History & Culture

South African names are as diverse and powerful as the people who make up the region. Over the years, the region has introduced many interesting names, and the list keeps growing yearly. Though some of these names are coined from diverse ethnic backgrounds, they all have powerful meanings. All the names on our list are unique as they are peculiar to not just one ethnic group. There are multiple names...

Sunland Baobab is an age-old well-known South African gigantic baobab tree, which is located in Sunland Farm, Limpopo. It has gone through several investigations, many of which were to determine its actual age. One study, after examining the relative amount of carbon isotopes that it contains, estimated the tree to be around 1,060 years old. Other studies have suggested higher ages but none of it disputed the fact that it is over...

The beauty of Information is that it empowers you and helps you learn things you didn’t think you could learn. It makes you productive and ignites the inner creativity within you. These facts about South Africa will expose you to so much more. When we talk of South Africa, we talk of growth, advancement, and a future for the African continent. Consequently, wit the infrastructure to match any first-world country, South...

South Africa has come a really long way from days of colonialism, apartheid, and the shaky peace that followed apartheid and developed into the strong nation that the world knows and loves today. The South African History traced back to as far as 100,000 years ago; where the earliest men to have lived here were more of bushmen/hunters and gatherers, before the Bantu speaking people moved in. See Also: Mind-Blowing Facts About South...

They say too many cooks spoil the soup, but the infusion of over 9 countries is what makes South African foods what they are today. South African foods are not just substances consumed to provide essential nutrients to the body, but their rich flavors and textures go as far back as 100,000 years ago. They are not just foods, but works of art! History of South African Foods Just as the story begins...

The years of apartheid are undoubtedly one of the darkest moments in South Africa’s history. The period which spanned from 1948 to 1994 was characterized by racial segregation, white minority rule and the oppression of the rights, movements, and freedom of the blacks. The word ‘apartheid’ literally means ‘the state of being apart’ or ‘separateness’. According to Africanaencyclopedia.com, the term apartheid (from the Afrikaans word for “apartness”) was coined in the 1930s...

Painful, weird and appalling events happened all over the world in 2017 and South Africa had a fair share of these events. Sadly, these South African incidents shocked the world more than they could bear. While the year has been increasingly described as a year of a major clampdown on terror activities across the globe, it has also gone down the history lane as a year many believed the world would...

South Africa is a country located in the southernmost part of the continent of Africa. Best known for its mining activities, it not only boasts of the biggest economy in Africa but is amongst the most popular tourist destinations due to its rich cultural diversity and wildlife. It is not well-known for its culinary diversity but it should be. South Africa has one of the richest culinary traditions born...

While the crime rate in South Africa has constantly been on the increase, the drug market is also not in any way slowing down. Alcohol and other popular substances like marijuana remain widely popular, however, a new entrant which is making it big is Nyaope. In recent times, substance abuse in South Africa has taken a turn for the worse, such that one out of every 15 people of...

Gold mining has been one of the major means of generating revenue in South Africa. There are several gold mines found in the country and Lily Mine happens to be one of them. Located in Barberton, Ehlanzeni District, in the Mpumalanga province of South Africa, Lily Mine first began as an oxide open pit operation in 2000. However, it later developed as a shallow underground operation. It has lode...

South Africa embodies a rich collection of ethnic backgrounds. During the apartheid regime in the country, all these tribes seemed to have folded together with a singular aim of defeating the monster at sight and achieving a free country for all tribes. With the country now free, the different ethnic groups have not lost their identities. Perhaps you may ask yourself what the biggest South African tribes are, the...

The South African Flag is one of the fascinating flags in Africa. Its artistic colour blend leaves one wondering how South Africa got the amazing multi-coloured flag. Here, we present to you interesting facts you never knew about the South African Flag. Brief History and Meaning of the South African Flag The South African Flag was designed by State Herald Frederick Brownell in March 1994 and was first adopted on the 27th of April...

Can a man scoop fire on his lap without his clothes being burned? Can he walk on hot coals without his feet being scorched? Those are words from the good book. The ancestors of white South Africans evidently neglected the admonitions embedded in those words when they refused to integrate with the black majority of the South African population but instead championed the apartheid history. Now, South Africa is "officially" liberated from apartheid, and...

Shaka Zulu is known to be the king who gave rise to one of the most popular tribes in Southern Africa, that of the Zulu's. He became a Zulu leader in 1816 and due to determination and brutal strength, he conquered most of South Africa's neighbouring tribes and thus made the Zulu's one of the most prominent if not the most prominent cultural tribe in South Africa. It, therefore, came...

Think of all the stories you have heard about Africa and you will definitely agree that the picture painted is almost always never pretty. The rest of the world think of hungry people struggling to survive in war-torn areas under the leadership of dictators and extremists. Africa has been perceived to be a cursed continent for too long. This is so despite the fact that there are beautiful countries...

Advertising in South Africa has come a long way and has made an indelible mark on the minds of so many people. Sometimes, you find yourself smiling when you remember an ad that you really love, and whenever it is aired, you can help but nod and sing along. Some of these South African TV adverts have entertained us, some have amused us, while a lot more of them...

The Zulu tribe is one of the most widely known tribes in Africa, mainly because of the very vital part that it played in the continent's history. Originally, the Zulu tribe emanated from the Ngunis who inhabited the central and Eastern Africa and subsequently migrated to the Southern Africa in the "Bantu Migration" which occurred centuries ago. The Zulu tribe represents the largest population of ethnic groups in South...

Tswana people are Niger-Congo or Bantu-speaking people including all the Sotho-Tswana clans residing either in Botswana, Lesotho or South Africa. People all over the world are organized into social groups based on kinship or clan. These groups of people have distinct ways of living depending on their creativity and experiences. Most interesting are the systems that they acquire to help them in communication. Tswana People The Tswana people are as stated, found...

Shaka Zulu is one of the most famous (or notorious) leaders to have graced Southern Africa in the past few centuries. Hate him or love him, if you have any interest in the history of Southern Africa, you must have heard about Shaka Zulu, the renowned personality that established the Zulu tribe. Many respect him, some revere him while some others just plain wish he were still alive. Zulu...

The Tsonga tribe inhabits the Southern Mozambique coastal plain, parts of Zimbabwe and Swaziland, as well as the Limpopo and Mpumalanga Province of South Africa. The ethnic group laid its foundation far back in history and had flourished after that. They have lived their serene insular lives in coordination with nature long before the widespread warfare and chaos that characterized the early 1800s, during which the nations of southern Africa...

Did you know that the Ndebele tribe also regarded as the amaNdebele or the Matabele are part of the larger Bantu tribe? Although the origin of the southern African Ndebele people is shrouded in mystery, they are however considered as one of the Nguni ethnic group, and to some extent, the Ndebele tribe is regarded as a branch of the Zulu's who split from King Shaka under the leadership...

Africa is known for the unique and diversified culture of its different people. And among these is the very interesting group of people called Sotho. They are divided into three groups: The Northern Sotho (Pedi), Southern Sotho, and the Tswana (Batswana). These groupings happened due to various events in the course of histories like wars, invasions and the change of leaders. In the end, most of these people are...

Similar to most tribes in South Africa, the Venda people moved there from Central Africa. They are among the last black community to cross the Limpopo River and settle in the Soutpansberg Mountains of the Limpopo Province. They are not very populous but they have a rich cultural heritage. Venda culture is closely associated with the spirit world. They express their beliefs and customs through art decorations on their...

As far as the cultures of the world go, the South African Culture is one of the richest and most appreciated in the world; a culture whose appreciation is enhanced by its history. Despite overcoming so much, South Africa is still standing tall and is considered among the top African economies. Its culturally rich existence is just the tip of the iceberg. The country is rich in music, dance,...

Namibia is a country located towards the southern part of Africa and it has enjoyed a certain amount of stability since it gained independence in 1990 after a long struggle against rule by South Africa. Namibia possesses some of the most stunning landscapes in Africa, and a trip through the country is one of the great road adventures one can experience in Africa. There are some lesser-known Namibian facts...