TES Ambassador Exchange Soweto: Weekend exploration

This weekend, Dr. Mandel and I wanted to explore Joburg a little more. On Saturday morning, we took a walking tour of downtown Joburg. We started off in Maboneng Precinct, a newly revitalized area of the city. The main street has new hotels and hostels, restaurants and bars, trendy clothing boutiques, and a very popular weekly market on Sundays. Many of the people trying to revitalize the area are artists and there are wonderful murals and mosaics throughout the precinct (reminding me of Philadelphia’s urban mural project intended to engage people in the community through art that reflects the unique culture of the area made by the people in the area).

After seeing some of the modern renovations of Main Street we went to the Mai Mai market, seeing the juxtaposition of the modern and traditional Joburg. The site was first used as a stable to accommodate horses which were used to pull soil carts back in the 1940s. It was subsequently converted into a market and became an entry point for newly arrived migrants, under the custodianship of the old Johannesburg city council. It is the oldest market dedicated to traditional healing. Many of the shops sell traditional medicine (muti), masks and furs used during traditional ceremonies, and yet others cater to tourists.

Visiting traditional African healers is very common in SA. An estimated 60-80% of people consult with healers, often in conjunction with Western medicine. As we walked through the streets of the Mai Mai market, we noted several shops with herbs being left outside to dry.

After leaving the market place we walked to the Carlton center, a large shopping mall, and passed several shops and murals along the way.

Obviously I am not in the fashion...

Mural about the history of Joburg- from the gold rush to apartheid days and the modern city.

View of the city from the Carlton center.

After getting panoramic view from the top of the Carlton center, we visited the worker's museum and learned about the living and working conditions of the people (mostly Africans and Chinese) who worked in the gold mines in the early days of Joburg. These mines are the reason for the city - Joburg is the largest city that was not built surrounding a body of water. We finished the day at the Africa Museum in Newtown, learning a little bit more about the history of the city.

Thanks to our guides Bheki and John for a wonderful time! If you are ever in the area, be sure to look them up.

http://www.mabonengprecinct.com/

After our tour ended, we went to constitutional hill, the site of the Old Fort Prison, where many political prisoners (including Gandhi, in 1908) were incarcerated alongside petty criminals and violent offenders. The site is now the seat of the new Constitutional Court of South Africa.

On Saturday night, I went to see Johnny Clegg, a true polymath (a dancer, anthropologist, singer, songwriter, academic, activist and French knight). Known as the “White Zulu”, he is well known for penning songs that capture the African spirit and creating a unique musical style drawn from both European and African traditions. His academic work is also well regarded; he has published many seminal papers on Zulu music and dance. During the apartheid years, he used his music to bring greater awareness of the conditions in SA.

Little known fact...Johnny Clegg was recently awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters at Dartmouth College in 2012 (my beloved alma mater).

On Sunday, while Dr. Mandel went to the Joburg market, I went to the "Cradle of Mankind" to Mebokeng and the Sterkfontein caves, where I relearned the history of human evolution, saw some of the original fossils found in the area, and learned that "Mrs. Ples" (the most complete skull of an Australopithecus africanus specimen ever found in South Africa - found in the Sterkfontein area) may actually be Mr. Ples.