South Africa: Country Profile

They settled in the Bo-Kaap on the slopes of Signal Hill and this area constitutes the Malay Quarter. Their houses, which their ancestors built with their own hands, attest to the Malay skills as builders. They were also tailors and carpenters and during the early years many were employed as coopers in the Cape wine industry.

Their skills and crafts were handed down through the generations. To this day, if you need to have a suit altered, or a dress, you invariably go to a Malay tailor who still plies his trade in his home. But this trade is a dying one, and the tailor you'll find is likely to be old, with arthritic hands, bent over his antiquated Singer sewing machine.

But the chances are you will think of him as wise, as wisdom often translates as tranquility. His sons, instead of learning the art of tailoring, will have gone to university to study computer science or medicine or law. Centuries ago the Malay women brought with them their culinary skills, their almost serene knowledge of cumin, mustard seed and masala.

Even today, crossing a square, you will be surprised by a delightful smell of Malay curry wafting towards you. And so, in a tactile way, you are reminded of their presence. Traditions are strong, and the Malays live strictly according to the dictates of the Koran.

A young boy starts to learn the Koran from an early age and before he is ritualistically accepted as a man, which is the equivalent of our confirmation, he must have a thorough knowledge of the Koran and be able to recite from it. Moreover, he must be able to enunciate correctly, giving subtle emphasis where required.

Marrying is usually arranged between families and permission is given by the prospective father-in-law, with the consent of the young bride. The Maskawi (money paid to the bride) decided on may vary from a few rand to a house or more, depending on the wealth of the bridegroom. A few days before the wedding the bride and her bridesmaids, in wedding array, call on her friends to invite them to the feast.