Reframing personal history in Sophiatown.
Date
2011-10-04
Authors
Naidoo, Yavini
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Abstract
A
dominant
way
of
remembering
the
Johannesburg
suburb
of
Sophiatown
recalls
a
vibrant
cosmopolitan
melting
pot.
At
the
same
time
the
wider
symbolic
identity
of
Sophiatown
as
a
site
of
resistance,
as
a
fantasy
‘sight
‘of
cultural
vibrancy,
and
as
an
example
of
Apartheid’s
destructiveness
also
plays
a
role
in
a
larger
map
and
understanding
of
South
African
history,
and
speaks
to
other
communities
affected
by
similar
circumstances.
As
Sophiatown
increased
in
significance
as
a
heritage
site
in
new
national,
political
and
cultural
narratives,
an
interest
arose
amongst
various
stakeholders
to
commemorate
this
space
officially.
However
existing
heritage
practices
reference
only
the
history
of
forced
removals.
The
walking
tour
through
Sophiatown,
with
its
very
few
remaining
old
structures,
requires
a
cold
defamiliarising
of
the
existing
landscape
to
engage
with
this
‘mental
construction’
of
a
past
that
entirely
removes
this
space
from
the
lived
experience
of
the
present,
as
well
as
the
last
fifty
years.
Many
of
the
Afrikaans
residents
from
the
Triomf
incarnation
still
live
in
the
area,
and
the
last
fifteen
years
have
seen
a
dramatic
shift
from
the
Apartheid-‐engineered
white
working
class
suburb
to
a
diverse
postcolonial
space
with
people
from
very
different
backgrounds
and
cultures
now
living
next
door
to
each
other.
The
aim
of
this
research
was
to
develop
and
apply
different
interactional
contexts
for
residents
within
the
fractured
suburb
of
Sophiatown,
with
a
view
to
exploring
their
conflicting
relationships
to
the
past,
space
and
community
through
emotional
mapping
exercises
and
the
creation
of
personal
histories.
My
field
research
involved
two
distinct
yet
related
activities
that
were
undertaken
simultaneously
over
a
few
years.
The
first
part
of
this
research,
based
on
oral
history
practice,
focused
primarily
on
Afrikaans-‐speaking
residents
of
the
area.
Developing
markers
from
current
neighbourhood
practices,
the
second
part
of
the
research,
essentially
a
study
in
community
building,
more
broadly
addressed
the
diverse
residents
of
this
heterogeneous
suburb
in
a
series
of
facilitated
workshops
that
developed
over
four
phases.
The
central
question
behind
these
interactions
and
meetings
is
whether
they
could
provide
a
platform
for
negotiation
over
a
troubled
past
by
acknowledging
and
appreciating
shared
experiences,
and
whether
they
can
begin
to
foster
healing
and
community
pride.
The
familiarity
this
sets
up
begins
undoing
the
construction
of
‘the
other’,
through
which
negotiation
of
neighbourhood
concerns
becomes
possible.