Posted by Lynnea Bylund on Jul 15, 2012 in Satyagraha Tour South Africa 2019 | 0 comments
Today we explore some of the broader aspects of South African history because it is important to put the country into perspective with regards to the challenges faced today as we continue to reconcile our past struggle with the current one.
Few names conjure up more powerful images than that of:
Shaka Zulu, Dr. John Dube, Albert Luthuli, MK Gandhi, and Former President N. R. Mandela
The sheer mention of the name Zulu has resounded throughout colonial Natal and across the Western world, and the story of this people’s fearlessness and iron fired discipline has become the stuff of legend.
The people were transformed from being a minor, insignificant clan into a mighty nation and finally –an empire under the chieftainship of the famous warrior –King Shaka. This nation was to strike fear into the hearts of neighboring tribes. We visit Shaka’s last great military citadel and the site of his grave where he was assassinated by his brother Dingane. Your guide will keep you enthralled with tales of this incredible nation whilst you marvel at the scenery and daily village life unfolding before your very eyes.
We move onto the home (and museum) of Africa’s first recipient of the Nobel Prize for Peace in 1960 and the President of the African National Congress – Chief Albert Luthuli- a giant of a leader, way ahead of his time. He had been arrested on a charge of high treason, released and then repeatedly banned and arrested. The home in Groutville, KwaDukuza reflects a highly emotive period in South Africa’s history Luthuli’s ecclesiastical tradition, Congregationalism, embedded within him the the primacy of democracy, education and multi-rationalism propelling him to the heights of political leadership.
It’s a short drive to the Olhange Institute, a school founded in 1900 by John Dube, first President of the African National Congress. Visitors to the Institute will see where Former President Nelson Mandela cast his vote in the first ever democratic elections in 1994.
Find out more about Dube in the museum dedicated to his life and legacy, and pay their respects to this great man at his grave site and monument. The nearby Inanda Seminary for Girls, established in 1869, was the first secondary school founded exclusively for African girls in southern Africa. The beautiful and highly secure educational environment is a verdant oasis in the sprawling Inanda Township.
The active campus educates close to four hundred and nineteen (419) students amongst ten historic buildings, the oldest being Rev. Daniel Lindley’s mission house, built in 1858. Many of South Africa’s most powerful and influential women in government, business and the non-profit world received their education at this school during the height of Apartheid.
All of the above sites have a clear link with Sir Marshall Campbell who had previously owned the land.
Summary of the South Africa Historical Overview Visits:
Home (and museum) of Chief Albert Luthuli
The Phoenix Property and the family home, Sarvodaya (Welfare of All)
Ohlange Institute founded by the Reverend John Langalibalele Dube:
Dube’s settlement included a school and training facilities for various trades.
Reverend Dube co-founded the Natal Native Congress in 1900 and which became the African National Congress (ANC) in 1912.
Brief on pre-history Australopithecus africanus (southern ape-man) & Homo sapiens; first-nation San/Bushman;
Arrival in south-eastern region of iron-age man; emergence of the amaZulu; European arrivals; Indentured labor with the first Indians arriving on the SS Truro and the arrival in Durban of a young, British trained attorney.
Accommodations: Protea/Marriott Hotel Umhlanga Durban
Breakfast, lunch and dinner