Salaam Stories – a Theatre Review and Reflection on its Significance within a South African Context

Salaam Stories, written by Ashraf Johaardien and directed by Niquita Hartley, was recently staged at the Theatre Arts Admin Collective in Observatory – the 2nd time that Cultsha Kennis has seen the show since 2003!

Ashraf Johaardien is a Cape Town born playwright whose work has toured internationally. Salaam Stories is a development of the Artscape New Writing Program in 2006, directed by Professor Roy Sargeant. When the show ran at the Baxter Theatre in 2003, the show casted well-loved theatre personalities Chad Abrahams and Farouk Vallie Omar as well as Sufeya Johaardien and Niquita Ayesha Hartley – with Niquita stepping up as director of the show! This time Salaam Stories was executed as a one-man performance, played by Ashalin Singh, which tells the story of several Cape Muslim characters as they reflect on family tradition, history and cultural identity.

The story begins with the main narrator arriving on set in eastern garbs, making wudhu (ablution) from a pot of water on the ground. As per the pre-prayer ritual, this sets the niyyah or intention for the journey which the audience is taken on in the story. Accompanied by musical and lighting effects, the set of the show was laid out with musallah’s (prayer mats) and props stationed for easy character shifts between the scenes. Hajji Taylor, also called Boo (short for Boeta Gamat Zayn!), tells us about his tailoring business with a red kufia on his head and a tape measure around his neck. Each character scene ended off with a clever punchline. Hajji Taylor’s scene ended with Die Break-Aways who won the best dressed award for a Malay choir competition because Hajji Taylor sewed firecrackers into the buttons of the suits – which went off on stage during their choir performance!

The most entertaining character proved to be the part-psychic tukamani – a person who washes dead bodies – whose premonitions manifest in the form of tulis writing in a “vegetable”. Other well-loved characters included Uncle Zayn’s white girlfriend Sheena/Sean (jy’s mos ‘n beulah bag!) who we meet when Uncle Zayn takes his nephew out to a disco.   

The stories told by the characters reflected a strong sense of personal memory which in turn triggered good and painful memories from the audience. The show also served to educate its audiences by interpreting and unpacking slave records, apartheid figures and generational myths, as well as translating culturalisms without losing the essence of its linguistic authenticity.

Thank you to the Salaam Stories team for hosting a fantastic production, and a special thank you to Ashraf Johaardien for hosting us at the show. We hope that Salaam Stories has a successful tour in Johannesburg, and we hope to see the show back in Cape Town in the near future!

 THE IMPORTANCE OF MUSLIM STORIES WITHIN A SOUTH AFRICAN CONTEXT

Salaam Stories is an appropriate story to be told as a way for Muslims to ‘decolonize’ and re-educate themselves within a socio-political structure where marginalized and non-white identities are still finding empowerment.  

The Muslim community forms about 2% of the South African population, and has its roots in the South East Asian islands of Malaysia and Indonesia. As narrated in Salaam Stories, the journey of Cape Muslims began in the 1600’s when the Dutch had captured and brought various Muslim slaves to the Cape after invading Indonesia during the famous Spice Trade.

It has been almost 4 centuries since we’ve been here. Our Cape Muslim community can celebrate the fact that we have successfully held onto our Islamic faith, despite our Muslim slave ancestors who lived in a period where they could be penalized and prosecuted by the Judeo-Christian colonial forces for being practicing Muslims! However, a lot of other cultural practices has been lost, such as our connection to the authentic Indonesian language, a language which forms about 20% of Afrikaans/Afrikaaps, which we speak on a daily basis!

Cultsha Kennis would like to congratulate Ashraaf Johaardien for bringing the language element to life in Salaam Stories, and allowing for these buried memories to be triggered, such as with the role of the toekamandi reading the tulis in the banana – the word “mandi” referring “bath” and “tulis” which refers to “writing”.

The African proverb, “until the story of the hunt is told by the Lion, the tale of the hunt will always glorify the hunter” was included in a chapter in From The Spice Islands to Cape Town - the Life and Times by Tuan Guru, a book by Shafeeq Morton. The proverb draws us to the importance of the perspectives from which stories are told, the importance of voice, and also the importance of documenting our stories which may get lost within oral transmissions. The proverb is also a call for Cape Muslims to further integrate into our national context and represent our cultural group more proudly and confidently; for us to be lions on our own hunt; to explore truth and be scientists and creators – demonstrated excellently by Ashraaf in this production!  

Salaam Stories also debunks the stereotypes of the tieite wat daltjies bak innie kitchen, which is the dominant narrative of Muslims in the Cape, and sheds light on the intelligence of Muslim individuals, such as Hajji Taylor’s skilful talent of tailoring suites and the clever way in which Uncle Zayn introduces his partner within a family that is silent about his sexuality. Here are several more authentic Muslim representations in our historical and current Cape Muslim society:    

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    1) Many Malay/Indonesian Muslims were anti-apartheid activists who served time on the Robben Island, such as Imam Abdullah Kadi Abdus-Salaam (Tuan Guru) – a contribution to democracy! 

      

     2) Malay Muslim women, such as Sameda Van De Kaap and Salia Van Macassar, were free women married to slave and Palm Street Mosque founder, Jan Van Boughies, and together they purchased slaves with the intention of freeing them – a contribution to slave emancipation!

-       3) There are various mosques in the CBD and southern suburbs of Cape Town who render gender integrated prayers and sell plant-based foods in their markets – a contribution to gender equality and progression!

-         4) In 2018, the Muslim Judicial Council in Cape Town hosted a gender-based violence awareness campaign during the 16 days of Activism for Abused Women and Children – a contribution to gender and social justice!  

The arts can definitely be used as a place for decolonization, where stages and platforms are not just there for entertainment, but for storytelling, empowerment and healing. Thank you Salaam Stories for demonstrating this to us!