Local artists and crafters have been given a boost by the new Egazini bus our, ‘Through Makana’s Eyes’ which now includes a stop at the recently refurbished Egazini centre.
The new bus tour launched by the Egazini Outreach Project, a community arts, culture and heritage initiative, takes off from the successful Egazini tour launched in 2000 and gives visitors a rare glimpse into the rich history of the Makana area.
Local Xhosa historian and bus tour guide Sivento Ntleki, said information had been obtained from oral and textual sources.
“This is because not all history is written down, and if it is, it is usually distorted information,” says Ntleki.
He said an example is the story of Makana’s Kop which written history places as the site Makana led 10 000 warriors in attack against the British settler fort in the historic battle of 1819.
He said oral sources actually placed the site where the warriors gathered to battle as Mount Zion, a hill to the left of Makana’s Kop.
He said written and oral histories were examined with local artists resulting in images such as the rich and fascinating mural on the entrance to the Egazini Outreach Project centre.
Artist Dinisile Qapa said: “We always try to come up with our own visual interpretation. Our culture as South Africans has a lot of different influences and these are what we use when constructing our visual images.”
Qapa said the Egazini Project gave the artists a welcome platform to show their work.
Heritage-related products made by local crafters were also marketed internationally by Egazini Outreach Project and Goat Multimedia. –ECN Cuewire