Celebrating Heritage Day

From a ceremony honouring the founding father of Soweto to Arts Alive functions and a tour of a reconstructed farmhouse in the Roodepoort Museum, there’s plenty to do on Heritage Day.
THE James Mpanza Legacy Foundation together with the City will unveil a memorial plaque at the house of the founding father of a township that is now known as Soweto on 24 September, Heritage Day.

An undated photo of James An undated photo of James "Sofasonke" MpanzaThis community event will declare the James Mpanza House as a formally protected Provincial Heritage Site.

In 2009, James Mpanza was posthumously awarded the top national honour of the Order of Luthuli in Gold for “his exceptional contribution to the struggle for socio-economic rights, and his fight for justice and the restoration of the dignity of blacks in urban settlements”.

These heritage honours recognise the role played by James “Sofasonke” Mpanza in the development of Soweto, and in placing housing as a national priority.

Mpanza fought to house the homeless who had settled in overcrowded Orlando East. In 1944 he rode on horseback, leading a group of about 200 women and children across the railway to set up camp in the vacant land next to the Klipriver.

Sofasonke township
There they set up Sofasonke Township, an alternative, self-governing settlement that grew to 20 000 people.

The Heritage Day event to honour Mpanza is scheduled for the African Methodist Church (Donkey) in Orlando East on 24 September from 10am to 12pm. The plaque will be unveiled at the nearby Orlando East house, which was used by the community to hold meetings of Mpanza’s Sofasonke movement.

Mpanza’s influence was not limited to housing and politics, but is part of footballing history too. Not only was he involved in the founding of Moroka Swallows, but the people of Orlando honoured him by christening Orlando Pirates: “Ezikamagebhula owagebhula umhlaba kamasipala wawubhekisa phezulu.”

According to Alba Letts, the City’s acting director: arts, culture and heritage, “Heritage month is a celebration of our cultural heritage and our cultural diversity, the sharing of our heritage.”

Arts Alive
The most important aspect of the month is seeing our community enjoy the Arts Alive programme and in that way, celebrating and sharing their heritage with others, she says.

Heritage Day is all about celebrating one's cultureHeritage Day is all about celebrating one's culture“It allows Arts and Culture to further deliver on its mandate to support our diverse communities through arts and culture initiatives by focusing on the history of the diverse communities represented in Joburg.

“Annually, the City (arts, culture and heritage department) celebrates heritage month through the Arts Alive International Festival programme. We thus see the celebration of not just our indigenous cultures, but also give a platform for the other cultures living in our city to showcase their heritage. We do also have events outside of Arts Alive that celebrate our heritage, such as the unveiling of heritage plaques that celebrate the life of historically important people in our communities or historically important sites.”

Steven Sack, the City’s director: arts, culture and heritage says heritage month means that 2011 is a celebration of a city that turns 125 years old in October. The most important aspect of this month is “that on Heritage Day, families and friends get together to celebrate their past history and look to a future of love, giving and tolerance.

“In September of every year we present a fabulous programme of Arts Alive across the length and breadth of the City. Just visit the Arts Alive website and also look at the Heritage Day programme planned by the Friends of the Roodepoort Museum.”

Roodepoort Museum
The Friends of Roodepoort Museum will be hosting a Fun Day on 25 September to celebrate cultural heritage and the diversity of beliefs and traditions of South Africa and its people.

The festivities start at 11am and guided tours of the museum will take place every half hour until 4pm, free of charge.

The Roodepoort Museum houses the memory of the region's culture, achievements and values. The permanent displays illustrate the changes brought about because of the discovery of gold and include a reconstructed 19th-century farmhouse, a late Victorian house as well as 1920s and 1930s lounge settings.

Different religious beliefs will be showcased at Roodepoort MuseunDifferent religious beliefs will be showcased at Roodepoort MuseunAlso on display is a selection of the Museum's phenomenal collection of decorative arts.

Heritage Day
Heritage Day, also known as Braai Day, was only created in 1996. Its significance rests in recognising aspects of the country’s culture, including its creative expression, historical inheritance, languages and foods.

According to the South African government's website, "Within a broader social and political context, the day's events…are a powerful agent for promulgating a South African identity, fostering reconciliation and promoting the notion that variety is a national asset as opposed to igniting conflict.

"Heritage is defined as ‘that which we inherit: the sum total of wildlife and scenic parks, sites of scientific or historical importance, national monuments, historic buildings, works of art, literature and music, oral traditions and museum collections, together with their documentation’."

During the address marking the launch of Heritage Day in 1996, former president Nelson Mandela stated: "When our first democratically-elected government decided to make Heritage Day one of our national days, we did so because we knew that our rich and varied cultural heritage has a profound power to help build our new nation.

“We did so knowing that the struggles against the injustice and inequities of the past are part of our national identity; they are part of our culture. We knew that, if indeed our nation has to rise like the proverbial phoenix from the ashes of division and conflict, we had to acknowledge those whose selfless efforts and talents were dedicated to this goal of non-racial democracy," he said.