The South African theatre production 'Arikaaps', which recently premiered in The Hague, explores the complex origins of the Afrikaans language. For the last century Afrikaans has been associated with oppression, apartheid and white farmers but the artists involved in the production want to show that the language has its real origins in the black community of South Africa.
By Liesbeth Tjon A Meeuw
"At home we speak a totally different Afrikaans than what I learnt at school," says the young artist Janine van Rooy, otherwise known as Black Pearl. She's from the suburbs of Cape Town and uses performance art to explain what life is like there.
"At school I found it quite an awkward way of speaking. Only at home could we communicate freely." Her history books only talked about the Dutch origins of the language. It was only through speaking the more fluent version of Afrikaans that is spoken among the mixed-race communities of Cape Town that she learned otherwise. The language has been formed over the centuries by the descendants of Africans, Europeans and Asians who settled in the region of the Cape.
Rewriting history
"History is usually a burden. By rewriting the history of Afrikaans it becomes liberating," explains director Catherine Henegan. Also for the white South Africans who speak the language, the production has been a good experience. Afrikaaps got a lot of good reviews and even won some awards. "The show is filled with young talented artists. I'm amazed how rich urban culture is in the Cape."
It is no coincidence that Henegan decided to bring the show to the Netherlands. "Those languages [Dutch and Afrikaans] have strong links. They share a common history. We can learn from each other, especially when it comes to living in a multi-cultural society."
On tour
Dutch artists like Def P and Akwasi Ansah are performing in Afrikaaps during its tour of the Netherlands. The show combines hiphop, rap, jazz and reggae with video art, the spoken word and breakdance. The artists speak a very gentle and fluent version of Afrikaans that really makes you appreciate the nuances of the language and the relatively unknown story its origins.
Afrikaaps plays untill the 15th October in the Netherlands. It is a production of The Glasshouse (NL) and The Baxter Theater (ZA).
Listen here to interviews with Black Pearl, Jitsvinger and director Catherine Henegan:
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Afrikaaps word gerespekteer, maar lank voor hulle geboortedag skryf ek poesie innie Kaapse taal, ge-inspireer deur Adam Small. Hulle gee hom nie 'n huldeblyk, hy het die dialek na vore gebring, en was daarna in voorgeskrewe boeke in SA ondersoek en gepraat. "a man without knowledge of his history, is like a tree without roots" BOB MARLEY
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