Heritage Day calls on us to honour our diverse cultures and traditions – the stories, languages, wisdom, experiences, recipes, customs and histories that shape us. These elements together form a key part of our identities and give us belonging in our communities. They are our inheritance from the generations that came before us. A cumulative sum of all of the collective experiences, wisdoms, and ways of being of our foreparents. Preserving this inheritance is to preserve the accumulated wealth of wisdom and ways of being that were passed on to us to assist us in navigating our lives. It is to preserve that which reminds us of who we (& the world around us) are and have been, it is to preserve ourselves. Beyond preservation, however, we have a duty to ourselves and to the world to use our inheritance to better understand & improve the present day, as well as to evolve and add to this inheritance as we pass it on to those who come after us.
Heritage day is generally celebrated with family braais, waving the South African flag, and wearing traditional attire, and calling it a (holi)day. The theater of these gestures is important as this is key to the representation and celebration of who we are and have been. These gestures allow us to boldly assert our love for our heritage and challenge representations that seek to diminish the equality of African heritage with that of the western world. Further, they give us new rituals that allow us to celebrate our history, our present, and our future. However, they are often not re-enforced with a sustained commitment to the project stated in the introduction, the project of preserving, evolving, and passing our heritage on to the next generation.
Over the last decade, there have been numerous discourses on social media highlighting this concern, criticising South African parents and schools who do not teach children how to speak their home-languages. And allowing the English & culture to shape their children’s social interactions and perceptions of the world. This is understandable in a world in which much of our “Formal Life” and opportunities for progress require us to write, read, listen, and speak in English. While this phenomenon is most discussed at a middle class level, it is not exclusive to the middle class. This conversation underscores that the preservation of our African languages is under threat. This is not unlike most of the world as, according to UNESCO, 40 percent of the world’s languages are endangered. Language is a central tenet of our cultures as it is not only a medium of communication, it also holds the conceptual mapping of the world that our foreparents have passed onto us. We thus argue that the threat to our languages is a threat to our cultures. This threatens to make us a culturally & linguistically monolithic people dominated by the English culture and language, instead of a linguistically and culturally diverse people whose identity stands on equal footing with those of everyone else.
Further, we know that the neglect of home languages in our “formal lives” is particularly impactful for children as their academic progress is linked to their linguistic foundation, as we understand that children learn best when taught in their home-languages, according to UNICEF and many other academic researchers.
TAQA, is a South African start-up dedicated to preserving African storytelling, cultures, and languages by creating engaging video books for children that combine text, audio and illustrations in 11 official South African languages. The intention is to make reading fun and accessible for children. Founder & CEO, Qhawe Bula, expressed “Storytelling is an art that connects us, yet one that is slowly being eroded. We aim to make reading an engaging experience for both parent and child, fostering a love for reading while preserving the rich tapestry of our languages”.
Qhawe says “Storytelling is an intergenerational practice passed down from our grandparents through sharing folktales, African Mythology and their lived realities. It intersects generations and cultures. To nurture empathy, create an understanding of our history as South Africans and enable us to live in our true authenticity”.
TAQA aims to foster cultural pride by connecting young African children with their history, identity and heritage. “We believe that every child has the right to literature that is translated to their mother tongue. To help children develop fundamental literacy skills and enable their parents to confidently teach them, becoming a part of the learning journey”, he concluded.
To access TAQA’s eLibrary and get a book in your home-language click here
