History & Culture

They say only he who wears the shoe knows where it hurts. This saying is remarkably true when it comes to the topic of how the apartheid era affected the people in South Africa. In as much as apartheid ended several decades ago, those years seem like just yesterday to black South Africans but to the white folks, it might as well be a century ago. This is why...

When the country of South Africa is mentioned, lots of things come to mind. First, it is one of the strongest economies in the African continent. Two, it is one of the countries with the largest gold reserves in the world. Three, it is home to many world-class game reserves and national parks. Four, it was once the focus for encouraging apartheid. However, many people know South Africa because...

Through the steady growth of the South African economy, one of the biggest success stories of its many years of democracy is the growth of the music industry. From the numerous festivals to the success of independent labels, the flourishing of original music and the death of the cover band culture, South African music is thriving and gaining international recognition even bigger than the days of the 1900s Musicians....

When it comes to recounting a well-spent weekend or holiday, it all begins with the dishes that were served. Food makes the weekend different from the normal weekdays and nothing commands culinary respect more than a well-roasted chicken for a big day. So, we will be looking at roasted chicken recipes here. While every cook can vouch for one method or recipe for roasting a chicken, delicate techniques, fussy brines,...

The history of cell phones in South Africa dates back to very old times when mobile phones were some of the most expensive commodities in the technological market. In those early days, to own a Nokia 3310 was like owning a very expensive mansion in one of the most expensive parts of town. The mobile phone has been a huge magnet for invention and a window on modern technical achievements. This...

Mandela Was Never A Christian. How? We'll tell you; just read on. A few days ago the world celebrated the life of a man who illustrated to the world and South Africa the core values of leadership, love, respect and togetherness. Mandela was honoured as established in 2009 in order to encourage South Africans to emulate, cultivate and sustain Mandela's humanitarian legacy. On his birthday 18th July, South Africa witnessed 67 minutes of...

Crimes and criminals have confronted South Africa and South Africans with the perplexity of radical evil. Shocking crimes are being committed by the unscrupulous initiative of too many crooks and hoodlums, with the blessing of more gangsters, and amid the passive acquiescence of crime fighters who readily convert to criminals when it's convenient to do so. Neither murder nor rape is the most feared crime in South Africa. Housebreaking and burglary rather are. And...

According to the Ipsos MORI's "Perils of Perception 2015" survey, South Africans are the 8th most ignorant citizens of a country among other citizens across 33 countries. Don't be too hard on yourself, this is not in any way, saying you are an ignoramus. Far be it. It's rather saying that "perceptions are not reality" as we're wrong about some key issues and features of the population in our country. That is, we don't know...

You have always heard that time does not lie. Maybe that is true, but there are different times, based on the part of the world one is in. So also is the South African Time. While some countries share the same time, some cities within some countries do not. There is, however, the Coordinated Universal Time (UTC). This is the universal time which determines other times around the world. The UTC...

There is hardly a single place on earth that can give one any kind of holiday one wants, except South Africa. All one has to do is decide the kind of holiday one wants to have and when. Next is to catch a flight to the country for South African holidays. The most interesting thing about South African Holidays is that it gives much fun, wild adventure, thrill, and excitement. All...

The time right now in the capital city of South Africa may as well be different from yours. It could be the same, depending on where you are at the moment.  In fact, Cape Town Time is not necessarily the same as that of every part of South Africa. There are different times that exist in the world. Some parts of the world have more than one time zone. France has...

The sound of its music echoes from all parts of the world, its history is interesting, its people are beautiful and its culture is rich. That is South Africa for you. The country exhales richness and beauty in everything including its cuisines. South African cuisines take from the different cultures that abound in the country. While some of the cuisines are traditionally maintained, some have been influenced by time and...

Just like the famous lyrics in the musical world goes; “no one man should have all that power”, South African Capitals are shared between three cities. Unlike most countries in the world, South Africa has not one but three capitals. Pretoria, Cape Town, and Bloemfontein are the official capitals of South Africa. See Also: Mind-Blowing Facts About South Africa Tracing back to South Africa’s history and power struggle, it was only wise to spread...

Port Elizabeth Map captures the geographical location of the city. It as well indicates the locations of other important parts of the South African port. This South Africa’s fifth largest city is known by many names. These names include “Algoa bay”, “The Windy City”, “The Friendly City”, and “Nelson Mandela Bay”. It is sometimes simply referred to as PE. Port Elizabeth map provides details on one of the largest seaports in South...

The South African Rand has been the topic of many recent discussions for all the wrong reasons. In a nutshell, it is widely predicted that the rand will further experience a downward slide against the dollar if the political tension in South Africa fails to calm off. Anyway, let's ignore the much anticipated ill fate of the currency and look at the few things a lot of people don’t know...

Jesus had a Judas, Caesar a Brutus, and there are as well Judas of South Africa. Or at least, that is how some people see it. While naturally some of these people have contributed to the growth of the country, some people still see them as sellouts. At the end of the day, however, one man's Jesus is another man's Judas, and one man's terrorist is another man's freedom fighter. You...

In the midst of all the political and social upheaval impacting negatively on the nation's economy, comes a proposal from the Arts and Culture Minister Nathi Mthethwa for South Africa's name to be exchanged with a new name - Azania. This new proposal by Minister Mthethwa has become a controversial issue with many South Africans believing that the name change would do nothing in effecting positive changes in the country's...

Let's start off with the Christmas message from the Presidency. By Presidency, we mean Cyril Ramaphosa. For reasons that are unknown to us, the President himself is yet to wish the country a merry Christmas. In his message, the Deputy President acknowledged that 2017 isn't a good year for South Africas for several reasons. Nonetheless, he encouraged us all to enjoy the festive season without causing harm to ourselves or...

Being a hot tourist destination ticket, different aspects of South Africa are usually put up for discussion. Topics along the lines of 'Where are the safest places to visit in South Africa’, ‘What are South Africa’s most historic sites’, ‘When is the best time to visit South Africa?’ are few of the most frequent. The topic of Weather is generally considered the most pleasant conversation starter in most social...

Have you ever considered what it would be like if the lights went out and there was no electricity indefinitely? Do you think you can survive without electricity for close to a month or more? Well from all the fuss going on, it has been confirmed that a total blackout is a possibility and as such, contingency plans have been put into motion by the government, major companies and...

South Africa can be a crazy place, just how crazy you may ask? Oftentimes when we think of South Africa as our beloved country, there are so many reasons to feel good about it. The rainbow nation is truly a hospitable bunch, with diverse cultures and great pride in their country. The climate is rated as one of the best in the world. Even winter has sunshine, few countries...

The Marikana Massacre is one of two of South Africa's most gruesome cases of its police using lethal force on civilians. The incident occurred between the dates of August 10 and September 20, 2012, when striking workers at a mine owned by Lonmin in the Marikana area, clashed with police officers, leading to the death of 47 people. Much of the controversy surrounding the Marikana Massacre was not only the...

Although there is a lot of discussion on whether slavery existed within sub-Saharan Africa, what is certain is that Africans were subjected to slavery for centuries. Muslims subjected Africans to chattel slavery through the trans-Saharan slave trade and later on, the same Africans were enslaved by Europeans through trans-Atlantic slave trade in Central, East, and West Africa. Slavery, which existed in Africa before colonial, is not the same as the...

Pondo, also referred to as Phondo, is one of the several ethnic groups than can be found on the the African continent. The Ponda tribe happens to be a group of people who reside in Pondoland or the sub-region of Eastern Cape Province, South Africa. This term was used to denote the natives belonging to this region. The members of the tribe are known for maintaining unity and building strong...

At the south-most point of the African continent lies the Boers who are popularly known as Afrikaners. They speak Afrikaans, a language that has been considered most beautiful and easy to learn by most of its admirers. It is a language that's spoken mainly in South Africa, and partly in Namibia as well as other Anglo-phonic countries. It is the youngest language to emerge in Africa and it is currently being...