It was the Cape Town of old again, albeit with a tinge of sadness and nostalgia for loved ones and supporters lost since the masses last lined the streets of the Mother City for their beloved Malay choirs and Kaapse Klopse.
Covid claimed many lives, but New Year’s Eve and the January 2 Cape Town Street Parade was testament to the resilience of the human spirit.
Cape Town culture reigned supreme once again. The notorious south-easter followed Eskom’s lead and stayed away for the weekend, resulting in perfect weather for the festivities. Many choirs took to the street earlier than usual on Saturday to make the most of the day and yours truly joined up with Primroses MVC (Male Voice Choir) for the event. What a blast it was!
Primroses started their day at 5pm with a lekka jol down Pluto Road in Surrey Estate to the first “tafel” (table).
For the uninitiated, the choir is invited to perform at the residence of family, friends or supporters to sing traditional Nederlandse liedjies (Netherlands songs) and moppies (comic songs). When they are done singing, they enjoy eats and treats laid out on tables by the hosts, hence the “tafel” term. The Roses (Die Rose in Afrikaans) had eight “tafel” invitations for their parade. The last one was a breakfast “tafel” in Lentegeur, Mitchells Plain, at 5am the following morning.
Hats off to the executive committee of Primroses for a perfectly organised and executed event. The choir looked outstanding with a quality uniform comprising chino pants, golf shirt and London Fog jacket.
Roses stole the show!
In Mitchells Plain, an emotional Young Men’s Sporting Club singpak (choir) burst into tears after the first note at their first “tafel”, singing without recently deceased club president and icon Maan Morris for the first time in more than 30 years.
Sadly, there was no stage set up in Lentegeur for the choirs to sing. The popular Shelley Road stop was also disallowed because a permit had not been obtained.
The iconic Kaapse Klopse Tweede Nuwe Jaar (Cape Town Street Parade) followed on Monday and thousands of supporters descended on the Mother City. They were not disappointed, the Klopse rocked! They delivered in sweltering heat.
As with the Malay choirs being smaller than usual, it was notable that there were fewer troupes participating in the parade. Many of the smaller troupes were not present, evidence of the tough economic times. The much-debated gazebos were a non-issue with patrons complying with requests to remove the rear and sides. All in all, it was a wellorganised parade.
The almost inevitable complaint about punctuality reared its head again on social media. In defence of the minstrels, from experience I can tell you that it is not an easy task to assemble a big troupe.
The logistics of getting a troupe to the parade is an absolute nightmare for troupe executives with a 1 000 member-plus troupe easily using more than 10 buses. Appreciation for all these efforts for no actual financial reward is well deserved.
It was a memorable weekend in the Mother City, just like the old days. Die Kaap was aan die brand! Like everyone else, I was just happy and blessed to be a part of it.
* Nazeem Davids, Cape Town.
** The views expressed here are not necessarily those of Independent Media.
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