Cape Town - The heatwave in Cape Town did not stop spectators of the Tweede Nuwe Jaar parade from enjoying the festivities on Monday.
Their excitement followed a two-year absence from the parade due to Covid-19.
From early Monday morning, spectators were camped under gazebos along the Grand Parade and around the barricaded streets of Cape Town.
A former Klopse dancer who was in the golden circle, Gadija Murray, from Heideveld, enthusiastically spoke about her dancing days in the Klopse.
“I feel very excited; every year I’m in the coons (Klopse). I am very excited and waiting for the coons to come in.
“I came here at 9.25am, which is very late for me, because every year I am dancing with the coons, but now I’m sitting here because my team is closed,” said Murray.
Spectator in the general section, Merina Phillander, from Delft, said: “I feel very glad because the coons are back again.”
Philander and her family were seated in the shade along Darling Street away from the stage.
When asked why she was sitting there, she said: “They said we can’t bring our umbrellas and gazebos, so we just came with our chairs. But now we know we can come with gazebos and umbrellas.”
VVIP spectator Mishqa Abrahams from Kensington, daughter of Melvyn Matthews of the Kaapse Klopse Karnival Association (KKKA), said the Klopse was her life and heritage.
“This Tweede Nuwe Jaar event is a historic event because it comes from recognition of the slavery of coloured people, and even black people.
“The day after new year they were given a day off, and as a ritual they played drums and painted their faces. That is where the coons theme comes from.”
Cape Times