From Shaka day to... Braai day

September 24th is a public holiday in South Africa; offices and schools are closed, and as often happens, families and friends gather around the fire for the beloved tradition of the Braai, whose literal translation from Afrikaans is "ember" or "charcoal."

Originally, this day was special only among the Zulu people, who celebrated the famous King Shaka. In the early 1800s, Shaka transformed the small clan into which he was born into a powerful militaristic and expansionist kingdom, at the expense of neighboring populations who ended up either assimilated or forced to leave their lands. We will discuss this in more detail in a future post.

After the establishment of democracy in 1994, the new government had to draft a list of national holidays, and the exclusion of this day, partly because of the potentially divisive nature of such a celebration, led to strong protests, especially from the Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP), a party whose electoral base was predominantly among the Zulu population.

A compromise was reached, and September 24th became Heritage Day: a day to remember and appreciate the rich variety of customs and traditions that make South Africa a true melting pot of cultures.

It was in 2005 that a young South African, Jan Scannell (now better known as Jan "Braai"), launched the idea of a national barbecue day, inviting South Africans to use the day to gather around a fire to celebrate. He found an enthusiastic supporter in Nobel Peace Prize winner Desmond Tutu, the beloved Anglican Archbishop of Cape Town.

Tutu became the national spokesman for the Braai for Heritage campaign, seeing its unifying potential: regardless of origin, skin color, or social background, literally all South Africans love to grill.

In Tutu’s words: "There are so many things that divide us, while this has the potential to unite us all. We have eleven official languages, but one word for this wonderful tradition of the braai: in Xhosa, English, Afrikaans—whatever your language. We’ve shown the world many things; let us also show them that a simple activity like eating can unite people of different races, religions, genders... short people, tall people, fat and thin people!"

And since, braai aside, there is another thing that unites all South Africans—a irreverent sense of humor—the initiative quickly caught on, and today the official name of the holiday is often forgotten. Personally, when I moved to South Africa, I had to check online what it was called; everyone had simply introduced it to me as Braai Day.

Happy braai-ing you all!