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researched and written by the students of 1B
researched and written by the students of 1B
(2024-2025 school year)
We have chosen to write about South Africa because our English teacher is from there. We also do not know much about this country and wanted to learn more about it. In this article, we are going to talk about South Africa’s culture, traditions, food and famous people.
Because of colonisation (Dutch and British), immigration (from Europe and Africa) and slavery (the East Indies and Africa), South Africa is very multicultural and it has twelve official languages. These are Afrikaans, English, Ndebele, Pedi, Sotho, South African Sign Language, Swati, Tsonga, Tswana, Venda, Xhosa, and Zulu. English and Afrikaans are the most widely used languages.
The Cape of Good Hope: European ships rounded this point en route to the East Indies.
South African Sign Language (SASL) became the country's twelfth official language in July, 2023
There are many traditions in South Africa, but traditional clothes are only worn at festivals and on other special occasions. Some popular holidays and festivals include Freedom Day (27th April) which celebrates South Africa’s first democratic election; the Cape Town Minstrel Carnival (2nd of January) which was started by the city’s slaves in the 1800s; The Johannesburg International Mozart Festival held in late January to promote classical music; Umemulo, a traditional Zulu coming of age ceremony for women; Heritage Day (24th September) which celebrates South Africa’s cultural wealth and Christmas which is celebrated in summer.
koeksisters
Above: potjie
On the right: a wine estate in Stellenbosch, near Cape Town
South African food is very varied and international because of influences from all over the world.
Some typical foods are roti and curry (from India and the Malay Archipelago), boboti (a type of cottage pie with curry spices), chakalaka (a spicy vegetable stew), braai (barbecue), potjie (a stew cooked over a fire in a special pot), koeksisters (a fried pastry covered in syrup and coconut) and mielies (the Afrikaans word for “corn on the cob”). South Africa also produces wine.
Finally, we did not know much about famous people from South Africa, but there are many. Some internationally known South Africans include the Hollywood actress, Charlize Theron; Nelson Mandela, the first democratically elected black president; Elon Musk, founder of Tesla Motors and SpaceX; Trevor Noah, comedian and host of the Daily Show; Miriam Makeba, a singer and anti-apartheid activist and Chris Barnard, the cardiologist who performed the first human-to-human heart transplant.
IN THE PICTURES ABOVE top row from left to right - Charlize Theron, Nelson Mandela and Dr Christiaan Barnard
bottom row from left to right - Trevor Noah, Elon Musk and Miriam Makeba
Christiaan Barnard performs the first human-to-human heart transplant in Cape Town on 3rd December 1967
Miriam Makeba performs to a packed audience at the Cape Town International Jazz Festival in 2006
Robben Island Museum: Nelson Mandela's cell when he was a political prisoner on the island
In conclusion, we have learnt a lot about South Africa, and we hope you have learnt something too.
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