Search

Voices of Maize, by CS Radio Producer Shaldon Ferris. The importance of maize in South African culture is impossible to overstate. Listen to Shaldon Ferris describe some of the uses of this staple in his culture, and the variety cultures found throughout South Africa.

As the backbone of Indigenous communities, Indigenous women have over the years been instrumental in the preservation and transmission of traditional ancestral knowledge. As protectors of natural resources and keepers of scientific knowledge, Indigenous women are integral to the survival of their traditions.

Poverty, low levels of education and illiteracy, limited access to health care, basic sanitation, credit, and employment, limited participation in political life, and domestic and sexual violence are all prevalent problems among indigenous women. Besides, their right to self-determination, self-governance and control of resources and ancestral lands have been violated over centuries.
Still, Indigenous women are ensuring that traditional knowledge is carried over from generation to generation.
Language Activist Letitia Petersen tells us more.

Indigenous Women all around the world are subjected to marginalization and inequality.
As we commemorate International Women's Day, we celebrate the work of Lukretia Booysen (Griekwa, Nama), an Indigenous change maker who is the curator of The Koena Art Institute. Booysen tells us about the Institute's collaboration with the Iziko Art Museum.
Produced by Shaldon Ferris (Khoisan)
Interviewee: Lukretia Booysen (Griekwa, Nama)
"Anania by the Baba Project, Used with Permission
"Burn your village to the ground", by The Halluci Nation, used with permission

Krotoa, also known as Eva, was a young Khoi woman who played a significant and complex role in early South African history during the Dutch colonial period. Taken in as a servant in the household of Jan van Riebeeck, the first Dutch commander at the Cape, Krotoa served as a translator and cultural mediator between the Dutch settlers and her indigenous Khoi people. Fluent in both Dutch and Khoikhoi languages, she became a vital link in early negotiations and trade.

Muchos sucesos que involucran a los Pueblos Indígenas están pasando alrededor del mundo. ¿Sabes cuáles son?

Como parte del derecho a la información, Cultural Survival presenta este noticiero del mes de julio de 2025 con notas relevantes de Norte, Centro y Sur América, África y Asia, el cual puedes escuchar, descargar y compartir de forma gratuita.

Música de introducción:
- “Burn Your Village to the Ground” de The Halluci Nation. Derechos de autor, propiedad de The Halluci Nation. Usada bajo su permiso.

Ancestral remains of six Khoi and San individuals, exhumed between 1868 and 1924 and held at the Hunterian Museum in Glasgow, Scotland, have been returned to South Africa. The remains were formally repatriated in October 2025, marking a significant event for national healing and the restoration of dignity for the affected communities. The remains, which include those from the Northern and Western Cape, have been returned to the Iziko Museums in Cape Town and will be reburied in the Northern Cape at a later date.

Muchos sucesos que involucran a los Pueblos Indígenas están pasando alrededor del mundo. ¿Sabes cuáles son?

Como parte del derecho a la información, Cultural Survival presenta este noticiero del mes de noviembre de 2025 con notas relevantes de Norte, Centro y Sur América, África y Asia, el cual puedes escuchar, descargar y compartir de forma gratuita.

Música de introducción:
- “Burn Your Village to the Ground” de The Halluci Nation. Derechos de autor, propiedad de The Halluci Nation. Usada bajo su permiso.

Jitsvinger (real name Quintin Goliath) is a celebrated South African artist from the Cape Flats known for fusing hip hop, poetry, theatre, and storytelling into a distinctive performance style rooted in Afrikaaps—the vernacular Afrikaans dialect of Cape Town. In this radio interview, Jitsvinger tells us about how his heritage influenced his music. We hear how Indigenous Khoi and San languages mixed with Dutch and languages from others who were brought to South Africa as slaves, contributed to the formation of Afrikaans, and how this heritage influences his music.

Slavery played a significant role in the early history of Paarl, Western Cape, particularly during the 17th and 18th centuries under Dutch and later British colonial rule. Enslaved people—brought mainly from East Africa, Madagascar, India, and Southeast Asia, as well as Indigenous Khoisan people—were forced to work on farms, vineyards, and in households, forming the backbone of the local agricultural economy. Their labour was central to the development of Paarl’s wine and wheat industries.