Cape Town - The Castle of Good Hope has become a hub of heritage and cultural preservation and this was demonstrated to the public over the weekend.
The Cape Muslim and Slave Heritage Museum with the Castle of Good Hope is this week hosting a photographic exhibition, “Our Cape Town Heritage: The preservation of Cape Malay Culture and Tradition”, featuring works by artist and photographer Tashneem Abrahams.
Curated by Igshaan Higgins, the first solo exhibition by Abrahams encompasses the rich history, traditions and cultural tapestry of the Cape Malay people (sometimes referred to as Cape Muslims), passed down from generation to generation.
The walk-in tour features the first home to exiled ancestors, the Bo-Kaap, and explores culture versus gentrification, the Cape Malay choirs and the preservation of culture through song and storytelling, and spirituality and ritual associated with the celebration of the birth of the Prophet Muhammad (Mawlid al-Nabī).
“I wanted people to realise that there’s so many things within our culture that we might lose if we don’t preserve it,” Abrahams said.
“Each one of the themes focuses on the presence of youth and shows that even within certain spaces, traditions are being naturally passed down. As long as our traditions are taught to the younger generation and our traditions are well documented through any medium, the culture will survive.”
Meanwhile, a youth development programme of the Institute for Healing of Memories launched its #thehandsofmen Youth Exhibition Project at the Castle of Good Hope, on Monday.
Twenty-four youngsters who took part in the Restoring Humanity youth development programme conceptualised and set up the exhibition, which focuses on gender-based violence (GBV), patriarchy, gender roles, masculinity, femicide and human trafficking, and memorialises some of the victims who have died at the hands of men.
Restoring Humanity brings together young people from diverse communities through workshops, youth platforms, storytelling circles, visits to historical and/or present-day sites of dehumanisation and youth exchanges.
Participants were from Delft, Khayelitsha, Belhar, Philippi, Bishop Lavis, Masiphumelele, Mfuleni and Mamre, and between the ages of 15 and 32.
The exhibition will run from March until May.
Restoring Humanity youth co-ordinator Clint Bowers said: “This work is very important. We talk about GBV but what we really are aiming at is to look at the boy child and how do we raise the boy child to not be a perpetrator of GBV.
“How do we as parents raise the child to be gentle with females – how they handle and respect women. It’s important to talk about the things that the boy child is trying to avoid and that is showing emotions.”
Castle of Good Hope CEO Calvyn Gilfellan said: “We are acutely aware that the Castle is directly implicated in armed colonial conquest, slavery and apartheid oppression – systems notorious for the worst kinds of human rights abuses humanity has ever known.
“We thus make a special effort to organise programmes that would assist in understanding these systems of abuse and why this generation must commit to never repeat them.”
