Music of the Cape Flats

The Cape Flats is probably best known for having given birth to 'Goema' and the lively rhythms and raucous, irregular beats of the Kaapse Klopse (Cape Minstrels). The klopse tradition is deeply entrenched in Cape Flats communities, and troupes practice for many months every year to compete in the annual Cape Minstrel Carnival and the competitions held during the festive season. For interest's sake, the term "klopse" is derived from the word "klop" knock - and seems to refer to the beating of the gummie (a kind of drum) and other percussion which dominates the sound of the minstrel music.

Although nag troepe (Malay choirs) march through the City centre and surrounding areas on New Year's Eve into the early hours of New Year's Day, it is the Tweede Nuwe Jaar (on January 2) that is the highlight of the Minstrel Carnival.The most widely-known theory around the origin of the Tweede Nuwe Jaar celebrations and the significance of having the carnival in January is that is was the only time slaves were given time off. So they painted their faces on the day after New Year's Day and entertained their masters. The other theory is that the minstrels, who come largely from the coloured community, use the carnival as a time to celebrate the birth of the coloured nation. The reasoning is this... According to the history books, Dutch coloniser, Jan van Riebeeck arrived in the Cape in April. Without his wife to tame his desires, he took advantage of the black local women. Nine months later the first child of mixed origin, the first coloured child, was born. This is not a popular theory, but its plausible, we think...


Either way, it is safe to say that New Year's in Cape Town goes hand in hand with the Klopse carnival.

And while the Goema is largely recognised to as being distinctly Cape Town, it's roots lie mainly in Latin-American and Brazilian music. Because Cape Town is a port city, and was a popular stopover on the slave route, it is believed that the music of the Cape Flats drew influence from the various types of music that was "imported" through the slave trade which brought people from Brazil.