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Culture
Published: 31/01/2011 by Carrie Hampton
Cape Town culture today strongly suggests that there is nothing black and white about Cape Town's racial mix, which is populated by skin shades of every colour. The Mother City is unlike anywhere else in South Africa, with the majority of its population calling themselves Cape Coloureds (referring without any offence, to their mixed race heritage). Originating from a mix of slaves from Africa and South East Asia, Dutch settlers and Khoikhoi herdsmen, the Cape Coloureds first language is Afrikaans - an Africanised old Dutch which is still spoken today by many people in Cape Town.
Another interesting Cape Town culture fact is that black Africans of the Xhosa tribe makes up more than a million of the Western Cape's 4.5 million population, with English and Afrikaners in the white minority.
Cape Malay people are also a small minority, but their strong culture and distinctive cuisine has influenced Cape Town for hundreds of years. Immigrants and refugees from other African countries like Angola and Congo, add a touch of the exotic to the many languages that can be heard in Cape Town.
We recommend to read our all-inclusive travel guide to Cape Town, which you may find here.
