By Lee-Yandra Paulsen
The author of “Stories of a Bo Kaap Girl,” Whafieka Martin was a guest on VOC Breakfast this morning, sharing her story on how the book came about.
Martin who was born in Hanover Park but raised in Bo Kaap has a BA in Theology majoring in Arabic language and Islamic jurisprudence and is also a certified legal translator of the High Court.
Stories of a Bo Kaap Girl was written to preserve her memories of growing up in Bo Kaap.
Martin explains that the book covers two chapters. The first chapter is dedicated to her ancestors and family roots while the second chapter covers stories like Gadats, Labarang, Qurbaan and the Cape Coons.
“The first chapter is dedicated to my ancestors and my family roots. The second one is in the format of stories and there I cover things such as the Gadat, the Ratiep, the Moulood, the Labarang, the Qurbaan, and a bit of the Cape Coons as part of the Bo Kaap Experience,” said Martin.
A few months ago, Martin had a serious back injury and started wondering about her life, what kind of contribution she made and the legacy she will be leaving behind. This thinking was a sort of trigger for her to begin the writing process of her book. For years Martin has been writing mainly poetry but never shared it with anyone.
When starting the writing process, she decided to research everything thoroughly but wrote in a memory format. As Martin researched, she found out more about how her forefathers suffered and the sacrifices they made.
Another thing she realized while researching for the book was that there was wisdom in the things said to her by her parents. This led her to the journey of self-discovery.
Martin said she has now developed a deep appreciation for her Cape Malay heritage and culture and a deeper love for her forefathers.
According to Martin, the book should make the reader feel some sort of nostalgic comfort and reminisce about the way things were when we were younger.
Stories of a Bo Kaap Girl will give anyone who knows nothing about the Cape Malay Culture a good background, as stated by Martin.
The official book launch is a closed event and will take place on Saturday, 8 October on her Facebook pages (Martin Whafieka and Bo Kaap Girl). Book stockists will be confirmed through the social media pages as well.
Photo VOCfm
