Die brood wat ons daagliks breek: gemeenskapsbelewenisse van die broodtradisie op Skanskopeiland

Abstract

Bread as staple is an integral component of South African food culture and of the cultural heritage of South African communities. In this article the tradition associated with baking bread at Skanskopeiland in the Lower Orange River region is analysed. The baking facilities, equipment and processes are described. The methods of baking and serving salt-rising bread, ash-scone, dough boy and griddle-cake are explained. These types of bread, symbolising a simple lifestyle close to nature, are not unique to Skanskopeiland. Variations occur in most regions in South Africa. Although the ingredients, equipment and baking process have been modernised, the basic recipes and preparation have remained unchanged. The cultural meaning and significance of the traditional way of baking bread are analysed in the article. For the people of Skanskopeiland bread is a symbol of provision and wellbeing. The types of bread and baking methods discussed here fit into the scheme of the traditions, customs, memories and cultural landscape of the Skanskopeiland community. They contribute to the people's collective historical consciousness, group identity and sense of place and strengthen the emotional bonds linking the inhabitants and their offspring to Skanskopeiland as their primal landscape. Bread as material culture has non-material associations. Symbolic significance and spiritual-religious values are attached to it. The maintenance and transmission of the traditions relating to bread are important, because they help to conserve the cultural memory of the community and create a dynamic cultural footprint which in a changing world infuses new meaning into their cultural heritage.