A new public holiday is being called for by the Congress of Traditional Leaders of South Africa (Contralesa).
The public holiday would celebrate African spirituality, and be known as Ancestor’s day, falling on 8 May.
In May last year, Contralesa alongside the National House of Traditional Leaders and the National Khoisan Council had an inauguration for the unofficial public holiday, and are now pressing for it to become a national public holiday, Daily Maverick reports.
It would be a day for the spiritual in terms of reflection, prayers and appeasement of ancestors, explained Zolani Mkiva, Contralesa secretary-general.
The groups have indicated the potential holiday’s significance toward indigenous acknowledgement, something that can translate to the majority of the population.
This year, Ancestor’s Day was celebrated at the Cradle of Human Kind in Johannesburg West.
“This is about self-love, self-encouragement, it’s about reclamation and restoration. And also about re-affirmation of ourselves as the natives,” Mkiva professed as per SABC.
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Picture: FireflyAfrica