Last week CIEE took us on a tour of a couple of the townships. In Apartheid South Africa race was incredibly segregated as you all know, but it was also brutally enforced geographically. So townships were the either all Black or all Coloured areas, and yes coloured is different from black here, however I have no eye for it, and Black and Coloured did not mix. Suburbs in apartheid were where only whites lived. Blacks were at the bottom of the totem pole, then came coloureds, then Indians, then whites.
We had a great tour guide, Tabo, he had a head full of dreads and Ray-Ban aviators. Fun fact, dreads were illegal in Apartheid, he said he started growing his the day Apartheid ended, but of course dreads still stigmatized in South Africa society. The townships generally have about 50% unemployment, if not more, so there are many people in the townships during the day and there are countless informal businesses, often out of people’s houses or on the side of the streets. Hair salons seemed to be the most common. The houses are usually made out of scavenged corrugated steel. In the Coloured townships the houses are generally bigger and nicer, so sometimes they are made out of cinder block or brick.
Tabo took us to Langa, his home township. We visited their community center, walked around, visited a traditional medicine man, and drank traditional beer in a dark, tin shack. The beer was a little sour and rank for my taste but it is the beer used in many important ceremonies in their society, like the notorious coming of age circumcision ceremony for young men. Unfortunately I forgot to bring my camera so I’ll see what I can get from someone else to put up.
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