For all of us home is defined by a number of things. Our home culture may be characterised by multiple general and specific qualities. Defining South African culture on this basis may well be different for each of us. However, there will be things that we share, and which bring us together. Our heritages and ethnic/racial backgrounds may be different, but we still call South Africa home. There are many diverse and distinct languages and cultures within our southern homeland; and some are calling us the Rainbow nation in response to this fact. Perhaps, we all have a greater hope for the future than some others do?

They Call Us the Rainbow Nation

Defining South African culture is more about inclusion than exclusion in 2020. We want to gather all of us together in a defining embrace. We want to make right the wrongs perpetuated by forty years of apartheid and discover a brighter future for all. South Africa is made up of Khoi, San, Xhosa, Zulu, Pedi, Dinka, Himba. Berber, Tswana, Ndebele, Boer, Anglo, Indian, Arab and many more peoples who all create a dynamic rainbow of colours and cultures. The warmth and wide smiles are shared by South Africans across this exotic land. On a good day we all share an energy and resourcefulness rarely found in other climes.

A Land of Startling Beauty & Cultural Diversity

The land where modern human beings first emerged is one of startling beauty and dramatic skylines. Flora and fauna abound in blazes of colour and movement. We are all humbled by the richness of our homeland and share a deep respect for the life around us. There have been challenging times and there will be going forward as well. But we have learned that things are infinitely better when we tackle them together as South Africans. Black and white, gay and straight, rich and poor, man and woman, urban and bush dwellers, we all share a heritage.
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Embracing the diversity of 21C South Africa is an empowering thing for all Saffers going forward. We can remember the good bits about our upbringings in the distant past and our defining South African culture, but the bigger picture is really about the future. Together we can bring all the strands of the rainbow nation into one irresistible band of colour and energy. We can share the optimism of a young nation going ahead in leaps and bounds. This is what it really means to be South African.
 

Long before there were nations, the territory now known as South Africa was home to some of the first modern hominids. These anatomically modern humans were active within the Makgadikgadi-Okavango palaeo-wetland of southern Africa around 200 000 years ago. Archaeological evidence confirms this, and they were thought to have dispersed there from earlier east African locations. Africa is home to the emergence of human beings on planet Earth and this is evidenced via many studies of the human genome and DNA sourced from ancient bones. Hominin and australopithecine fossils have been discovered in limestone caves at Taung, Sterkfontein, Swartkrans and Kromdraai. A brief history of South Africa really begins here.

The First Peoples of South Africa

The first peoples of South Africa are collectively called the Khoisan, being made up of the Khoi Khoi and the San peoples separately. Sometime around 3000 and, then again, around 2000 years ago these inhabitants were joined by the Bantus, who spread from west Africa into, what is now known as South Africa. This migration of Ntu-speaking people may have displaced the pre-existing hunter-gatherers and pastoralists. The evidence for this is primarily linguistic and there are those who question the over-reliance on the use of language-based timelines in anthropology, especially in this instance.

European Exploration of Africa

Portuguese explorers began the European outreach into coastal Africa in the 13th century, as they sought an alternative to the well-established silk road for trade. The Dutch East India Company (VOC) established their trading post in 1652, at what had become known as Cape Town by this time. Portuguese, Dutch, Danish, French and English ships stopped here regularly en route to the Indies, trading tobacco, copper and iron for fresh produce. Slaves were imported by the VOC from Indonesia and Madagascar to fill labour shortages at the Cape in the 17th century. These people began the first coloured communities of Cape Town.

The British took Cape Town in 1795, when the Dutch had become the Batavian Republic – a vassal state of the French. It was returned to the Dutch in 1803 via a treaty but was captured by British forces once more in 1806 and became the capital of the South African colony in 1814. In 1910, the Union of South Africa was established by the British after unifying the two defeated Boer Republics with the British colony of Natal. The Anglo-Zulu War was fought between the British and the Zulu kingdom in 1879. The two Boer Wars were fought in 1880-1881 and 1899-1902. The Boers successfully employed guerrilla warfare tactics in the first war forcing the British to return with greater numbers in the second war. The British established concentration camps out of refugee camps to break the guerrilla campaigns being waged by the Boers. It has been estimated that some 27 000 women and children died in these camps from infectious diseases like measles. The captured men were transported out of the country overseas. In this, a brief history of South Africa, this is a very low moment for humanitarian ideals and behaviour.

The Union of South Africa achieved independent sovereignty in 1931. In 1934, a political coming together of Afrikaners and English-speaking whites occurred via the merging of the National Party and the South African Party to form the United Party. A spit between the two factions occurred in 1939 over the entry of the Union of South African into WW2 in support of the British. The National Party adherents strongly opposed this. In 1948, the National Party was elected to govern South Africa. They imposed apartheid by strengthening the racial laws already in place under the colonial administration and institutionalising them. The National Party government categorised all people into three distinct classifications: whites, blacks and coloureds. Whites who were less than 20% of the population were the highest status group, followed by coloureds, and lastly Black Africans. Resistance to this politically and morally unfair system was perpetuated by individuals and activist groups across South Africa. Brutal reprisals by the National Party government resulted in thousands of deaths and imprisonments over some 40+ years. Global condemnation of apartheid and South Africa was voiced loudly, especially by the United Nations. International trade embargoes and sanctions were imposed upon South Africa to spur the nation to change its ways. The African National Congress (ANC) was the largest anti-apartheid group and their most prominent figure Nelson Mandela suffered incarceration for 27 years as a political prisoner.

In 1994, Mandela would become the first black African President of South Africa. Apartheid legislation was repealed in 1991, following lengthy negotiations between F.W. De Klerk’s National Party government and the ANC over 6 years. The ANC won the 1994 election by a landslide and has been in power ever since. Mandela’s presidency was celebrated around the world, as a civilising milestone moment for humanity. Of course, South Africa did not immediately become a perfect place to live on earth and it faces many economic and social challenges. It is a nation that experiences a large number of public protests. It is a nation involved in a transition, which may take many decades and involves multiple groups of people with various racial and tribal allegiances. In 2006, South Africa became the first African nation to legalise same-sex marriage. There have been many hundreds of xenophobically inspired attacks on people within its borders. As of 2015, some 1.4 million higher education students have benefited from a financial support scheme started in 1999. Education is the answer, as it is every where in the world. Violence is most often committed by stupid people holding onto simplistic opinions and beliefs. A brief history of South Africa can illustrate this fact.
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South Africa currently faces the global coronavirus COVID-19 pandemic, and this will test its humanitarian mettle like never before, but its people are resourceful. They have overcome huge obstacles on their journey so far and will continue to triumph in the long run. 

South Africa is a nation that punches above its weight in sporting terms. The population of South Africa is around 59 million, according to 2020 figures provided by Worldometer. Compare this to the USA with some 330 million, China with 1.4 billion, Russia with 146 million, the UK with 66 million, and India with 1.388 billion. Of course, raw numbers of citizens are not everything. The South African GDP in 2019 was around $370 million, which according to GDP per capita places us in 48th spot globally. The USA GDP in 2019 was $21, 427, 100 million, China came in 2nd with $14, 140, 160 million, and the UK GDP in 2019 was $2, 824, 850 million. Thus, if you do the sums South Africa’s top sporting triumphs have been generated via a lot less money to spend on sport, which is something to chew over.

South African Memorable Sporting Achievement of All Time

So, let us begin the list of these memorable sporting achievements of all time. Nelson Mandela may not have been the captain of the Springboks or the South African cricket team, but his inspiration has delivered some pretty memorable moments. The 1995 Rugby World Cup saw the Springboks at home and up against the world beating New Zealand All Blacks. Somehow, the new Rainbow Nation overcame the odds to deliver an unforgettable victory. Winning the Web Ellis trophy may not be the biggest international sporting achievement, but it ranks in this writer’s mind as something pretty bloody special. Go Boks.

World Record Beating ODI Victory Over Australia
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The 1996 South African triumph of the African Cup of Nations was another very special sporting achievement. Hosting the event in a last minute save for a faltering Kenya, Bafana Bafana beat Tunisia in the final. Substitute Mark Williams scored 2 goals in 2 minutes at the FNB Stadium. Cricket must, also, appear prominently in South Africa’s top sporting triumphs. A world record marathon victory over Australia in the greatest one day international match ever played must not go unnoticed. South Africa scored 438 runs in the Fifth ODI to overcome the Aussie’s 434 runs.
 
In 1979 Jody Scheckter won the Formula One Championship with Ferrari. He remains South Africa’s only winner of this coveted event. This very expensive elite motor sport is an Everest like achievement in anybody’s book. Chad le Clos defeated Michael Phelps in the 2012 Olympic 200m butterfly to win gold. To overcome the greatest Olympian ever is no mean feat. These have been just a few of South Africa’s top sporting triumphs.