Marabastaad: a sorry shadow of its past dynamic character

Posted by Madibeng Kgwete: 07 May 2010

The mother of black township life would shame its stylish and dignified residents of the 18th and early 19th century.

Just mere mention of the Marabastaad section of Pretoria and some things come to mind: filth, noise, chaos, hooting minibus taxis. The irony, though, is that Solomon Plaatjie, the iconic struggle veteran, shared similar frustrations about the same place more than a century ago.

This, and several other fascinating discoveries, formed part of the new knowledge acquired during my recent visit to the National Cultural History Museum, situated at the corner of Visagie and Bosman streets in Pretoria.

As the first area in Pretoria to house both blacks and coloureds in the year 1885, Marabastaad is one of the capital city’s most historic places – and probably even the precursor to township life as we have it today. But even its dynamic character did not escape the wrath of racial segregation.

The country’s then white administrators neglected the area in relation to the provision of services, in the process inviting vociferous protest from such famous figures as Plaatjie who lamented the living conditions of black people in the area.
Plaatjie described houses for black people in the area as “unhealthy and ramshackle hovels, lined along rocky and craggy apologies for streets”.

Instead of channeling more resources into the development of the area as per protests from the likes of Plaatjie, authorities had a different plan: to enact legislation, the Native Land Act, that legalised the forced removal of all of Marabastaad’s residents to areas further away from the city.

Blacks were taken to Attridgeville, Indians to Laudium and coloureds to Eersterust. By so doing, the authorities (by then operating the greater crime of apartheid) planted the early seeds of racial discord, under the guise of so-called “separate development.”

Before its disintegration, though, Marabastaad gave birth not only to several notable figures in South Africa’s public life, such as Eskia Mphahlele (1919) and Jay Naidoo (1941), but also heralded a sense of personal dignity, fashion and style atypical in today’s township life.

Original ladies’ high heel shoes, complete with gold and silver bling, provide a glimpse into the social life of the bygone era which, without doubt, will continue to inspire generations to come. Even though the residents in those days lived under the yoke of racial segregation, they still had a deep sense of personal dignity.

I wonder if they also had hobos then, if they had men, women and children calling bridges and abandoned buildings their homes. I wonder if people cooked food out on the streets, right next to stinking piles of rubbish. I wonder if they also had pick-pocketing.

The museum keeps some original pieces of life in the old Marabastaad, including a black-and-white aerial picture of the residential section for natives. Other items include original window frames, cutlery, beds and a large wooden radio.

Marabastaad in those days, as described by the museum, was “cosmopolitan in character”, consisting of “an urban mixture of shops, dealers, cafes, dry cleaners” which were owned by local residents, generating revenue and employment, injecting life into the area, giving a sense of purpose and accomplishment to the locals.

Even the forceful removals of non-whites further away from the city – and, in particular, out of Marabastaad – revealed other courageous traits about the people of the area: unity, determination, discipline and, very importantly, peaceful and organised protest in pursuit of justice.

One of Marabastaad’s notable protesters against the Native Land Act was Nana Sita, born in Indian in 1894. Sita came to South Africa at the age of 14 and became a resident of (and an activist in) Marabastaad, even drawing the attention of the police and the media.

In 1952, Nana was convicted for his role in the Defiance Campaign, and the Weekly Mail published his last picture (in which he appeared with Nelson Mandela) before incarceration in one of its December 1952 editions.

By then, Nana was president of the Transvaal Indian Congress, an anti-apartheid organisation that drew much inspiration and support from Mahatma Gandhi.

The great irony, though, is that if Plaatjie were to wake up from the dead today, his description of Marabastaad would most probably be harsher than his take on the same place more than a century ago.