Talking to the ancestors: national heritage, the Freedom Charter and nation-building in South Africa in 2005

Abstract

The Freedom Charter has a significant place in South African liberation history. This paper is a re-reading of the document in 21st century conditions and locates its ideas within contexts that have not previously been brought into debate. In particular, it argues that the Freedom Charter is part of national heritage, but of a special kind relating to its being part of a 'democratic stream'. This is because of its mass democratic mode of creation and resultant product. It also interrogates the notion of 'The People' and what 'The People' think, bringing into focus unacknowledged knowledge, especially the questions of orality and communication with ancestors. The notion of 'brotherhood' as used in the Charter is examined as connoting more than a gender-related concept-a specific way of human beings relating to one another, akin to that of siblings, signifying cooperation rather than individual isolation or competitiveness. This and questions of gender are addressed in the context of nation-building.