Identity matters

Shaqir Erasmus walking the beaches of his Khoi Khoi ancestors.

A very big Thank You for coming to Inkokhelo.com and for your support. You might have heard us interviewed on Umhlobo Wenene and Bush Radio recently about this project. These interviews have contributed to the expansion of our project to celebrate more cultures, and in future, we hope to explore all identities of South Africa and beyond.

Our latest portrait is of Shaqir Erasmus whose ancestors are a mixture of Khoi Khoi, Javanese and French Hugenots. We talked to Shaqir to find out more about his unique heritage and sense of identity.

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Shaqir talks about the importance of finding out where you come from.

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He also talks about having pride in who you are

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He gives his take on the culture of his own community.

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Shaqir explains the divisions that exist in his community.

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Finally, he highlights the differences and similarities between South Africans.

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Distinctly South African.

We shot a portrait of Shaqir Erasmus earlier this week, and had an interesting chat with him about his identity. Shaqir has his ancestry from Khoi Khoi, Java and France (Hugenot) which makes him quite uniquely South African. We will upload some interview clips later to this blog so keep on coming back to hear what his views are on his community and South African identity in general.

More information on our portraits and how to commission one you can email amkelwa@voxpopafrica.com