Cape Town - When slaves were brought to the Cape, they were given new names by their owners, often after the months of the year. That’s why many Capetonians have surnames such as April or Augustus.
Brand activation company Geometry Global sought out elders in each of these families and interviewed them about their family heritage. Geometry produced a “Slave Calendar”, which features 12 Capetonians whose surnames – one for each of the calendar months – hark back to this practice. It was recently awarded a gold Loerie – a prestigious advertising award – and will be exhibited at the Iziko Slave Lodge Museum.
In the lead-up to Heritage Day, the Cape Argus will be featuring each of the 12 interviewees. Here’s the fourth instalment in the series:
Meet Mr April
For Hanover Park resident Shafick April, embracing his heritage has been his ticket to travel the world.
As a member of a Cape Malay choir, April went on tour to perform in cities across Europe. “We were invited to the Tulip Festival in Holland. We went on tour in 1981. We were the first choir from the Malay Choir Boards to have visited Holland.”
Their reputation spread quickly across Europe. “From then on the invitations came,” April said. “We went to Spain, we went to Germany, London, Switzerland. That was fantastic for me.”
April joined the choir after converting to Islam. “I came from a Christian background but had a lot of Muslim friends,” he said. “I was fascinated by the way they conducted their life and their teachings of the religion, and that turned me to learn more about Islam.
“I then embraced Islam in 1966 and I’m not sorry about it. I’ve learnt such a lot about religion and mankind as a whole.”
Getting involved in the Cape Malay Choir Board led April to be appointed secretary, and later president.
“I think in 1986 they picked me as the president, and I’m still the president,” he said. “I think I’m the longest surviving president of the board.”
There are currently 26 choirs registered with the Cape Malay Choir Board, but in April’s heyday, there were 45.
While April celebrates his Malay heritage through music, he doesn’t know much about the specifics of his family history.
“I know very little about slavery in South Africa, only what I read about how people were treated during those years,” he said. “I was not aware that slaves were given calendar names, but I was born with it and I am sticking to it because my fathers and forefathers had that name.”
April said he wished his family history and lineage had been better recorded.
“I would very much like more recording of our family tree,” he said. “I’m the third eldest of a family of four. I know very little about my father. The only thing I know is that he was a painter and my mother was a factory worker at a sweet factory.”
April said being descended from slaves and carrying a slave surname was not an issue for him. “I’m not embarrassed by the slave heritage. We were subjected in those years to be part of the slavery colony,” he said. “I don’t like this word 'slavery', because I think all people are the same through the grace of the Almighty.
“This interview has now really wakened something in me to find out more about my family history which I lack,” he said.
“I must go in depth and find out where we come from.”
Cape Argus