By Sarah Aduke Ohiomah / September 28, 2019
In 1977, Nigerian artist (also my favorite artist of all time) Fela Kuti wrote a song named “Colonial Mentality” and wrote the following:
De ting wey black no good
Na foreign things them dey like
No be so? (He be so!)
Dem go turn air condition
And close Dem country away
No be so? (He be so!)
Throughout all my years of listening to Fela—even hearing his words while my mother was pregnant with me—I never fully understood what his words meant. I just sang them to the sounds of the beating drums, the heavenly saxophone, and the alluring trumpet. It all drew me in. But I never stopped to think about the true relevance of his words, even in the context of living in post-colonial Africa. In this song, Fela warns us about the reality of the desires of the colonists. They did not just exploit the land, its people and its resources; they instilled such a strong mindset that ensured that the legacy of European imperialism would live on for centuries and that whites would be viewed as superior.
This mindset is known as a “colonial mentality.” After visiting Stellenbosch for the weekend, those profound lyrics spoken by the legend himself haven’t left my mind.
Stellenbosch is a precise archetype of a post-colonial town in South Africa living with a potent colonial mentality. I could tell just by our ride up to our hostel. I could only see white people accompanied by extravagant stores and restaurants. It looked expensive. It looks luxurious.
On the surface, it was beautiful. But what was beneath the nice scenery was immensely ostracizing from its white residents and truly offensive microaggressions that disregard black pain.
Once we dropped our stuff off in the hostel, we were required to take a tour of Stellenbosch. I was already skeptical of the place; therefore, I wasn’t necessarily enthusiastic about taking a tour around the area. But I did it mainly because I had to.
We meet our tour guide, a white man that has lived in Stellenbosch for quite a while. I was polite, and I listened to what he has to say. He starts to mention the terms “discover,” “the Dutch,” “best wine,” and other various words that have nothing to do with authentic African culture/tradition. That’s when I understood what type of tour this was going to be. I knew that this was going to be a tour of Stellenbosch through the colonial perspective, where white people are the forefront of all the stories, and there is a sense of glorification about Stellenbosch during colonization. I wasn’t happy, but I continued to listen as this is how I was taught the history of my own country in school for more than a decade.
He rambled on as I stood there with reluctance and disinterest. But then he decided to make a mockery out of the local languages spoken in South Africa. I noticed all the people of color on the trip cringe ever so slightly as we looked at each other in shock. It is one thing to tell a biased perspective of history, but it is another thing to demean/degrade the language of the people that you are choosing to exclude from this important narrative that you are sharing with a group of individuals who don’t reside in Stellenbosch. It may have seemed like a quick, snide remark. But it was so much more than that. That remark perpetuates the belief that the indigenous cultures of that region are inferior and to be made fun of. That remark allows others to know that it is perfectly fine to think less of the indigenous tribes that resided in this place before colonists. That remark undermines the beauty behind the languages of the locals and the way in which they communicate with each other. The fact that he easily said it, and even asked why no one was laughing at his jokes, shows that his comments have never been questioned or ridiculed by his audience. I am an individual who is able to easily see the issue and the detriment of his snide remarks and colonial narrative. However, are other visitors of Stellenbosch able to do the same, or are they just blinded by the beauty of it all?
Despite the problematic tour and the constant stares from white residents, my favorite part of the trip was going to Amizink. This was an establishment in the middle of a township right near Stellenbosch. We ate the lovely food that they served us, and we enjoyed the music they played right before the epic performance. The craziest part about it all was that I felt little to no hospitality from all the wineries that we visited; however, Amizink made me feel as though this place was my home from the very beginning. At Amizink, people openly express their love for us even without knowing who we were, and that is something that I will never forget or take for granted. After we finished our main course, the performance finally began; as a result, the smile on my face never disappeared, and laughter inundated the whole room like a diffuser cleansing all the discrimination we experienced at the beginning of our trip. That other bad experience within Stellenbosch was completely shattered during the moments that I watch these seven performers sing, dance, and convey a message throughout it all.
The performance was an emotional rollercoaster for me. They made me laugh. They made me smile. They made me cry. They made me dance. These seven performers talked about serious issues going on in South Africa, such as black pain and the role that white people have in maintaining this feeling. They talked about silly traditions within South African culture, such as people getting all glammed up for funerals as if it were a celebrity appearance. They talked about gender inequalities and what women have to go through in order to marry. They talked about childhood, and the types of games South African children play on a daily basis. In the end, the performers showed us that through all the good times and the bad times, we must remain strong and remember who we are. They made it known that Africans have a history of oppression; but they also have a history of perseverance, determination, and tenacity. This is the type of narrative I needed to hear because not only did I learn more about authentic South African culture, but I truly resonated with it, and it sunk into my soul. As a Nigerian-American, I felt some type of belonging. I felt my mother’s words and everything she had told me as a child about being proud of my African roots. It was beyond surreal.
These two different experiences were quite contradictory. How is it that CIEE can allow us to stay in a town that prides itself on exploitation and colonial rule, but at the same time permit us to spend an evening in a township that was created due to the racial and financial inequality established from that same town? The answer is complicated. It isn’t the program’s fault though. It is much greater than this corporation. It is a societal issue. But the closest thing to an explanation is the colonial mentality. Stellenbosch is conducted through a superiority complex. They reside in the continent of Africa—a region that is not their own—but still manage to take up space and alienate the Africans who can’t even afford to live there due to the institutions that their ancestors established years before. It is messed up, but it is the truth.
Colonial mentality breaks us down and prevents black people from progressing forward. Apartheid is dead, but the effects of that era are very much alive and still running. Next time, I wish that CIEE would tell visiting students the reality of Stellenbosch because every South African seems to know what it is really like there, but many foreigners don’t. Honestly, Stellenbosch is not a safe space for people of color and the fact that I had to learn that the hard way is not fair. As a black woman going to Africa through a study abroad program, it is not my job to research the places I will feel safe and not ostracized. CIEE shouldn’t romanticize the experience within Stellenbosch and only mention the beautiful scenery of it all. I understand this is truly a large company with a corporate mindset; therefore, you are trying to advertise these trips in order to get participants. However, I would actually respect CIEE more if it looked out for the people of color and share the reality of these areas instead of having us figure it out in such an awful way.
Thank you for taking the time to read this.
Much Love,
Sarah Aduke