When we commemorated the Wonder of Afrikaans 51 years ago, the pioneer of the Afrikaans Picture, Jamie Uys, released the film Doodkry is Min. It reflected the origin and development and expansion of the Afrikaans language.

One scene in the picture was loaded with humour. It shows how the comedian Al Debbo addressed a shop clerk as "juffrou". She was quite offended and told him that she is "miss", whereupon he asked "cow or horse?"

Today such an answer will land the person before the Human Rights Commission for hate speech. English dominates the business world. While students in business schools are taught that the client is always the king, the Afrikaans-speaking kings and queens are treated as strange specimens when they speak their mother tongue.

The downscaling of Afrikaans reminds us of the year 1875 when the so-called "jolly chaps" met in the house of Gideon Malherbe to form the Genootskap van Regte Afrikaanders.

The aim was not only to promote Afrikaans, but to use it as a vehicle to cultivate self-respect among Afrikaners. They distinguished between Afrikaners with English hearts, Afrikaners with Dutch hearts and Afrikaners with Afrikaans hearts. Last-mentioned were the real or Regte Afrikaners.

Today the same distinction applies, except that the Afrikaners with Black hearts are the biggest threat. They still speak Afrikaans, but their hearts belong to the Rainbow Nation.

Opposite them are the Afrikaners with Afrikaans hearts, the real Afrikaners or the Boere Afrikaners as Radio Pretoria named them. The eight "jolly chaps" who founded the GRA brought a turning-point to our history. With faith and commitment we can do the same.

AMAKHOSI in KwaZulu- Natal have all come out in support of the provincial department of health’s circumcision campaign.

The traditional leaders said the work done by the department to circumcise men in a drive to curb the spread of Aids and discourage bush circumcisions was encouraging and brought dignity to the Zulu tradition of circumcision (ukusoka).

The turnout at the circumcision camp held at Umbumbulu FET College on the KwaZulu-Natal South Coast at the weekend was mostly young men aged between 12 and 21 years.

The young men heeded the call to be circumcised to curb the spread of HIV and Aids.

Traditional leaders were at the camp to motivate those preparing for the procedure and to congratulate the initiates who had already undergone the process.

Addressing the initiates, the amakhosi spoke about the social ills that contributed to teenage pregnancies, sexually transmitted diseases, having sex with more than one partner. They heard about the dangers of alcohol as a contributor to spreading the pandemic.

The initiates were counselled and tested for diseases such as diabetes and for HIV before they were circumcised. They were also told about safe and responsible lifestyles, which included using condoms.

In 2009 Fifa held a seminar during which participating African teams were given the go ahead to use traditional doctors during the Soccer World Cup, provided doping products were not administered to the players. The Head of Fifa's medical commission, Michel D'Hooghe, insisted that traditional medicine further contributes to the "players' spiritual upliftment".

Sangomas warmly welcomed the news at the Faraday marketplace in Johannesburg. Most of them see this as a long awaited recognition of their importance, for a Sangoma, in the South African context, is both a healer and a spiritual guide. "People come to us for in finding a job, maintaining their relationships, childbearing, or even winning soccer games," said Maureen Ngcobo, a Sangoma based in the marketplace.

Displayed on different shelves at the Faraday marketplace are peculiar items including tree bark, roots, dried leaves, various powders as well as boa, python and hippopotamus oil. There are also bones and dried skins from snakes and panthers as well as carcasses of vultures and bats. These serve as ingredients in special potions known as 'Muti'.

Thirty eight-year-old Maureen Ngcobo claims to have been initiated by her mother four years ago. She explained that with R800, she can turn an erstwhile poor soccer player into a prolific goal scorer: "I can take half of the money upfront and the rest upon delivery," she boasted.

Spear-wielding warriors pour over the hilltops to attack a startled red-coat army, in a battlefield re-enactment that hopes to lure World Cup fans away from the stadiums between matches.

South Africa’s 19th-century battlefields gave birth to the Zulu nation, as military genius King Shaka brought together a large swath of the country under his rule, only to clash with the British colonisers.

Zulus are now South Africa’s largest ethnic group, at 24 per cent of the population, and their history and culture are being turned into a tourist drawcard.

Anglo-Zulu battlefields and Shaka’s grave and birthplace now anchor a tourism trade in eastern KwaZulu-Natal province that aims to give foreigners a slice of history and rural South African life.

The province is the most popular vacation destination for South Africans, but struggles to lure foreign visitors away from Cape Town and the winelands on the western coast. Zulu culture has become a key attraction, tourist officials said.

“Cultural tourism has seen a steady rise over the last eight years. We are hoping that the World Cup will expose us to new markets and clients,” said William Adams, a tour guide for Springbok Atlas Tours.