Six crafts that explain South Africa (wine is just the start)
Wine, Cape Malay cooking, beadwork, Ndebele mural painting, basket weaving, and gumboot dancing: six crafts, each showing a different side of South Africa. Learning or even just seeing one is a different way into the country than visiting its landmarks, and the two combine well. You can see Table Mountain in the morning and cook bobotie in the afternoon.
One honest note before we start: most of these crafts aren't on booking sites. You find them through people, cooperatives, and the occasional shop where the makers sell their own work. That's part of what makes them worth finding.
1. Wine (Cape Winelands)
South Africa's first wine was made in 1659, and the French Huguenots who settled in Franschhoek in 1688 shaped the industry that followed. Today, a new generation of producers, including Black-owned and township-based wineries, is changing who makes South African wine and who drinks it.
What it tells you: how colonial history, land and change are still being worked out, glass by glass.
Where to find it: at the estates themselves, in Stellenbosch, Franschhoek, Constantia and Hemel-en-Aarde.
Check our article about what wine teaches you about South Africa.
2. Cape Malay cooking (Bo-Kaap, Cape Town)
Bobotie, bredies, curries and spiced koesisters. This cuisine comes from people brought to the Cape from Southeast Asia by the Dutch, many as slaves or political exiles. Their descendants built the Bo-Kaap, the neighbourhood of brightly painted houses on the slopes of Signal Hill.
What it tells you: that Cape Town's story didn't start or end with Europe. Sweet, sour, and spice in the same dish is centuries of history on a plate.
Where to find it:
Learn: a 2-hour class with a resident in the Bo-Kaap neighbourhood, where you prepare a three-course Cape Malay meal from scratch, or a longer version that combines a walking tour of the neighbourhood with a cooking class at a local's home. A few experiences are available online.
Buy: Atlas Trading Company, a Bo-Kaap spice shop selling since 1946. Its most popular blend is Leaf Masala, a mix of 12 spices that works with almost any curry, and it's the easiest souvenir to pack.
3. Beadwork (Zulu and Ndebele)
Glass beads arrived through trade, and South African communities turned them into a language. Ndebele beadwork marks stages of life, from girlhood to marriage. In Zulu beadwork, young women sent beaded pieces to the men they liked, a little like love letters.
The simplest was a single string of two colours. Equal amounts of white and pink meant: my heart is full of love for you, but you're as poor as I am in love, so get to work and save for my bride price. Romantic and practical.
The meanings aren't fixed in a dictionary. White is the only colour that is always positive, standing for purity and love. The others change with context and region. And no, wearing one didn't mean you were engaged. Young men often wore several.
What it tells you: how identity is worn, and how much can be said without words.
Where to find it:
Cape Town: Monkeybiz, a nonprofit that employs traditional beadwork artisans from disadvantaged communities.
KwaZulu-Natal: Ilala Weavers in Hluhluwe (see basket weaving).
4. Ndebele mural painting (Mpumalanga)
Bold geometric patterns painted on the outside walls of homes, traditionally by women. The style became a way to hold on to Ndebele identity through defeat, displacement, and apartheid. Artist Esther Mahlangu took it from village walls to canvas, galleries and even a BMW art car.
What it tells you: how a community kept its culture visible when much else was taken away.
Where to find it: Esther Mahlangu's new studio in Mthambothini village, Siyabuswa, where she shares her knowledge with young people and shows her work to locals and tourists (City Life Arts). The closest you'll get to the source.
The paintings were also translated into beautiful fabric. Don't hesitate to check it.
5. Basket weaving: from palm to phone wire (KwaZulu-Natal)
Zulu baskets are woven from ilala palm and coloured with natural dyes. The tightest ones hold liquid, traditionally home-brewed beer: the palm swells when wet, and the outside sweats, keeping the beer cool. A mid-sized basket can take a month, and a large masterpiece over a year.
The modern version started in the cities: in the 1960s, Zulu night guards at factories began weaving leftover telephone wire around their sticks. The technique grew into the bright wire bowls and plates now sold worldwide.
What it tells you: how a traditional craft survives by adapting, from palm to phone wire, from village to city.
Where to find it:
Baskets: Ilala Weavers in Hluhluwe, which combines a museum on Zulu weaving techniques with a shop of woven, beaded and carved goods, and provides income for more than 2,000 people. However, my favourite one is Zamimpilo Market, which is a women's cooperative. Each woman has a stall and you pay at the end. Some of the best baskets I've seen (and my family agrees!).
Telephone wire: Durban is the home of the craft. Artist Hlengiwe Dube has taught Zulu craft to over 3,000 students. In Cape Town, the Watershed at the V&A Waterfront has wire artists too.
6. Gumboot dancing (Johannesburg)
More than a century ago, migrant workers in the Witwatersrand mines were forbidden to talk underground, so, wearing gumboots against the flooded tunnels, they created a tapping code. Above ground, the code became a dance. Mine managers applauded, unaware the slaps and taps were often coded criticism of working conditions.
What it tells you: that South Africa's wealth was built underground, by workers who found ways to keep their voice.
Where to find it: performances in Soweto and at cultural events across the country.
Summary
| Craft | Region | What it tells you |
|---|---|---|
| Wine | Cape Winelands (Western Cape) | Colonial history and a changing industry |
| Cape Malay cooking | Cape Town (Western Cape) | Cape Town’s Asian roots |
| Beadwork | KwaZulu-Natal, Mpumalanga | Identity and coded messages |
| Ndebele mural painting | Mpumalanga | Culture kept visible through apartheid |
| Basket and wire weaving | KwaZulu-Natal | A craft that adapts |
| Gumboot dancing | Johannesburg (Gauteng) | The mines and the people who worked them |
Where to start
Our South Africa trip is built around wine, because that's the craft I know best there. But the country goes far beyond it, and every one of these crafts is worth trying during your next trip.
[See the South Africa Wine Experience →]
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Start with where you buy. Cooperatives, artists’ studios and nonprofits usually name their makers, and a good seller can tell you who made a piece and where. Then look closely:
Baskets: real Zulu baskets are made from ilala palm and natural dyes, so the colours are earthy rather than bright and uniform. The weave should be tight and even. Small irregularities are a good sign; ten identical baskets on one stall are not.
Beadwork: traditional pieces use glass beads, which feel heavier and cooler than plastic. Handmade work has slight variations in pattern and spacing.
Price: a mid-sized basket can take a month to weave. If it costs less than a coffee and lunch, it probably wasn’t made by hand.
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Wine and Cape Malay cooking are rooted there. You'll also find beadwork and wire art in the city's markets, but for their source, head to KwaZulu-Natal or Mpumalanga.
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Buy direct or through cooperatives, and don't negotiate too hard. A basket that took a month to weave isn't overpriced.