Heritage Day is a South African public holiday celebrated on 24 September. On this day, South Africans across the spectrum are encouraged to celebrate their culture and the diversity of their beliefs and traditions, in the wider context of a nation that belongs to all its people.

The Islamic Network group invited us (Persatuan Seni Silat Pukulan Melaka South Africa) to commemorate heritage day with them at the Cantray House in Constansia on wednesday 24th September 2014. A group of 7 pesilats (silat exponents) demonstrated a brief silat presentation to show the revival of the malay martial art heritage in Cape Town. 

The event at the Cantray House included various cultural displays and also included the 'Face of Melayu Cape' female competition finals. They marketed the event on facebook with the following, "Come & see photo exhibitions, view the silat demonstration, experience the energy of a traditional Cape Ratiep, listen to stories of of our history & culture, come & see traditional dances, view an exclusive exhibition provided by the Indonesian Consulate & buy a traditional lunch to have on the lawn under our bedouin tent."  Meals on sale included deliscious traditional fried chicken and yellow rice, Bobotie, and fried chicken noodles.  

South Africa is rich in cultural diversity, and the malays who were forcefully removed from their native lands i.e Indonesia etc, were either enslaved or exiled to the Cape by the Dutch colonialists in the 1600's. This however caused the spread of Islam at the Cape, because many of the Indonesian exiles were well schooled in the Islamic sciences, and the likes of Tuan Guru Imam Abdullah Bin Qadi Abdussalaam established the first Masjid and madrassah (islamic school) in 1792. 

Although this Imam was well known for his knowledge of Islam (about 5 handwritten copies of the Quran exists which he wrote from memory), we could assume that the Imam also knew silat, the malay martial art. This is assumed because amongst the possessions of the Imam at the Cape, he owned a sword and shield from the Island of Tidore, Indonesia. Malays under Dutch colonial rule were not allowed to practice any form of martial art for obvious reasons. Thus, any silat knowledge amongst malays at the time would have been lost over time. 

It is said that the Keris dagger/sword is the symbol of the malay people. Apart from it being a silat weapon, this sword is also used as a ceremonial weapon, at weddings where the malay bride and groom sometimes wear it as part of their attire. The keris of Shaykh Yusuf (another great Indonesian Shaykh buried in Macassar, Cape Town) is said to be kept in a museum in Netherlands. 

South Africans celebrate Heritage Day by remembering the cultural heritage of the many cultures that make up the population of South Africa. Various events are staged throughout the country to commemorate this day.

In 2005, a media campaign sought to "re-brand" the holiday as National Braai Day, in recognition of the South African culinary tradition of holding informal backyard barbecues, or braais.

On 5 September 2007, Archbishop Desmond Tutu celebrated his appointment as patron of South Africa's Braai (Barbecue) Day, affirming it to be a unifying force in a divided country (by donning an apron and tucking into a boerewors sausage). At the end of 2007 National Braai Day changed its name to Braai4Heritage and the initiative received the endorsement of South Africa's National Heritage Council (NHC).

Organiser Jan Scannell (known as "Jan Braai") announced that the aim is not to have a mass braai, but little ones with friends and family. Some have commented that this is a ploy to make people forget the history and the original meaning of why the day was created.

PERSATUAN SENI SILAT PUKULAN MELAKA SOUTH AFRICA cannot be silent in the face of oppression. We stand by the Quranic and Prophetic instruction to stop injustice and defend the oppressed. 

Secondly, as sane human beings, we feel the pain of our brothers and sisters across the world who are faced with daily oppression from corrupt leadership. 

As pesilats, we stand by our 4th plegde of our 5 Ikrar Pesilat (silat pledge) i.e; A Pesilat is a knight who upholds truth, honesty and justice, and is always resilient in facing any ordeal and temptation.

We will march and make our voices heard loud and clear to our government and to others that silence is not an option when we see babies and innocent civilians being killed by Israeli forces. We do not believe in a two state solution, because Israel has stolen the land and resources from Palestinians and it must be returned! 

The National Coalition for Palestine are set to host a mass march towards Parliament on Saturday 9th August, calling for urgent government action against Israel’s nearly month long bombardment of the Gaza Strip. The march is being billed as the biggest such event in the country post-Apartheid, with organisers hoping to attract more than 100 000 pro-Palestinian supporters from across the country. The march also coincides with National Woman’s Day.

The coalition is fronted by a number of local civil society groups, including the Muslim Judicial Council (MJC), ANC Youth League, Cosatu, and BDS South Africa. According to BDS coordinator, Muhammed Desai, the march would come on the back of 44 similar protest actions across the country since the beginning of the conflictand would look to pressurise the national government into taking concrete action against Israel’s actions in Gaza.

“We need to make it very clear to the South African government that the majority of South Africans from across the board, from the workers of Cosatu, to the churches and mosques, are calling on them to take a very clear stand on the Israeli attacks on Gaza,” he said.

The march has been billed as the largest to take place in the country since 1994, when former president Nelson Mandela was released from prison. That event attracted 90 000 people, and Desai noted they were looking to top that by mobilising more than 100 000 to attend Saturday’s event.

“We can only achieve that with the support of the community, so we are asking communities to call up your families in far flung towns and cities, and encourage them all to come through for this protest,” he said.

The main aim of the march is to send a message to the Israeli government that their actions in Gaza were unacceptable. He said they would call on national government to start off a diplomatic protest against Israel, by recalling the South African ambassador to Israel, as well as expelling the Israeli ambassador from the country. They would also call on government to implement a program of broad based boycotts against Israel.

“We are demanding that South Africa follows the lead of over 70 European Union countries, who have issued warnings to businesses, citizens, and other groups not to do trade with Israeli settlements, and not to have any sort of dealings with companies operating in the occupied Palestinian territories,” he said.

He also noted they would be putting pressure on government to act on the Gaza Docket, and hold those South Africans serving in the Israeli Defence Force (IDF) accountable for the merciless killings of innocent Palestinians.

Desai said they were expecting a number of top dignitaries to attend Saturday’s march. This included the children of a number of South African struggle veterans and political party representatives. He also noted a widespread support amongst local celebrities and musicians and were expecting a number of them to come out to the march.

He urged community members to show their solidarity for the Palestinian cause by coming out in their thousands and join the overwhelming number of protests taking place across the globe.

Saturday’s march will start off at Keizergracht at 11am, before proceeding to Parliament where a memorandum will likely be handed over to parliamentary representative. VOC (Mubeen Banderker)

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