Posted on September 18, 2012
For me heritage is very much about where we come from and what we inherit from our parents, family and educators. I have a mixed heritage I was born in Zambia to Scottish parents (both from the East end of Glasgow). Although my parents were Scottish, I consider myself to be an African and yet at the same time feel an allegiance towards Scottish heritage. These feelings are a bit of a conundrum. We moved to Scotland when I was three and then when I was six we immigrated to South Africa and initially resided in Klerksdorp before moving to the East Rand on the Witwatersrand. I consider all these experiences to be part of my mixed ethnicity and heritage. This does not fit in neatly with the government's version of national Heritage (with a capital 'H') and I am sure many South Africans have a similar experience. Are we then deemed to light the braai instead and celebrate National Braai Day? The main question is how do we get heritage (with a small 'h') and the importance of the quotidian in shaping heritage into the spotlight and on the government's agenda? What is heritage in South African anyway?

In KwaZulu-Natal 24th of September was originally known as Shaka Day, commemorating the legacy of the Zulu King Shaka. When the Public Holidays Bill was drafted this commemorative day was excluded. After negotiations between the Inkatha Freedom Party (widely supported in KwaZulu) and the African National government, it was included in the Public Holidays Bill when it was presented to Parliament in 1994. National Heritage Day was declared a public holiday for South Africans to celebrate their culture and heritage. In 2005, Heritage Day was also dubbed as National Braai Day, the goal of which is to host small braais with family and friends in order to 'strengthen South Africa as a nation'. In 2007, Nobel Peace Prize laureate Archbishop Desmond Tutu was appointed as patron of National Braai Day. He believes that "This is something that can unite us. It is so proudly South African, so uniquely South African."

Heritage is a broad concept and means different things to people. Most would agree that heritage ranges from cultural (including both tangible and intangible) heritage to natural heritage. At an internal workshop held earlier this year with the Archival Platform's contributors, it was agreed there is 'Heritage and then there is heritage'. Mbongiseni Buthelezi explains:

'the state has deemed certain things Heritage (or Heritage with a capital 'H'), and such Heritage grows each year with new sites, events, things, etc. deemed to be Heritage. But there are also oppositional, subversive or merely non-state forms of heritage practice (or heritage with a small 'h'), with practitioners in some cases calling for recognition by the state and in other cases merely getting on with doing things without much concern about being publicly visible.'

This year the government has decided that the theme to celebrate National Heritage Day is "Celebrating the Heroes and Heroines of the Liberation Struggle in South Africa." The Department of Arts and Culture (DAC) maintains that the "Liberation Heritage of South Africa is characterised by peoples' identification with particular spaces and places shaped by historical events and collective memory. Liberation Heritage is about the preservation of the history of the struggle against imperialism, colonialism and other oppressive and repressive systems in our society."

"Government calls on all sectors to use our liberation heritage as a vehicle to foster social cohesion, nation building, economic development and inclusive citizenship..Our liberation heritage was forged in the theatre of struggle that shaped the new South Africa, and can be actively used to contribute to the revival of social and political consciousness across the country. We call upon all South Africans into action to promote a national identity that is self-conscious of its liberation heritage which will in turn serve to promote unity in diversity among all sectors of South African society."

This is an excellent initiative and is ambitious in its goals of raising social and political awareness about South Africa's turbulent past. However, how many South Africans can relate to this type of Heritage (with a capital 'H)? What about the younger generation and their heritage? And not only youth but what about those South Africans who did not participate in the struggle? Is their heritage deemed irrelevant by the government and not worthy of celebrating?

Katie Mooney is an Archival Platform correspondent based in Cape Town

References
http://braai.com/national-braai-day-mission/ (accessed on 14 September 2012)
http://www.sahistory.org.za/what-are-heritage-culture-and-identity (accessed on 14 September 2012)
www.heritagesa.org/index.php
http://www.heritageopendays.org.uk/news/heritage-open-days-2012-what-will-you-discover-first-highlights-revealed
www.dac.gov.za
Totem: The University of Western Ontario Journal of Anthropology, Volume 20 | Issue 1 Article 10
7-1-2012, Race, Power and Polemic: Whiteness in the Anthropology of Africa Graham R. Fox
Why young South Africans are turning away from Mandela and ANC http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/aug/26/south-africans-turn-away-from-anc (accessed 14 September 2012)
'Tutu praises unifying braais', http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/6981326.stm (accessed 15 September 2012)