Zooming In

Societally, particularly looking back on my childhood, my culture was probably most impacted by apartheid (correctly pronounced uh-part-hate; it’s an Afrikaans word). Apartheid was a system of segregation institutionalized by a South African government, who were not fairly voted into power (even by the standards of the day), in the late 1940s. It sought to control the South African people, in particular, peoples of color who were marginalized and thereby oppressed and exploited.

Being white, this system did not discriminate against me but the impact of such a system could hardly be positive in the long-run for anyone associated with it. And so South Africans faced a huge challenge. I am proud as I consider that, on the one hand some never gave up the struggle for freedom and that, on the other, somewhere along the road both sides decided to make a change. In 1992 I was old enough to vote for the first time and did so in a national referendum that called for a democratically elected government. Two years later in 1994 while waiting in line to vote, my mother and I stood talking with an 87 year old black man who was voting for the first time. We were humbled and excited. Nelson Mandela was elected president and since then South Africa has been finding a new post-colonial future.

I am always interested to talk with others about this as I continue to examine and explore my past but I think it would have to be another conversation, perhaps over coffee.

Other things that strike me about my societal culture are that despite apartheid, I grew up in close proximity to people of different ethnic groups many of whom speak different languages and practice different religions.

Our country is culturally Christian, white South Africans having descended mainly from puritans who fled Europe much like those who came here to the United States. There was Christian prayer, scripture reading and talk of God in our schools and homes, so I grew up with a Christian worldview and a belief in a living Creator as did my mother even though she always questioned church dogma and has never settled in a congregation.

Our society is a communal one and is also strongly patriarchal which impacted my childhood particularly because my mother divorced my father when I was 4 years old. My mother’s father had died when she was 11 years old. And so combined with my estrangement from my father and paternal grandfather, my upbringing was strongly matriarchal. This is not unlike many other South Africans’ upbringings; women play a pivotal role in our culture but somehow their importance or centrality only makes our society more patriarchal as men seek to maintain or regain some type of control (or perhaps women self efface trying to give the assurance that they’re not “taking over”?)

My mother is an artist and an intelligent, independent thinker. So she has struggled to find her way in our society. I have great respect and admiration for her (also lots of love!). She’s had a huge impact on my life. She taught me to love the earth and all living things because they were created and have a purpose for being here as much as I do. She instilled in me the sense that all people are equal. She taught me to care for the earth, animals and people around me, especially those who have been discarded or hurt. She taught me as many skills as she could and instilled in me the sense that I could do anything I worked at.

All these positives (I like to think I choose to leave the negatives behind) I’ve taken from my upbringing and out of them and my developing personal worldview I’ve developed a personal culture that is sometimes very different compared to my societal and/or familial culture (for example having a gender-inclusive God). I refine this personal culture as I come into contact with others who challenge and question me or whom I admire and wish to emulate. I’m grateful therefore to have been able to travel and live in other places as it exposes me to more people of other cultures.

Nanette Savides