Temp/Kramat/12

The kramats provide a story of the foundations of Islam at the Cape but they are more than religious symbols and sites but reflect on the forced migrations, banishment, slavery, colonialism and the resistance against it. For South Africa after the end of apartheid, nation building became the unifying process embedded on the nation’s history of resistance. The history of the kramats is and of itself one of resistance as these were slaves, regular people, convicts, prophets that played a prominent part in the foundations of Islam, a religion that was suppressed until 1804 in South Africa. It therefore builds on the South African narrative as Indigenous resistance and forced migration are paired processes of a colonial past that are considered direct precursors to the struggle against apartheid.The motto on the national Coat of Arms of South Africa means “diverse people unite.” Another country that is linked to South Africa through its experience of colonialism and relationship with the VOC, Indonesia has the motto, Bhinneka Tunggal Ika, which means Unity in Diversity. The similarity is no mere coincidence as it emphasises the relationship that these two countries have in overcoming differences established through years of violence experienced through colonialism and its hope for a nation to unite in a common sense of belonging. It is a recognition of the ties that bind us as former colonies and a reminder of the networks established that banished and trafficked people across the world. The kramats provide a representation of resistance but as well as inclusion and that branch for unity not only as a reflection for South Africa and Indonesia but to all countries affected by colonialism.