Pretoria - A horn, symbolising an indigenous South African tool used to make a clarion call, was on Monday lit to mark the opening of Freedom Park’s interactive //hapo Museum by deputy president Kgalema Motlanthe.
Freedom Park’s chief executive Fana Jiyane said the clarion call was to heed former president Nelson Mandela’s dream of a day when people were given a shrine where they could honour those who endured pain to allow others the joy of freedom.
The museum has been 10 years in the making, during which time 3.6 billion years worth of history was put on to technical interactive tools.
On Monday, Motlanthe, accompanied by Arts and Culture Minister Paul Mashatile and Acting Gauteng Premier Nandi Mayathula-Khoza, was taken on a tour of the museum.
Motlanthe said: “//hapo is a centre of interactive learning, in particular of learning about the journey to peace in our land.”
He called the museum a shrine for the dreams of the people of South Africa and said: “The museum embodies the symbolism of the nation’s history.”
He said Mandela, the patron-in-chief of Freedom Park, was testimony to what working towards a non-racial, non-sexist society meant.
“We are taught by scholars of philosophy that the essence of humanity comprises the spiritual sphere, the sphere of the mind and bodily organisation, and that humanity identifies themselves as a part of the social whole,” he said.
He said that was an age-old understanding of African folklore, “motho ke motho ka batho, umuntu ngumuntu ngabantu” - which means that a person is a person through others.
He said in understanding that complexity, it was important to develop spaces for people to tune into their consciousness.
“They will cultivate an identity through guaranteeing their freedoms of expression, religion, thought, conscience, belief, opinion and association,” Motlanthe said.
He said all this was founded on the understanding of the indivisibility between the mind, body and soul and the need to identify the self through language, religion, custom and tradition.
“In this regard, the concept of //hapo - the great idea that ‘a dream is not a dream until it is shared by an entire community’ - is instrumental for inculcating a culture of unity and democracy among South Africans.”
Motlanthe said generations to come would use //hapo to learn about their origins and understand the uniqueness of being a South African citizen.
The museum would also allow the nation to deal with all that was good and bad about the past.
“It will make us conscious not to dwell on it or repeat its mistakes while at the same time being steadfast in drawing important lessons to unite us as we foster a new and common national heritage,” he added.
Mayathula-Khoza called //hapo the only one-stop destination in South Africa which provided rich history, culture and heritage.
Tshwane’s executive mayor, Kgosientso Ramokgopa, said //hapo was befitting of the capital city which had seen such events as the treason trial and the inauguration of the first democratic president.
Pretoria News