South African-Indians

When one thinks of South Africa, many things come to mind. Safaris, Table Mountain, and wild animals are just a few. What people seem to forget, though, is that South Africa has become one of the most culturally diverse countries in the world. As a South African through my father’s side of the family, I have noticed that all of his SA friends were of different backgrounds. There were the dutch decedents also know as the Africaans, Eastern European/Russian decedents such as my father, English decedents, and members of the countless African tribes (Xhosa, Zulu…).

My father was born and raised in the eastern city of Durban. Sitting right in the south of KwaZulu Natel, Durban held a very strategic location for the country of South Africa. It is the gateway to the Indian Ocean and provides SA with trade between Asia. After thinking about all the possible influences countries have had on South Africa, there is one that may seem less obvious — India. Indians began entering South Africa way before it became an independent country. Being a developed country in Africa, many Indians saw SA as a good option for a new beginning. Yes, there was apartheid during this time; however, the idea of opportunity in such a developing country seemed too good to be true. Many of my families friends have explained their ancestral reasoning on why they migrated to South Africa; however, not many people speak about how influential the Indian culture has had on the country. Beginning with the spice trade, India quickly left its mark on SA by bringing a whole new pallet of food to the table. The country began seeing Cape Malay curries, Bunny Chow (curry in a hollowed out bread loaf), and naan. Vendors on the side of the street began selling Indian toys and clothes. Not only was there another huge culture that began to imbed itself within the country but also people began to embrace everything that they had brought. It does have to be said that apartheid did bring huge problems to anyone who wasn’t white. While this was in fact true, though, as the tides of apartheid lightened in the 90s, the already South African-Indian culture had been long present and finally openly embraced.