Historically genuine for its colonial roots, many Bo-Kaap residents encompass the “Cape Malay” community of Cape Town where their ancestral journey can be tracked down to African, Sri-Lankan, Indian and Malaysian descendants who migrated to the Cape after the Dutch made claims to the land.
A predominantly Muslim community, Bo-Kaap attracts a tremendous amount of locals and foreigners from all over the world to sample the flavour of cuisine, history and of course, the cherry on top of the cake – the wide array of playful colours that have been chosen to coat the neighborhood. Cottage-style cement houses, mosques, eateries and community halls have all been painted with the saturation of ruby red, baby blue, grass green and everything in between. The concept behind the communal artistry stems back to the ending of the Apartheid regime. There was a massive boom of national pride when South Africa become a democracy, so the residents rejuvenated their houses with their own idea of the newly acclaimed “rainbow nation”. Just like the heritage-proud occupants of the area, the exhibition of primary colours is an underlying message of equality, harmony and the beautiful cultural fabric that threads Bo-Kaap into such an authentic yet quaint portion of Cape Town’s CBD.
Bearing minimal similarity to any other average street corners, Bo-kaap’s diverse homestead colours are representative of the energy that vibrates from wall to wall, person to person and culture to culture. The differentiation of colours have made such a giant impact on the local tourism industry that in recent years Europeans have actually been moving into the area. In the Capetonian creative front, a few well-known artists of the scene have drawn inspiration from the natural glimmer of light reflection captured in the deep colour tones, and painted many a pretty picture of this whimsical yet eloquently rustic suburb. Roelof Rossouw’s oil painting of Bo-Kaap captures the brilliance of how the chosen colours - although random in conjuncture to the layout of the neighborhood - compliments one another.
On a summer’s midday glare, the visual stimulation of Bo-Kaap is equal to that of walking into the set of a pristine home décor magazine shoot. In the cloudy winter, when the south-easter and north-westerly winds drag the tablecloth over the looming but majestic Table Mountain, the primary colours of Bo-kaap retain their lively spirit and brighten up the damper of any dark day in Cape Town.
The general community revival stemming from the variety of colourful houses has not only harvested artistic inspiration and attracted great number of people to the area - boasting a basin of Cape Town’s sharpest scenery and intense spectacles of social integration, Bo-kaap is home to one of South Africa’s most viral and innovative pewter design export headquarters, Carrol Boyes. Small business owners have flourished in the area and one can find the kaleidoscope streets paved with artisanal traders and specialty shops.
The neighborhood of Bo-kaap has been revamped thanks to the community spirit of the animated residents. Culturally classed as one of Cape Town’s finest social hubs, the bright colours seem to have brought out the best in the city’s age-old traditions.
Contributed by Cameron Smith.
