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Part of
A Comparative Literary History of Modern Slavery: The Atlantic world and beyond
Edited by Karen-Margrethe Simonsen, Madeleine Dobie and Mads Anders Baggesgaard
[Comparative History of Literatures in European Languages XXXVII] 2025
► pp. 54–69

Chapter 4
Commemorating slavery during apartheid

The hidden transcripts of the Cape Klopse carnival

This chapter aims to counter the dominant perception that an oral memory culture of slavery did not exist in South Africa, due to repression by colonial authorities and the apartheid state. By focusing on the intangible heritage of the South African slave past — in particular on the folk song and carnival tradition of the so-called Cape Coloured community as performed during the apartheid period — this chapter will discuss the memory strategies and hidden transcripts of commemoration, such as masking rituals and the claiming of social sites, used by the descendants of the enslaved community at the Cape to perform their cultural identity and commemorate their slave past in times of extreme oppression.
Keywords: hidden transcripts, commemorative performance, carnival, masquerade, apartheid, slavery, South Africa
Article outline
  • Forgotten voices at the Cape
  • The Cape Klopse carnival: A Contested stage to commemorate and to protest
  • Public performances and hidden transcripts: The Cape Klopse and the coloured masquerade
  • Claiming a presence: Social sites of the hidden transcript
  • Conclusion
  • Author queries
  • Notes
  • References
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