Cape Town -
In 18 days, Cape Town’s minstrels will be celebrating the role they played in the development of Cape Town, in conjunction with the Castle of Good Hope turning 350 years old.
The celebration of the Castle’s inauguration coincides with the traditional Cape Minstrel Tweede Nuwejaar celebration.
The chief executive of the Castle Control Board, Calvyn Gilfellan, said: “We view minstrels as brightly coloured jesters and attach little significance to them. It’s time we start realising the roles slaves played in developing Cape Town. They played a huge role in the castle and it’s those stories we need to tell.”
The control board comprises of citizens who deal with the day-to-day running and management of the Castle, which is a state-owned entity belonging to the South African National Defence Force.
Addressing the media at a joint Castle and minstrels media briefing on Monday, Gilfellan said the minstrels would be part of the 2016 Castle of Good Hope commemoration.
He said with the help of the Cape Town Minstrels Association they were hoping to “change the façade of the castle” and start telling “uncomfortable stories”.
Gilfellan said: “We want to use this opportunity, the first in post-apartheid South Africa, to present the castle in a multi-faceted, comprehensive way – good, bad and ugly.
“All these stories, especially those hidden, untold and uncomfortable ones, need to be told through a year of exciting but solemn events.”
On January 2, 1666 the first foundation stone of the Castle of Good Hope was laid at the foot of the Leerdam Bastion.
Cape Cultural Events and Carnival Committee chief executive, Kevin Momberg, said the minstrels’ event and the Castle’s commemoration were directly linked.
He said January 2 (Tweede Nuwejaar) was significant to the minstrels.
“It was the day on which masters gave their slaves off to celebrate the New Year. Our Tweede Nuwejaar road march in no way celebrates the act of the enslavement, but rather tells the victorious tale of how far as a community we have come.”
On January 2, about 100 minstrels will be performing for dignitaries, leading them to the site where the first stone was laid. There, a bench made out of the original support beams of the Castle will be unveiled.
The event at the Castle will start at 10am and end at noon in order to allow enough time before the traditional minstrels road march.
“We are thrilled to be working hand-in-hand freeing this space from its oppressive past and celebrating the freedom we now have,” Momberg said.
Cape Argus
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