Kaapse Klopse / Cape Coons
While on our family festive holidays in Cape Town, we decided to go and see one of the biggest events in South Africa for over 100 Years. The Cape Minstrels Carnival.
We have to really admire the people involved as the carnival event was right in the middle of a heat wave, where we saw some dehydrated people, both young and old.
The Kaapse Klopse is a minstrel Carnival that takes place annually on 2nd January and it is also
referred to as the Tweede Nuwe jaar (Second
New Year), in Cape Town, South Africa. As many as 13,000
minstrels take to the streets dressed up in bright colors, either carrying
colorful umbrellas or playing an array of musical instruments. The minstrels
are self organised into klopse ("clubs" in Kaapse Afrikaans, but more accurately
translated as troupes in English). Participants are typically from Afrikaans-speaking working class Cape colored families who have preserved the custom
since the mid-19th century.
The Origins
The
origin of the carnival stretches back to the 19th century and has its origins
in the time of slavery in Cape Town, when the original citizens of District Six
were allowed their one day off on January 1st. The event, which has developed a
distinct Cape flavor, is also supposed to have ties to the minstrel
entertainers who stopped off in Cape Town on huge American ocean liners, over
100 years ago.
Although
it is called the Coon Carnival by Capetonians, local authorities have
renamed the festival the Cape Town Minstrel Carnival as foreign tourists find
the term "coon" derogatory. Most local people still call it the Coon
Carnival.
My favorite photos first
Some more photos from the Carnival to Enjoy
#South Africa, #Cape Town
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