CAPE MAGIC

How Kaapse Klopse became one of the best parts of being a Kapenaar

- ROBIN-LEE FRANCKE

AS WE celebrate Heritage Month, one of the best parts of the Kaapse cultural fabric is the Cape Minstrels.

The Cape Town Minstrels, colloquially known as The Kaapse Klopse, is a tradition stemming from the 1800s.

The celebrations, known as Tweede Nuwe Jaar (second new year) on January 2, was a day off given to slaves to celebrate however they felt fit.

During this alternative New Year celebration, the slaves would dress up as minstrels and dance rhythmically to the sounds of banjos, guitars, ghoema drums, whistles, trombones and tubas.

Tweede Nuwe Jaar is a celebration of a community’s survival and illustrates the continuity between its past, present and future.

While slavery was officially abolished in the Cape on 1 December 1834, the Tweede Nuwe Jaar celebrations remained a much-anticipated celebration.