Оңтүстік Африкадағы Кап Малайлары

Ethnic group in South Africa

Cape Malays (, کاپز ملیس in Arabic script) also known as Cape Muslims or Malays, are a Muslim community or ethnic group in South Africa. They are the descendants of enslaved and free Muslims from different parts of the world, specifically Indonesia (at that time known as the Dutch East Indies) and other Asian countries, who lived at the Cape during Dutch and British rule. Although the initial members of the community were from the Dutch colonies of Southeast Asia, by the 1800s the term Malay encompassed all practising Muslims at the Cape, regardless of origin. They initially used Malay as a lingua franca and language of religious instruction, and this was one of the likely reasons that the community were referred to as Malays. Malays are concentrated in the Cape Town area. Cape Malay cuisine forms a significant part of South African cuisine, and the community played an important part in the history of Islam in South Africa. The community played a part in developing Afrikaans as a written language, initially using an Arabic script. "Malay" was legally a subcategory of the Coloured racial group during the apartheid era.

It is estimated that there are about 166,000 people in Cape Town who could be described as Cape Malay, and about 10,000 in Johannesburg. The picturesque Malay Quarter of Cape Town is found on Signal Hill, and is called the Bo Kaap. Many Cape Malay people also lived in District Six before they, among many other South African people of diverse ethnicity, mainly Cape Coloureds, were forcefully removed from their homes by the apartheid government and redistributed into townships on the Cape Flats.

The founders of this community were the first to bring Islam to South Africa. The community's culture and traditions have also left an impact that is felt to this day. The Muslim community in Cape Town remains large and vibrant. It has expanded greatly beyond those exiles who started the first mosques in South Africa. Strong Indian influences are present in Cape Malay culture due to generations of widespread intermarriage and union between the two communities.

Adaptations of traditional foods such as bredie, bobotie, sosaties and koeksisters are staples in many South African homes. Faldela Williams wrote three cookbooks, including The Cape Malay Cookbook, which became instrumental in preserving the cultural traditions of Cape Malay cuisine. The Indian influence in the Cape Malay culture is essential due to generations of widespread intermarriage and union between the two communities.

This cultural group developed a characteristic Cape Malay music. Cape Malay music has been of great interest to academics, historians, musicologists, writers and even politicians. A secular folk song type of Dutch origin, is known as the nederlandslied. The language and musical style of this genre reflects the history of South African slavery, and the words and music often reflect sadness and other emotions related to the effect of enslavement. The nederlandslied shows the influence of the Arabesque style of singing, and is unique in South Africa, Africa and probably in the world. The Silver Fez is the "Holy Grail" of the musical subculture. The contest involves thousands of musicians and a wide variety of tunes, with all male choirs from the Malay community competing for the prize. A 2009 documentary film directed by Lloyd Ross (founder of Shifty Records The barrel shaped drum, called the ghoema (also spelt ghomma and also known as dhol), is also closely associated with Cape Malay music, along with other percussion instruments the rebanna (rebana) and tamarien (tambourine). Stringed instruments include the ra'king, gom gom, and besem (also known as skiffelbas). The ghomma has been traditionally used mostly for marching or rhythmic songs known as the "ghommaliedjie", while the guitar is used for lyrical songs.

Connections between Malaysians and South Africans improved when South Africa rejoined the international community. The latter's re entry was welcomed by the Malaysian government and many others in the Southeast Asian region. Non governmental organisations, such as the Federation of Malaysia Writers' Associations, have since set on linking up with the diasporic Cape Malay community. There is also an increase in the interest of the food, culture and heritage of Cape Malay descendants around the world.