Aug 27, 2019The cultures, languages and heritages of South Africa are multiple, diverse, and dynamic. Intersectional issues of gender, ethnicity, and race
South Africa is heir to a legacy of autochthonous livelihoods (see, most famously, the Khoi and the San) as well as Bantu immigration; slavery; colonisation; settler economies; and liberation movements. These histories have all had a drastic effect on the make up of South Africa's population.
Today almost 80% of South Africa's population follows the Christian faith. Other major religious groups are the Hindus, Muslims, Jews and Buddhists. Minorities
Overview
South Africa is known for its ethnic and cultural diversity. Almost all South Africans speak English to some degree of proficiency
Art
The oldest art objects in the world were discovered in a South African cave. Dating from 75,000 years ago
Architecture
The architecture of South Africa mirrors the vast ethnic and cultural diversity of the country and its historical colonial period. In addition
Cinema
While many foreign films have been produced about South Africa (usually involving race relations)
Music
There is great diversity in music from South Africa
South Africa has early human fossils at Sterkfontein and other sites. The first modern inhabitants were the San ("bushman") hunter-gatherers and the Khoi ("Hottentot") peoples, who herded livestock. The San may have been present for thousands of years and left evidence of their presence in thousands of ancient cave paintings ("rock art").
South Africa has early human fossils at Sterkfontein and other sites. The first modern inhabitants of the country were the hunter-gatherer San (‘bushman’) and the Khoi (‘Hottentot’) peoples, who herded livestock.
After the establishment of the first colonial outpost of the Dutch East India Company at Cape Town in 1652, South Africa became a society officially divided into colonizer and native, white and nonwhite, citizen and subject, employed and indentured, free and slave.
South Africa's unique social and political history has generated a rich variety of literatures, with themes spanning pre-colonial life, the days of apartheid, and the lives of people in the "new South Africa". Many of the first black South African print authors were missionary-educated, and many thus wrote in either English or Afrikaans.
English and other foreign languages are slowly replacing the native languages. South African culture is not homogeneous but is rather a collection of cultures with different cultures being predominant in different regions. Some of the prominent cultures of South Africa include the Khoikhoi and San culture, Zulu, Ndebele, Xhosa, ...