With Heritage Day approaching, people throughout the country will be dressed in their traditional attire and take part in different activities to celebrate the day.
South Africans throughout the country are urged to celebrate their culture and diversity on September 24, as well as their different belief systems and traditions.
Also read: About Heritage Day
The Herald spoke to local resident Dineo Masasanya who is also a general manager at Wings Of Deliverance funeral home. In her line of work she deals with bereaved people from different cultures.
She gets to witness how they observe different traditions during the burial period, which she admitted had caused her to become open-minded about diversity.
“I work with people from different ethnic groups and cultures and that has exposed me to different ways of how people observe their traditions and perform cultural practices.
I have also become more understanding and accepting and that’s one of the reasons why people warm up to us and pick us as their preferred funeral parlour,” said Masasanya who runs the parlour with her father Dorian Masasanya. They are of the Pedi tribe.
Masasanya mentioned that some of her friends are Zula, Tsonga, Venda and Tswana and this too has helped her to be appreciative of other cultures.
“I have a very diverse circle and I’m so appreciative of that. I attend some of the traditional events that some of my friends and their families host and that too has led to my understanding of different cultures.
Both my sisters are married to Xhosa men and I have fallen in love with their attire,” said Masasanya who urged people to be mindful and accepting of the different cultures this Heritage Month.
Asked what her favourite food is, Masasanya said she enjoys a Pedi staple of morogo wa dikgopana which is cooked spinach formed in a round shape and left to dry in the sun.
Asked what she would be doing on Heritage Day, Masasanya said she will be with her family hosting a braai. She hopes to serve morgo wa dikgopana to their guests.
