Cape Town – The Robben Island Museum (RIM) is set to host a cleansing ceremony and critical debate to mark Reconciliation Day at Robben Island Museum on Friday.
The RIM along with representatives from some key stakeholder foundations (Biko, Sobukwe, De Klerk, Mbeki and Nelson Mandela), a voice from our youth and ex-political prisoners, will reflect on and debate the history of SA on the Day of Reconciliation, and its significance to the various cultures that make up our Rainbow Nation.
Speaking for RMI, Melany Kuhn said that this year’s event will be under the theme called “Moving beyond our past to create an inclusive meaningful future”.
“This will be an opportunity to reflect on the painful past and the transition into a brighter future, in shared space,” Kuhn said.
Kuhn said that the event will be preceded by a cleansing ceremony taking place on the island on Thursday which covers “Cleansing of the soil and appeasing the grief and trauma of the ancestors and nominating the spear-bearer.
“Some of the activities include prayers and petitions to release the ancestors’ spirits still in bondage on the island and a ceremony of washing of spears and banishing colonial and foreign claim over the island.
“There will be an all-night wake with Khoisan and other religious and traditional leaders,” she said.
Kuhn further said that celebrating the Day of Reconciliation involves a deep introspection and a consciousness of the world that we live in.
“Colonialism and racism often go hand-in-hand and their legacies don’t necessarily end with the people who lived under them, but are carried down through their children and grandchildren,” Kuhn added.
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