Ja mense, we all look forward to a nagtroep jol op Oujaarsaand.
The Malay Choirs on New Year’s Eve go from street to street and house to house doing tafels where they perform Nederlandsliedjies like the evergreen Rosa, hoek numbers like Love is a many splendid thing, and of course my favourite, moppies.
This goes on into the early hours of the new year.
They also jovially dance en sing innie pad to the sound of blik and brassbands tot hulle voete pyn.
The very first road march took place over one hundred years ago, in the year 1887.
The first nagtroep team who did an Oujaarsaand road march were known as “The Staff Independence”.
They marched with Chinese lanterns through the streets of Cape Town, at that time there must not have been ligpale, or perhaps, like the president of the CMCB Shafiek April jokingly said to me: “Daar was sieke loadshedding daai tyd.”
HAPPY: CMCB President Shafiek April
So they opted for the lanterns so that people could see them in the dark.
So many years later and Malay Choir fanatics are still putting up their gazebos in the CBD days before Oujaarsaand in order to get a lekker spot to see their favourite nagtroep.
We are talking thousands of people filling up the CBD for this cultural spectacle.
The City of Cape Town is well aware of the importance of this event and they have put their money where their mouths are by allocating cash funds to the value of R800 000 to the Cape Malay Choir Board to host the nagtroep jol.
Personally I feel that they could perhaps have given ‘* bietjie meerder because the klopse are getting R2 100 000 for their jol, but ons sal ma sien, algamdulillah.
The Cape Malay Choir Board has always made the best of whatever hand is dealt to them.
They lost the Good Hope Centre as a venue to a filming company and after some debate they decided to make the best of the City Hall as an alternate venue, even though it was not up to scratch and is now getting a kwaai upgrade.
They also managed to pull off a spectacular Top 10 at the Castle of Good Hope, drawing over 10 000 people to the event and I believe it is because of this innovation and humility that the City of Cape Town chose them to host the Oujaarsaand road march this year.
EXCITED: A lekker nagtroep jol op Oujaarsaand
Mr April says: “ Ek voel baie groos omdat hulle vir ons gechoose het, daar was ander mense wie ook ge-tender het vir die job, maar algamdulillah die Cape Malay Choir Board was victorious en ons gaan verseker maak dat ons die mense die show gee wat hulle deserve.”
When I mentioned to him that I saw they were also allocated R300 000 for their competitions, Mr April revealed that the CMCB is already busy securing the Bellville Velodrome for next year’s competition.
It is an amazing feeling when the City works for its people.
This is the earliest that funds have ever been distributed to these cultural entities and it has awoken a sense of enthusiasm amongst the leaders and members.
This was evident in the voice of Mr April, who brimmed with excitement.
So I just want to say slamat to all of our boards who have received funding and particularly the CMCB who faced the toughest competition.
A heartfelt thank you to the City of Cape Town and Mayor Patricia de Lille.
Shukran Aunty Pat for your contribution to our much-loved culture.
I trust that the season ahead will be highly successful and I am sure with funding coming in earlier, that this tradition of Maleier kore will last another hundred years.