I couldn't speak English when I was young. Simply, I am not English. I am 100% Zulu on a broader term.

In my experiance, some of us above are stuck in the past. I just fail to understand some of the above comments. The coloured people should:
1. Admit and change what the European folks told and dictated on their identity.
2. Get the right mentality (everyone is entitled to their opinion though). Look at other people who are labelled coloured (Trevor Manual, Kader Asmal (not sure), and others.

They are in the ANC and they do not keep the mentality of being coloured and therefore "white".

Please coloured folks change this thing.... I know most of you do not wana assorciate with Africa. But Most of you first generation mix was in this country.

So therefore, there is no reason to feel foreign. ANC is for the people. The DA is starting to open their eyes (Lindiwe Masuku)....

Coloured people should be the ones uniting this country...

Weet jy wat is die fyn skrif maak met my wat julle wil ek gee nie om nie vernietig my herkoms my toekoms en my nageslag en my land en sy khoikhoi nasie jy weet God vra vir moses wat is dit wat jy in jou hand het gebryk dit nou toe nou

It's interesting how we can all have these comments on this threads as well as on some other websites yet there is still this first step that needs to be taken whereby we actually have a unified vision for South African Coloureds.

No matter how much we bemoan the past or the status-quo, if we don't have a unified vision and strategy for staking our rightful claim in this beautiful country - all across it, not only in the Western Cape - we as a distinct and unique population group, will always be seen by other population groups and ourselves as an anomaly instead of a true part of this nation.

When I say "Rightful Claim" I am not talking about a physical claim of land meant for separation from the rest of our South African Nation but taking up our place as equals in the broader context making our economic and cultural impact so that all Coloured people can have the prospect of improving their socio-economic lot. A collective effort whereby we and future generations of Coloureds no longer have to grapple with how and whether we fit in to the rest of Mzansi but whereby we can truly be spoken of by ourselves and other population groups as the epitome of what South Africa's people are all about.

The big question is how do we move to a point where different interest groups and organisations get to a point where they work together outside of party politics and political tricks taking cognisance of not only the idealisms of quasi-Coloured-intellectuals but also the Coloured person at grass-roots level, the unemployed youth on the Cape Flats or the 4th generation farmworker who is unable to secure tenure for her extended family or the Coloured person who who battles with service delivery a stones-throw away from the grand Soccer City Stadium.

I am tired of hearing the old sob story of us not having any dynamic leaders.

nee my ma sinnes, we need to shed our artificial colored identity and realise we are beyong classification, the moment you classify yourself you limit and divide our people the melanated people, even if you are light skinned you're still not white djy is my broe, my sister.
we need to stop living the white man's life, stop following his white jesus and start to follow the real jesus, stop following a religion that teaches when your "sins are washed away you'll be as white as snow" this white man's religion is a tool to control you. we need to wake up and realize that this man his religion has only ever led to destruction murder opression and enslavement even until today. how can we keep on following a religion brought to you by the man that detroyed you your identity, land and self knowledge?
now some people will read this and say i'm against the white man and that i'm a racist, but i'm not. i am only stating the reality , the truth that we all know but seldomly want to except. realize whether you are cape colored, norther cape colored or any kinda colored, whether you forefathers came here as slaves on a boat form north or central africa, malaysia or if you fore fathers were the indiginous people of this continent that we are one. light skinned or dark skinned we are melanated people we are one. don't let the white man or any man tell us who or what we are.

My white skin and light hair has provided enough of a definition and conundrum to make me an outcast to my own "coloured" community. Based on my experience, people are simply not ready for an entire generation of "coloured people" like myself. The type of "coloured or mixed race" person who automatically falls into the "you think you have straight hair and green eyes and blond hair, therefore you think you better than me" category, BEFORE you have been given the chance to show you are no different to the type of "coloured" person with dark skin.

WE are who WE define ourselves to be! The mixed race community in South Africa (especially Cape Town) should really stop judging others who do not want to climb into that degrading box of racial decay that has too long become the home of your inferior masters. Everyday I am grateful to be a mixed race South African.

Iemand vra my gister waar pas ons politically in as Kullids en ek kon for the life of me not explain. She didnt mean it bad want sy wou weet wat ek my toekomstige kinners gaan vertel oor ons history en dit het gemaak dat ek vandag Google oor ons origin. As iemand miskien informasie het vir my stuur - tog of se my watte site ek kan gaan uitcheck. Ja dis moeilik om kleurling te wees want jy moet altyd jou bestaan verduidelik. Ek is proud kleurling en steek nie weg hoe vinnig ek kan praat en my attitude want dis hoe ek is. Hulle se ons verbeel ons selwers dat ons wit is ma ek worry nie want ek kan nie change wie ek is nie. Ek raak net woedend when someone assume that I'm from Cape Town; nee ek is vani Noord Kaap Postmasburg om spesifiek te wees.

Ek sal my maitjie se ek het die regte site gekry wa ons mense is. Ek's all for the change in language sodat ons in a taal kan praat wat net ons kan verstaan. Dit is so irriterend as mens Engels prat en they say you need to learn a African language - well I wanna learn my own.

The ’Ibaad-u-Ragmaan Qadiri Jamaa’ah will lend its’ voice to the occasion. The dhikrullah will begin with the Maghrib Salah. Sheikh Serag Johaar will deliver a short address at the conclusion of the Qadiriyyah. Everyone is asked to join in.

Sheikh Serag Johaar studied in Mecca and Indo-Pak, and has been back to the Hijaz many times since. He is the imam at the Nurul Islam Masjid and teaches Muslims their religion.

Not all coloureds have the strait hair or are light skinned. But that doesn't stop me from loving myself. My mother raised me to think of all as the same, whether Coloured, Black or White. Whether rich or poor, respect is the main factor.

When I reach customs at the airport they speak to me in Xhosa or Zulu and when I say I do not speak the language I get bad service. But when I deal with people of my own race I am excluded from certain things because of my features. I have learnt to accept people for who they are and not what they are.

There was a comment above that said we need to have community projects to raise money and support young Coloured to get an education and that's good, but it also needs to start with parents supporting their children. My mom raised 4 girls on her own with not much for a salary but she sacrificed a lot to put us all through university. It was shocking to hear so many parents say she is crazy to spend so much money on education, but she believed that instead of giving us the latest fashionable items she would rather give us something no1 can take from us, and that was an education.

As long as we go around call ourselves descendants of the Khoi without actually trying to learn a Khoi language, I think a lot of coloured people in our community will take us as a joke! Also having our own unique language spoken by us alone, would allow us to not be so marginalised as we could unite ourselves around a common language.

It is such a dream and would take a lot of work, but it just needs a few crazy people like me to group together and start speaking a language for new generation. A common language always serves to unite people. Just a thought? Tell me what u think?

It does not matter weather you are black or white in this country. Black nor white do not have a direct claim to the soil of South Africa. You are so much a foreigner as the Somalia or the Zimbabwean in South Africa. Whites invaded South Africa and so did the blacks from the north of the equators speaking Zwahili.

Researching on coloured culture for an assignment, really got me thinking. This whole argument on " I'm not white, nor black, I'm coloured!" who CARES!!! one people with one destiny.

We are already looked at as uneducated who speak broken English /tikkop with no front teeth. Stop thinking someone will put a stop to this and that you don't need to do a thing. We need to do something about it ourself and FAST!!

Coloured people are known for not standing together that's why they taking us for a fool. I know its harsh words but someone need to say it. Even amongst ourselves we are fighting /robbing /killing each other while some people in the government conspires to rob our children from getting work. Think what will they do next if we allow this to happen?We need a plan of action and for once stand together.

We must want improvements and advances in our lives through hard work and keeping our minds and tempers in check.. What is more important above all, is that we know our heritage and be proud of it whether you have kroes hare or green eyes or not... We categorize ourselves and criticize when there is no need.

We must not forget who we are and be proud of our identity. We also need to asert ourselves in the political arena, because we are once again having to defend our rights. The ANC is proposing a law that will enforce national demographics upon provinces when it comes to employment. That means that blacks and foreign nationals will have preference in the provinces over the coloured person.

Coloured man and woman, what are you going to do about that? Will you for once stand as one and do it for the sake of future generations we represent today. You are welcome to email me directly with your views and suggestions for action we are to take regarding this challenge from the ruling party who actually owes it's existance to the Coloured Man's initiative( Sol Plaatje ).

Secondly, people should know that God is a God of variety in terms of size, colour, appearance, form and the like. Look at nature for example chickens. You will find black chickens, white chickens, brown chickens and mixed ones. Therefore we are in God's plan that's why He allows us to exist. We do not graze like animals or craw like lizards but we have everything that resemble our white and black friends.

We should then all co-exist together and enjoy the goodness of God. I am proud to be a coloured man, born of a Portuguese father and an African black mother. I divorced my black wife two years ago and right now I am seeking a coloured lady (of any race mixture) for marriage.

Cheer up coloured friends for Jesus died for ALL including us.

The vision I have for my people of the Cape is quite ambitious, but no unachievable. Therefore, hard work is required to uplift our people and regain control of the ‘State of South Africa’ which our people dripped blood, sweat and a tear for. Our sorrow shan't go unheard any longer!

"I have the problem here in the UK that I am called Black because I am not white and it seems here are no in betweens. Brown does not count here."

I was born and raised in the UK, South African parents who came here during Apartheid. I understand the limitations you are talking about here. I lived in a predominantly white area, (still do and it still is), from a coloured mother and a white father. I was never accepted as white and many times people would ask me "where are you from?" "Are you half caste?" "Your'e not white are you?" It took me a long time to accept my identity. I didn't look white and I didn't look black and I became very aware of my skin colour and features.

I love Coloured culture, and I find Coloured women deeply attractive. But I have such strong resistance in my family, it is almost impossible to establish anything lasting. I think it would be better if coloured society were in a better state. It is really bad here. Alcoholism and drug addiction and malnutrition. The coloureds don't have any leaders and would rather do each other in than build each other up. Little groups form around large egoists. But there is no coherence or unity. That is why I think their society is in such bad shape.

Humans who branched to other parts of the world must have faced different evolutionary pressure to survive. In Africa, they faced tribalism. In Europe and Asia they faced the cold and austere conditions. These each shaped what we have become. Or more importantly, the way our societies have become.

So glad I found a page where our people are speaking about what's really on their minds and in our hearts. Educating ourselves about the real history of who we are is important my fellow sisters and brothers!

Os is soe i pragtige mens groep.

The white man did a lot of damage to our people group and they are still trying to claim our language, Afrikaans. Moenie vi my ko seh is i boom nie, it is i BOEM! Ja en mie nies jiek, watse ding is die van neus!

I feel for you. I can't really tell you which race you belong to. I would think if you have been brought up amongs the Coloureds and think like the Coloureds and the rest of your family are Coloureds then you are a Coloured. You coming from a Black father and Coloured mother makes you actually mixed-race. That's just my opinion, but I am not a pro on these things. Ask the whites, they were the ones to put us in boxes in the first place, they were the ones to mix up our country.

I have the problem here in the UK that I am called Black because I am not white and it seems here are no in betweens. Brown does not count here. The Black people see me as Black, the white people see me as Black, and it is much easier to think of myself as Black here, but then again; I am not welcome anywhere! I am more light-skinned than dark-skinned with nice, shoulder-lenth straight, but not "gladde" hair, so in other words a proper Coloured (born from Coloured parents with White and Black grandparents), but still considered Black in this country (UK). Oh what the hell did the white man do to us?? Make us aware that colour counts!! Turned us all into racists. I have become more of a racist now that my eyes have been opened in this country.

Ek voel soos jy voel. Ek is wat ek is en "djy kan se net wat djy wil"! Cape Town belongs to the Kapies. Wie is die Kapies? Ek en "djy" en al die kaalitz wat daar bly. I am now in England, but only to travel the world en te probeer pond bymekaar maak!

Come to think of it: maybe this should be the language of the Coloured people!! Kombuis Engels!! Then we have our own language. Nice... I like dit! Come on Coloureds; more forums just for us.

The Europeans has acquired some knowledge from Asians and Africans (eg Egyptians) just to name a few. We have learnt quite a lot about each other haven't we? Think of how advanced this world has become because of various influences.

You must take what is morally good and live by it and enforce it, you all must know, don't let anyone try to define what coloureds are or where we come from, new coloureds are being made everyday, we must constantly change and adapt, this should be our Creed, I'm a child of the future, I stick with my people, I pick up what is good, I throw away the bad, forget the rest of the world, Those people aren't so "lekker" in their heads, I'm not black, I'm not white, I'm not more to one side than to the other, I stick with my people.

Presently in South Africa Moslems and Indians does not all fall in the coloured group. So if you are grouped as a coloured no matter what your heritage is unless some magical like the age of light for Europe there is little change that coloureds will stand up as a group with a common course. Our survival depends on what we as people in this group will have to do collectively. If the strongest drive amongst us is to become financially independent like a lot of our Moslem and Indian neighbours brothers and sisters cousins and relatives we will have either create our own set of controls and guides or follow or use what they do or what other nations uses.

In South Africa their is one common thing all coloureds need at present that is money. You unfortunately does not pick it up. You can also not spend it and still have it. The only way we can have it is to build it collectively and lawfully and utilise our churches as data bases. Otherwise we will forever be descendants of mix origin going nowhere and getting sucked up in other peoples fights. We are not black, we are not white, we are more poor than rich but most of us are at least affiliated to a church. We love sport, we are good at it. Before 1992 we participated in sport under SACCOS with the leading provinces being Western Provinces followed by Eastern Province. So sport is another a strong force to hold us.

I have a very soft spot for them because they have suffered more than anyone else has in this country, the majority black people and white people have fought over whose country this is, this country belongs to every South African, but it one had to choose, it would actually belong to the Coloured people! The San and the Khoi were the first inhabitants, and the rest of the coloured people are offspring from both white and black. I sincerely hope and pray that the Coloured people will always stay true to who they are and to their heritage, that they will be utmost proud of themselves.

When you are a powerful Coloured (USA president; former miss SA) you are called the 1st black until a black African gets the position then said it is the 1st black person to hold that position. Rest my case. Black African (I speak Zulu) are just as racist as most whites, always assuming on the colour of you skin what language you speak. Wonder If I spoke Chinese will the shape of my eyes change to show it.

District Six became Cape Town's own Harlem. This Cape African Creole district on the edge of the city had its roots as one of the first settlements of freed urban slaves after emancipation. It was also the first home of African dock workers from the Eastern Cape, sailors who jumped ship and poor European immigrants. The district grew over the years and became the cultural heart and soul of Coloured people. Some 40 000 people were living there. In 1966 the Apartheid regime began a forced removals process after declaring the colourful district as a "whites only" part of the city. The forced removals, accompanied by wholesale demolitions saw the dwellings of the entire district raised to the ground. First Africans and then Coloured people were moved to the Cape Flats. The forced removals finally ended in 1986 when the last of the people were moved out. To add fuel to the fire, the district was renamed Zonnebloem - sunflower.

In the heart of District Six stood the seven stone steps which became one of those symbols of District Six that lives in the hearts of all who lived, loved, played and worked in the "District". The seven steps became a powerful representation of popular memory.

The seven steps is a powerful symbol of the heritage of Cape Town. The Seven Steps also speaks of the Seven Roots of identity in the Cape. The Coloured community in particular shares all of these roots of identity. (While some are comfortable with the term "Coloured" many do not accept the term and feel uncomfortable with it, but no universally accepted term for people of mixed origins has ever emerged to find acceptance. I personally do not like the term and express myself as having a Cape Creole African identity as a South African, but I also do not shy away from using the term Coloured as it is more generally understood and used. Creole simply means "new creation" or "locally born").

Cape Creole or Coloured identity is also far more complex than saying Coloured people are a result of Black and White mixing.

Most people of the Cape from all population groups share two or more of the Seven roots. There is at least one of these roots in everyone and even the most recent to join us in this city and province has a place in these Seven Steps. Everyone had a place in old District Six and the Seven Steps stands out as a powerful symbol of diversity and inclusivity in the Cape. In applying the symbolism of the Seven Steps to our heritage, each STEP represents a root tributary to Cape identity as follows:

STEP 1: Represents the tributary of the INDIGENES. The people of the Cape have strong African roots. The San, Khoe and amaXhosa in the Cape and the baSotho and baTswana in western and northern reaches of the old demarcated Cape Colony are the first tributary of Cape identity. The Coloured people of the Cape have deep African roots with a number of traditional African communities, sharing ancestors and many elements of cultural heritage. History also shows us that communities such as the amaXhosa of today, share San, Khoe, Asian and European ancestors with Coloured communities. There is a strong cousin-connection across ethno-social boundaries in the Cape. People who deny this are just ignorant of these historical ties. DNA tests show that around 30% of people classified as Coloured people have KhoeSan roots, 17% of people classified as Black have KhoeSan roots, 8% of those classified as White have KhoeSan roots and around 16% of those classified as Indian have KhoeSan roots. No group in South Africa can claim exclusively that they are the only descendents of the KhoeSan. Interestingly 32% of those classified as Coloured have Sub-Saharan African or Bantu roots.

STEP2: Represents the tributary of the SLAVES. We are the descendents of Slaves from other parts of Africa and Madagascar, from India and from the Indonesian Islands. Over the period 1653 – 1808 over 63 000 slaves were brought to the Cape from these areas. Around 32 500 of these slaves came from Africa and Madagascar, 19 000 from India, and 11 500 from the Indonesian islands. Between 1808 – 1856 a further 8000 mainly African slaves were brought to the Cape as "Prize Negro" slaves captured from slaver vessels by the Royal Navy. The locally born children and successive grandchildren of these slaves were all to lead lives of slavery until emancipation in 1836. For many "Prize Slaves" emancipation only came in dribs and drabs right through to 1870 and the last slaves arrived in 1890.

Yes and I agree that many coloureds are gangsters.In the apartheid years it was a sense of belonging and a way to get food into your stomach because the whites took everything away from us. But that time is over. So please my coloured people stop with the "Hosh","Naai my broe"and the all time classic" Jou ma ..." Let us show everyone that we are good people that can be trusted.

And I am sorry to say that as long as we are minstrels, the perception of us will stay. We are free now. Not just for one day to show off our passion gaps.

And to the ones with the identity crisis - Don't just come with your "I have German blood" if you are fair. All coloureds have some white blood. And to the coloureds that converted to Islam. You are NOT Malay. Please, most Moslems are coloured in Cape Town.

Seems that most coloureds want to be anything but coloured.

I wasn't old enough to understand what Apartheid felt like and mainly because my parents shielded me from that but I thank everyone and anyone who had any part to play in crushing that cruel system. Today, everyone has the right to live how they want, where they want and achieve whatever they want, I'm living proof of that.

To the person named Marge, you have been living overseas for 33 years, you are no longer South African in my eyes. You have forsaken our country when we needed you the most. You don't have the right to call Cape Town yours, you left when great coloured people like Ashley Kriel, Anton Fransch and the Gugulethu 7 gave up their lives to pave a bright future for myself and my future kids.

What I do believe is that we need to come together as a nation and continue to fight this struggle. The struggle hasn't stopped, the easy part is done, now to rebuild our identities, rebuild what was taken away from us. Many people has said this and in my opinion is the greatest thing ever said, Apartheid wasn't a physical segregation, it was a mental segregation.

We are the result of a white mans lust for a coloured woman over time I would suggest from about 400 years ago who cares? All I know is that I am ever sorry that I helped bring down apartheid - want to know why? When I hear how my people in Cape Town are suffering by the hands of the black man in a city that was and is rightfully ours ( mixed race/ coloured ) than African race.

Stop the carnage - we helped fight yet now we are the ones who are suffering. I say kick the intruders out. The Africans who want to argue that Cape Town is theirs. They do not belong there & we want Cape Town back. I helped fight for their freedom and now I am sorry I did. My beautiful people from the Cape flats and all the suburbs of Cape Town with our great culture gone to the dogs. We were and are the heart of the land.

I am sick and tired of Anglo-Saxon, Western Imperialistic Ideologies that want to study my people, and then tell us what we about. I agree with Zietgeist, Mandala and the now super famous people are not the only one who fought for this countries liberation. What about people like Cissy Gool, Adam Small.... We are taking our identity back, and not black or white people will tell me who I am... Our time to rise and shine has come, we have amazing gifts, we can sing, dance, act, we have the most colourful personalities of all the races in SA.

And we as coloured people can today attribute Afrikaans has part of our culture.

I do however agree with you on the fact that wasn't just Mandela & his small group that fought for liberation, or defeated the apartheid regime as some like to believe.

Over the past few years since democracy our communities, youth, schools and job opportunities have systematically neglected and opportunities kept away from us. Included in this is the ongoing description that coloured communities are gangster and drug riddin, is not true. It is no different in white, indian and black working class communities.

What I see today of how my ANC government is letting our communities slip into uncontrolled lawlessness is no different to what the Nats did to all of our areas.

May I just add that the book written by a lady from western does not record all the great people that has emerged from western. The area produced more doctors, lawyers, detist than many more previlaged areas has, so please lets not knock ourselves. we must always always ensure that we comtextualise our statements.

When youth are told at job interviews , sorry no coloureds "ons soek 'n darkie", then please do not blame anyone but the system for this new racism. When our kids are told at university that bursaries must go to blacks because coloured and indians did no suffer under apartheid, who is to blame for the genesis of the new racism.

What is needed is for the coloured community, is the recording of the history, cultural habits, food preferences such as potjie kos, blatjangs, etc. Most importantly our language Afrikaans that has been hijacked by the boer community.The Koran that has been written in Afrikaans etc. This history is not taught in schools, why not?

We must now stop hagling about coloured etc, we need to have the conversation, write and correct the history books to include it in its rightful place.

Ek praat die way ek praat, leef die way ek leef, gaan kerk, drink bier/braai/, is mal om Tafelberg vanaf die see te aanskou (en daar's baie Capetonians wat nog nooit daai beleef het nie ).

Djy kan my ma noem wat djy wil!

EK'S PROUDLY SOUTH AFRICAN!

Africa is their home and identity. If you do not speak one African Language, how do you even start to argue when you ask yourself in the mirror "Am I African?".

One day I am greeting someone who looks more African and his lady replied "I do not understand what you are speaking, can't you see I am coloured?". That came as a shock to me. I told her she must learn, and she replied she do not want to learn any "black language" meaning African language.

These black slaves were by far the minority of slaves in comparison to the large Malay and Indian components.
They did leave their trace in the genes of some very dark coloureds.

In any case even black tribes in Zululand, Transkei, Venda, etc.., had their respective lands and only after the Boer war did the British bring large scale numbers of Nguni to the Transvaal to work in the mines. Namibia south of Windhoek and South western Botswana were also home to the KhoiSan. There was a recent court battle in Botswana about San's claim to land.

But at the end of the day what's going to make you a better and bigger person is not going to be based on the colour of your skin - but what type of human being you are. So basically what makes us black, white, coloured , is not the colour on the outside but the perception we have about ourselves.

On a day to day basis even under apartheid most white and coloured people could relate culturally and linguistically.
The black Xhosa people who were moved en masse to the Western Cape in the early 90's by the ANC, and even before that a century ago under British rule, had completely different agricultural, cultural and linguistic history.
The Afrikaans speaking peoples (coloureds and whites) of the Western Cape and Northern Cape are more indigenous to these provinces than the black peoples of the rest of South Africa.