made its way across the world through slave trade. An instrument that he says is enjoyed across the continent is the Zimbabwean imbira, which goes by the name kalimba or karimba in other countries. Supplied He talks about the West African kora which he says is a harp older than the one popularly used by orchestras. The instrument is common in Mali, Burkina Faso and some parts of Nigeria, and has found its way across the globe including Mohamed's own collection. 'The Khoi San instrument which is called a mouth bow original, its original name is !xuma. There are different versions of that because its also played by Xhosa women and they attach a calabash to it. The Xhosa people call it uhadi and in Eswatini they call it isitolotolo.' Supplied While Western contemporary music dominates South African radio stations, Mohamed says traditional music takes precedence in countries such as Senegal, Mali, Gambia and others. He concludes: But younger people in South Africa are starting to recognise traditional music and instruments. They are even studying it at university. I've done a few workshops where I've seen more and more the interest is growing in younger generations, even in the urban areas because they are starting to remember their roots. Pops Mohamed EVERY AFRICAN GATHERING ENDS IN A FEAST Gaborone born financial manager turned kitchen whizz chef Twain Mafoko who captains the African, European and African culinary infusion at Felice in Midrand says climate greatly informs the types of foods that are consumed by Africans. Supplied Maize, sorghum, beans, lentils and other types of grains that prevalent on Southern African plates, while ochre and eggplants are more common as one travels further up the continent. Sweet potato however is consumed throughout Africa, as is casava. Mafoko explains that plantain is also popular in a lot of parts of the continent despite not being able to thrive in the climate down south. In chef school we were taught about the impact of colonisation on the African diet. In South Africa for example you'll see that a lot of the common foods such as curries are not necessarily African. Most South African households eat curries at least once a week. They are natively from India but because of colonisation they still influence how we eat today. Twain Mafoko 'Technology and science have made things convenient, for example in restaurants we can get avocados all year round wherever you are in the world. So, people are able to consume whatever they want at any point.' From a business perspective, Mafoko emphasises the importance of curating a menu that resonates with people. A stew in South Africa and one in Europe would be similar by name only because the available ingredients in these areas differ. Mafoko further highlights the importance of adaptability adding that while people being in Rome would necessitate eating like the Romans, from time to time African people will seek out restaurants and markets that cater to familiar tastes from back home.
