South Africa's Culture and Their Attempt in Preserving It - Term Paper Example

• Introduction

South Africa is regarded as one of the most culturally rich and diverse nations worldwide. The country is also called a rainbow nation that reflects how beautiful and amazing place it is. South Africa has also great historic value. There are large numbers of world-class sites that have acted as one of the most important influences on the life of the South Africans. Tourists from every corner of the world visit South Africa at least once in their lifetime. Ranging from the apartheid rule, European conquest and ancient nomadic San culture South Africa have been quite successful to attract tourist as well as other people for the business purposes (Comaroff, 2013). The research paper will completely focus on South Africa's national culture, and how they are attempting to preserve and promote their culture through the development of significant legacies and national monuments. The research objectives will focus on the following points. Firstly, how a company can be successful on doing their business here. Secondly, the research will also highlight South Africa's culture, including the social structure, human values, and their political system. Lastly, the code of conduct of business with South Africa within the framework of its political system, social structure, and apparent values will be highlighted clearly. Above all, South Africa as a whole will be represented throughout the research paper. A large number of traditions in South Africa are highly influenced by the Western and European heritage. Various cultural and ethnic groups in South Africa highly appreciate and respect their own customs and beliefs. It is estimated that there are more than 45 million of South African's out of this nearly 6 million are white skinned people, 32 million are black people and more than 4 million are Indian people. Arguably, the population density of South Africa is quite high with regards to its people per square kilometer. The black population in South Africa dominates most of the population. Furthermore, the black population of South Africa is divided into the four major groups namely, Sotho, Venda, Nguni, and Shaangan-Tsonga. The groups are further divided into the sub-groups. There is no doubt in that if South African's takes pride for their national rich culture.

• Analysis and discussion
  • South Africa's culture and their attempt in preserving and promoting it, and their national monuments and the development of significant legacies

Art and culture are regarded as the most important components for which South Africa is quite famous worldwide. Their efforts have been magnificent towards promoting and preserving their culture and maintaining their past significant legacies. Moreover, there are many important monuments in the South African history namely the Prester John Memorial, 1820 Settlers National Monument, the Castle of Good Hope, National Woman's Memorial, the Voortrekker Monument, Huguenot Monument, and much more. They have made South Africa culturally quite rich. South African's do not waste any opportunity for promoting and protecting their cultural heritage. The South African's are well aware of the fact of how important it is to honor one's culture. Moreover, they are also attempting to promote social cohesion through their culture and arts.

The South Africans consider themselves to be fortunate when they invest a large amount of money any time on their culture. The country is conducting several programs for the people of South Africa so that they become more responsible in the future for preserving their culture which is the pride of South Africa. From the year 2004, the Department of Arts and Culture in South Africa have supported and funded more than 400 projects for preserving and promoting the culture of South Africa. The program also created certain benefits such it has generated jobs for the youths and woman in South Africa at an alarming rate. The departments which have invested in the cultural projects have won Sowetan-Old Mutual Community Builder of the Year Awards recently. The projects for which South Africa have won awards are Kopanang Community Project, Tinghwazi Arts and Crafts, Ndhengeza Xizambani Community Project, etc. The government of South Africa is also taking several initiatives for promoting and protecting their museums, monuments, outdoor art, heritage trails, etc. There are some of the important organizations who are trying their best for preserving the culture of South Africa. The organizations include South African Heritage Resources Agency, National Heritage Council, Arts and Culture Trust, Business and Arts of South Africa, National Arts Council South Africa, etc. It has been witnessed that the best museums of the world are in South Africa. The Department of Art and Culture have taken the total responsibility for promoting and protecting these museums under high supervision. The department also pays a lump sum amount as an annual subsidy for the museums by doing so they ensure that how important it is for the South Africans for preserving their art facts and collection.

The black African culture is world famous and it is known for its music, art and dance. It has influenced two centuries work of the Christian missionaries and colonialism. One of the famous and well-known dance form named Gumboot dancing is solely born in South Africa. The black Africans mainly did this dance form and they were given one type of special shoes named wellingtons for protecting their feet. The black Africans communicated with other people in the dark forests by thudding and slapping their boots. The dance form was mainly born in mines and it is also highly adopted by many developed and developing nations as the medium of communication when a person is in dark place. Moreover, the textiles and dance forms hold on the strongest links with regards to the traditional African black culture as they reveal shared history and identity of South Africa (Morrell, Jewkes and Lindegger, 2012).

On the other hand, there are many songs which are born in South Africa that reflects their culture to a large extent. These popular songs include jazz, gospel, rock which even reflects the local flavor of South African culture. Different styles also include mbube (Zulu vocal), kwela (the jazzy street music), and then the Kwaito which is the house music. Another important ingredient of the South African culture is adornment. It is equally vital for women as well as men. Their traditional beadwork has a long history and it not only reflects their experiences, history or culture but also the colors of the beautiful colors and patterns of the beadworks tell stories and meaning. For instance, the color blue in the beadwork represents the ethnic group of South Africa this includes Zulu, Ndebele, or Xhosa. It also depicts the sign of loneliness. Interestingly, the tradition regarding the beaded jewellery in the South African culture totally relied on the European beads. The different tribal cultures have wealthy oral traditions. Epics, stories and poems were learnt passionately and recited among the groups quite loudly. The stories are gaining attention and are highly worldwide. Hence, they are making their place into the written literature of South Africa. Six places were declared as the world heritage sites in South Africa by the cultural and scientific organization UNESCO. The places are Robben Island, The Mapungubwe Cultural Landscape, The Fossil Hominind Sites of Sterkfontein, Kroomdai, environs and Swartkrans, The Greater St. Lucia Wetlands Park, The Cradle for Humankind World Heritage Site, and The Ukhahlamba Drakensberg Park. They were declared as the world heritage site by the UNESCO (Marks and Trapido, 2014). The above-mentioned world heritage sites of South Africa are of two kinds. It is namely natural heritage and cultural heritage.

The cultural heritage side of South Africa shows their masterpiece of the human innovation and creativity. Furthermore, they have the evidence of their ancient civilization and tradition that has been kept alive by the communities who are working hand in hand for preserving South Africa's culture. A place where the human beings of South Africa are settled used the specific land for representing their culture. The authenticity and the site are well protected by the South African communities. The white civil authorities and the missionaries in the South Africa were introduced by in the simple European-style houses that attracted many people from across the globe. On the other hand, food and daily life of South African people are quite simple, meat and starches are the most common food and it also represents the South African community. Specific cuisine exists only in the Cape with its mixture of Southeast Asian, English, and Dutch cooking. Food always plays one of the vital roles in the community life and family of the South African people.

• • Human values of South Africa

South Africa's human values are the part of their culture. Arguably, when African societies are contrasted and compared with other cultures they reveal a vast gap difference. Values typically means an individual understands about right and what holds most importance in life. Throwing a light on the values it can be said that values in the South African culture is passed from one generation to the other generation from a long time. The South African values can be judged from many dimensions. It has been observed that the values of the South African people among themselves are quite similar so there is a lot of equality among them. They cherish their values among the groups, and so on. Hospitality in the South African culture also regarded as one of their strong value. It has been noticed that the South African peoples quite easily mix with other people. They believe that everyone is same on earth it is the reason why South African people are highly respected in all over the world.

Interestingly, South Africans have a unique way of welcoming their guests. The forms in which the welcoming takes place are in form of traditional gin, coconuts, kola nuts, etc. These things are part of their core value system and it is the also the sign that show that the visitor is welcomed warmly and they are also safe. On the contrary, one of the bad manners that is highlighted by the South African community is they invite the people for having food even when they have not cooked any food for them. In the year 1806-1910 South Africa was regarded as the proper British colony. There are a large number of values, customs and social etiquettes that are acquired by the South African's from the British. It has been already discussed that food plays an important element in the South African culture (Woodward, Rolfe, Ligthelm and Guimaraes, 2011). Hence, if someone leaves food on the plate without having it totally they consider it to be one indication of disrespecting them and their culture. The South African community is also quite liberal as in the year 2006 gay marriage was legalized in the South Africa. On the other hand, South Africans are also quite respectful towards the old people and other religion. It is also a large part of their human values. Elders in the South Africa are always considered to be the leader.

• • Political system of South Africa

The political system of South Africa is quite strong. One of the most influential and strongest leaders of the world hailed from South Africa and his name was Nelson Mandela. Everyone today in the world still praises about the initiatives he took for making better future of the South Africa's people. Needless to say, the face of South Africa was totally changed by Nelson Mandela. Furthermore, Nelson Mandela was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in the year 1993 towards the endless contribution in the world of politics. The history of South Africa has been largely controlled by the conflict and interaction of several ethnic groups among themselves. The president of South Africa delivers both as the head of the government as well as head of the state. Apartheid came to an end by Nelson Mandela in the year 1994 since then the political system of South Africa has improved to a large extent. The Parliament elects the president of South Africa. Moreover, the government of South Africa exercises the executive power. Legislative power is given in the two chambers of parliament, both of the government, the National Assembly, and Council of Provinces.

The political system of South Africa in the recent times is so much improved that it attracts the foreign traders to a large extent. Arguably it is also noticed that South Africa as an emerging economy has been affected by the emotional turmoil that is taking place recently all over the world specifically in the Russia. The investors are also highly affected by the negativity of these political disturbances that is happening around them. The investors for doing business from the foreign countries are not getting any confidence due to this reason. On the contrary, South Africa's stable and peaceful transition to the democracy is also one of the major factors by which they are attracting individuals for doing business. Political stability is also the main component for giving assurance to the investors. Other vital factors behind the continuous political stability in South Africa are only for the new government who has never overlooked the socioeconomic aspects. On the other hand, the socio-economic progress and economic growth progress capture the main stage of the political objectives of the South African government. It has been highly noticed in their Reconstruction and Developmental Program and also in the Growth, Employment and Redistribution Strategy. Previously the white community in the South Africa had great grasp over the black community but in the recent times, it has been nearly omitted.

• • Social structure of South Africa

It has been observed that many South African's are quite loyal to their traditional social structure. The previous social structure of the South Africa is quite different from the present social structure. It is needless to say that social structure highly affects the behavior of individuals. The social structure of South Africa previously was quite complex. Respecting the old people in the South African culture is regarded as one of the components for organizing their societies as a whole. The traditional societies of the South Africa are regarded as stratified. The social structure of South Africa is organized like layers of a cake step by step. Three elementary principles represent the hierarchy which is formed within the South African class system. The above-mentioned structure is the traditional social system of South Africa. It consists of the older people in the elder-hood. It is basically the peasant society which is constituted by simple agricultural communities. In this kind of societies generally, every individual lives in the same manner.

Furthermore, these societies do not give any importance to the occupation and wealth of the individuals. The final decisions are taken by the older member of these societies no matter what. If a person is older in the society then with the increase in age they gain more status and power in the society. Then the servants and slaves are in the underlying section of the social structure (Fortes and Evans-Pritchard, 2015). The servants were the descendants of the other servants and slaves in South Africa. On the other hand, the slaves were the peoples who were captured during wars. There are abundant South African societies with three cluster of society structure. In the traditional and modern social structure, complexity is the common factor in between them. At present under the modern system of social structure, elite class people have come into the limelight. These groups contain a bunch of women and men with immense power to influence. The elite mass group is influencing a large number of people who are coming from the foreign lands for doing business. The behaviors, values of these societies are also creating a positive impact on the other people of South Africa. Moreover, South Africa was one of the important/vital examples of the social structure with regards to its racial and ethnic identity. Under the class system of ethnicity, another subsystem was formed known as the apartheid. It arranged people in a hierarchy manner. The white skinned people remained on the top of the list, after that the Indians came and South Africans were in the bottom of the hierarchy. The apartheid system was ended by South Africa's greatest leader Nelson Mandela still the economic and social in differences linger among them. It is quite evident that people who come here for commencing business face some of the negative consequences due to this fact. No one can argue with the fact that South Africa has still strong racial and ethnic elements present in their culture.

• • How a business can be successful when it is operating in the South Africa

For carrying out a business in South Africa there are a set of rules and regulations that an individual needs to follow. Knowing business etiquette in South Africa is an absolute necessity for every person before commencing any type of business over there. Cultural blunders should be avoided at any cost for smooth flow of business in South Africa. It has been witnessed globally that the people of South Africa are quite reluctant if they are going to meet with new peoples so it is always recommended that a person should always build the business relationship with someone through their mutual contract. Business can be carried out in the South Africa using a number of bodies such as. Firstly, the business can be carried out through a public or private company. Secondly, a business can be also commenced by the medium of the business trust. Thirdly, a person can also be a sole proprietor when they are doing any business. Lastly, a person may also opt a close corporation where only natural individuals can be involved. The government of South Africa grants a license for doing business there. They also follow a proper set of ethics if someone is willing to commence business over there. It is mandatory for the companies operating in South Africa to have a code of ethics. If an individual wants to start their own business in South Africa then they have to apply certain sets of strategies to overcome the challenges over there. First and foremost, a proper research should be done before entering the marketplace. Understanding South Africa's culture is the key element to this process. They highly appreciate an individual if they are well accustomed to their culture and ethics. Secondly, partnering with the local business communities and companies is of great help when business is getting started over there. It is the strategy that is applied by the most successful investors over there. If the business wants to expand in future then they will gain a lot of profit by partnering with other local firms. The local firms can provide an insight of the local customer's behaviors in general, then the newly opened business will also have local networks for helping them out further.

• • Recommendations for the future

There can be some future recommendations with regards to commencing business in South Africa. Firstly, if an individual is eyeing for being successful min doing business over there then they must design their products exclusively for South Africa. It is one of the main elements of being successful over there. For example, Samsung's case can be highlighted they have created dual-sim smartphones completely for the South Africans so that the consumers can get a better signal while switching Sims. Secondly, the businessman should look out for the excellent payment strategy as the most of the people in South Africa do not have accounts in the bank. Arguably, the South Africans have trust issues of using the credit or debit card of a bank they feel quite unsafe having said that cash on delivery should be the only mode of payment for the convenience of the consumers. Lastly, as it has been already discussed in the research paper that the people of South Africa are not quite friendly with the outsiders. Hence, the businesses should educate their consumers in a different manner. They can take the example of Unilever as they have educated the consumers over there launching campaigns where a large number of peoples gathered.

• Conclusion

It is studied and witnessed throughout the entire research paper that how culturally diversified and rich South Africa actually is. An individual can also tell it is one of the best places for doing business. There a large number of ethnic as well as cultural groups who respect each other and their customs. People from the foreign countries are quite respected over here. The South Africans consider outsider as god so they always tend to welcome them by their various religious, ancient customs and values. They are not only culturally rich but they are also rich in other aspects it ranges from art, music, food, literature, sports, and even in politics. Politically South Africa is quite strong. They have been strong for one their great leader namely Nelson Mandela who has fought for his own country with the whole world regarding abolishing the different lookout people had for the black community in South Africa. Moreover, Nelson Mandela was the only leader who had ended the system called apartheid for this excellent initiative he had been also awarded Nobel Peace Prize award. Literature and language hold an important place in the various communities in South Africa. It is the only country in the entire world for having 11 official languages. Although they have several challenges for commencing any business still due to the initiatives which they are taking for their development makes them stand out from the crowd in terms of doing business. South Africans also have great respect towards their elders. The decisions of the elders are regarded as the final decision in the community. Thinking of South Africa's welfare can be one of the vital elements for being successful in business over there.

The black African culture is world famous and it is known for its music, art and dance. It has influenced two centuries work of the Christian missionaries and colonialism. One of the famous and well-known dance form named Gumboot dancing is solely born in South Africa. The black Africans mainly did this dance form and they were given one type of special shoes named wellingtons for protecting their feet. The black Africans communicated with other people in the dark forests by thudding and slapping their boots. The dance form was mainly born in mines and it is also highly adopted by many developed and developing nations as the medium of communication when a person is in dark place. Moreover, the textiles and dance forms hold on the strongest links with regards to the traditional African black culture as they reveal shared history and identity of South Africa (Morrell, Jewkes and Lindegger, 2012).

On the other hand, there are many songs which are born in South Africa that reflects their culture to a large extent. These popular songs include jazz, gospel, rock which even reflects the local flavor of South African culture. Different styles also include mbube (Zulu vocal), kwela (the jazzy street music), and then the Kwaito which is the house music. Another important ingredient of the South African culture is adornment. It is equally vital for women as well as men. Their traditional beadwork has a long history and it not only reflects their experiences, history or culture but also the colors of the beautiful colors and patterns of the beadworks tell stories and meaning. For instance, the color blue in the beadwork represents the ethnic group of South Africa this includes Zulu, Ndebele, or Xhosa. It also depicts the sign of loneliness. Interestingly, the tradition regarding the beaded jewellery in the South African culture totally relied on the European beads. The different tribal cultures have wealthy oral traditions. Epics, stories and poems were learnt passionately and recited among the groups quite loudly. The stories are gaining attention and are highly worldwide. Hence, they are making their place into the written literature of South Africa. Six places were declared as the world heritage sites in South Africa by the cultural and scientific organization UNESCO. The places are Robben Island, The Mapungubwe Cultural Landscape, The Fossil Hominind Sites of Sterkfontein, Kroomdai, environs and Swartkrans, The Greater St. Lucia Wetlands Park, The Cradle for Humankind World Heritage Site, and The Ukhahlamba Drakensberg Park. They were declared as the world heritage site by the UNESCO (Marks and Trapido, 2014). The above-mentioned world heritage sites of South Africa are of two kinds. It is namely natural heritage and cultural heritage.

The cultural heritage side of South Africa shows their masterpiece of the human innovation and creativity. Furthermore, they have the evidence of their ancient civilization and tradition that has been kept alive by the communities who are working hand in hand for preserving South Africa's culture. A place where the human beings of South Africa are settled used the specific land for representing their culture. The authenticity and the site are well protected by the South African communities. Read More