A festival of culture at Sandton Varsity College
The IIE Varsity College Sandton hosted a vibrant festival celebrating Africa's cultural diversity.
To celebrate Africa Day, the annual commemoration of the foundation of the Organisation of African Unity, on May 25, 1963, some of the IIE’s Varsity College Sandton students shared what makes their African cultures unique.
The campus’ recently celebrated Africa Day and saw about 10 African nations (other than South Africa) represented by students on the international forum. It gave the international students a chance to showcase their countries, dress in their traditional African attire, and share and learn about other African cultures.
According to Anto Kagisho, the communications person at the campus, during the event, the campus’ social committee, in collaboration with VC Cares and information specialists students, played various games to test their knowledge on the African continent.
“Some of the games included African-themed trivia, an Africa map puzzle, and a flag-guessing memory game during which students had to flip items and, if guessed right, name the country found.”
Farhiyya Shaibu said, “The Africa Day celebration was a great event for us as international forum students.”
Shaibu added that he is proudly from Malawi, and the event was a wonderful way to share knowledge about their various African countries outside the borders of South Africa.
“To see my brothers and sisters from countries such as Nigeria, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and Mozambique, to name a few, was nice. I also learned something interesting about the Zulu culture, which included how important it is for a young Zulu girl to undergo two ceremonies, umhlonyane and umemelo.
He highlighted that umhlonyane is a traditional ceremony, also known as the weed ceremony or intombiyomhlonyane, that signifies a rite of passage for young Zulu girls as they transition into womanhood. and uMemelo is a tradition which they do to celebrate the young girl when they reach the age of 21 as a rite of passage that she is now a fully grown women who have carried herself gracefully without having babies.
