Few of us realize the extent to which Cape Town was influenced by the Saints of Islam, each buried throughout the Peninsula in a shrine or Kramat
It has just rained and the smell of wet grass and oak leaves is mixed with rose incense. The nearby oak-lined lane leads to Klein Constantia, and I am standing at the spot next to the stream where a Saint of Islam, Shaykh Matebe Shah, once preached in the mornings. He was buried here, and his shrine was later protected by a wooden shack.
Now he lies in a more appropriate building designed by architect Gawie Fagan, and fresh white carnations are strewn on the new linen covering his grave. The nearby stream that passes under the entrance road to Klein Constantia is the only sound.
It is always a strange feeling, standing on the exact spot where history enacted itself, and I reflect on the words inscribed on the plaque at the shrine of Sayed Mahmud. ‘Man is but a shadow, and life a dream’. Indeed.
Today, the shrines or Kramats of these two Saints of Islam are situated a few kilometres from each other. Around each are the graves of a number of ‘asgaabs’, or ‘followers’, whose names will probably remain lost forever. What remains are the legends, the undeniable facts, and shrines still the focus of pilgrims.
The Saints of Islam played a large role in creating present-day Cape Town – they influenced the development of the Afrikaans language, introduced Islam to Southern Africa, had suburbs named after their place of origin, and created socio-religious boundaries. And their shrines still bear testimony to the broadly recognised impact they had on every facet of what Capetonians now proudly see as their own Cape culture.
But for the Saints, a visit here invariably meant arriving in chains to face routine persecution by the Dutch East India Company. For the Dutch, they could either accept the negative impact many of these religious and political leaders were having on the Dutch tin and spice trade with the Far Eastern colonies, or capture and deport dissidents to the remotest colony they could think of – the Cape of Storms.
The Hasselt was the first vessel to arrive, on 6 May 1658, with 228 slaves from Popo, Gulf of Guinea. On her subsequent voyage from Batavia she carried the first of what eventually was to become more than 200 political dissidents. By January 1667, when the Zuid-Polsbroek arrived with three such persona non grata, deportation to the Cape was official Dutch policy. The Malaccan Sultan, Shaykh Abdurahman Matebe Shah was one of the prisoners but, possibly unknown to the VOC, was that he was also a hafez, a man who had memorised the Quran down to the commas and full stops. Matebe Shah became the first Cape teacher of the Quran. Next to the Spaansgemat River in Klein Constantia, his fellow prisoner and religious advisor, Sayed Mahmud, would meet with slaves and preach. Like those of the many asgaabs surrounding the Kramats of these two great Saints, the name of the third prisoner aboard the Zuid-Polsbroek will probably remain lost forever.
Foremost of all shrines is that of Sheik Yussaf, the father of Islam in Southern Africa. A constant thorn in the side of the Dutch colonials, he was educated in Mecca and was the nephew of King Biset of Gowa. His wives, Imams, and children were thus permitted to accompany him to the Cape aboard the Voetboog in 1694.
The Cape Governor, Simon van Stel, received him personally and ensured he was paid a monthly stipend, but what was to follow lends some irony to the fact that the farm on which he was exiled belonged to Petrus Kalden, a Dutch Reformed minister. Strangely, during Easter the field adjacent to his shrine is packed with the tents of pilgrims – a tradition maintained for almost 350 years and a reminder of the days when slaves were permitted to be absent from work on a public holiday, even if this was a Christian holiday.
A Muslim philanthropist, Haji Sullaiman Shahmohammed, commissioned the shrine in 1927, but many people agree that the Kramat inspires a reverence and a peace not because of any architectural achievement or a magnificently laid-out garden, both of which are humble, but because of the character, knowledge, and spiritual presence of the man buried there.
After the demise of the VOC in the 1790s and the abolishment of slavery in 1834, the Bo-Kaap was increasingly occupied by Muslims. A formerly recognised graveyard was a priority, and Tana Baru (New Ground) was established. This is now the oldest Muslim graveyard in South Africa and the home of at least two Saints, Tuan Sayed Alawie and Abdullah ibn Abdus Salaam, as well as Imam Paay Schaapie de Oude, who was originally granted the land by the Governor of the Cape, General Janssens. As with the Constantia Kramats, Tana Baru enjoys the presence of a caretaker – a retired schoolteacher and a well of little-known knowledge. “Do you know that Tuan Abdul Malik arrived in the Cape with a snake ring that prevented him from being cut or stabbed?” he asked me.
Tuan Abdul Malik’s shrine is in Vredehoek is very close to the area where women slaves did the household washing. His wife lost the unique ring during an emancipation celebration near the washing area (apparently she couldn’t even cut bread while wearing the ring). While oral history may be laced with urban legend, I wondered if the retired teacher knew that such an uncommon snake ring was unearthed by Dr. Elizabeth Grzymala Jordan during a nearby archaeological dig in 2006.
The legends of the Saints continue to visit us, and VOC policy is still felt in every fibre of Cape culture – from the existence of the colourful Bo-Kaap, to the Circle of Saints formed by the many Kramats dotted around the Peninsula, to the peace one feels while sitting in the shrine of Sheik Yussaf.
Burial Direction of the Siants
- Muslims are always buried on their right side, facing Mecca, yet very few of the Saints face this way.
- As a rule, Muslim slaves and political prisoners were not privy to strategic information and therefore could not establish where Mecca was.
- The VOC withheld this information as it might enable escape or possibly even military retaliation.
Visiting the Kramats
- Some Kramats are declared National Heritage Sites but all have historical and religious significance.
- Kramats are not Mosques – they are religiously neutral, so all sexes, religions and denominations are welcome to visit.
- You will be made welcome during any visit, but must remember etiquette. Remove your shoes before entering. Be quiet and respectful. Don’t smoke or use alcohol within the Kramat area. Turn off your cellphone.
The Saints
Where to go?
- Klein Constantia – Summit Way, Lat -34.035 Lon 18.429
- Klein Constantia – Klein Constantia Road, Lat -34.038 Lon 18.415
- Macassar – Macassar Road, Lat -34.064 Lon 18.750
- Tana Baru – Dawes Street, Bo-Kaap, Lat -33.918 Lon 18.415
- Signal Hill – Signal Hill Road, Lat -33.928 Lon 18.394
Article from Country Life Magazine.
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