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The slaves, the masters, and a carnival of rebellion

South African parade dating back to the mid-19th century celebrates slaves’ ‘mockery of masters’.

Dutch farmers began growing produce to feed the sailors from the Dutch East India Company, who used Cape Town for refreshment stops starting in 1652. Settlers used slaves captured in the East Indies for labour. Although they did not enslave the local Khoikhoi population, over time their settlements destroyed the Khoi people.

By Raeesa Pather

Published On 3 Feb 2015

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Cape Town, South Africa – After a two-week delay and some verbal abuse between organisers and the city of Cape Town, the minstrel carnival finally burst onto the streets of the Mother City.

The parade dates back to the mid-19th century when slaves were given the day off on January 2 to rest. Back then, groups would assemble on the streets and parade from the famous District Six locale to the city centre.

Dressed in top hats, tailcoats and waistcoats, it was a most dazzling mockery of their masters.

Today, the celebration continues. When the minstrels march, banjos, trumpets and drums reverberate through the city centre, which turns into a sea of sequins, glitter and colourful umbrellas.

While the carnival today is fairly symbolic and commemorative in nature, for the participants it is a chance to connect with those from a time gone by.

Initially 250 slaves were packed into a ship bound for the Cape, but only 170 survived the gruelling journey.
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During the late 19th century, slaves were given a day off on January 2, and they celebrated by dressing up, dancing, and mocking their slave-masters. Historians believe that the slaves were inspired by the black American minstrels who toured the Cape.
The carnival would later become a celebration of the abolition of slavery.
The slaves creatively integrated their new language, music, and traditions influencing the emergence of their unique identity in Cape Malay and the Western Cape. They created the ghoema drum, an instrument made from animal skin tightly stretched over one end of a wine vat.
Jan van Riebeeck, the founder of Cape Town, is said to have owned eight female and three male slaves. In 1767 and 1787, brief bans prohibited Europeans from bringing male slaves from Asia to the Cape. The trade in female slaves continued.
The modern day Klopse Carnival has borrowed heavily from American culture, with troupes adopting names such as The Pennsylvanians.
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The carnival survived with difficulty under apartheid laws, with the Group Areas Act restricting performances in the city centre and surrounding areas, which became for 'whites only'. The minstrels performed in areas on the Cape Flats, where they had been forced to live.
Controversially, the Kaapse Klopse festival was known as the 'Coon Carnival'. Locals did not attach any racial meaning to the term, but foreigners who visited the city were shocked and offended. In former years, the minstrels also coloured their faces in what has now become the offensive 'black-face'. While some Capetonians still refer to the minstrels as the coons, the klopse no longer use 'black-face' in their performances.
The minstrels have become a source of pride and tradition for many in Cape Town's coloured community.
The minstrel festival is romanticised because of its association with the struggles against colonialism and apartheid. But in recent years it has been criticised for mismanagement and ties to underground crime.
The minstrel carnival is a family affair, with participating family members encouraging younger generations to join in. Despite its success, it is still under question whether the festival and its heritage will survive.