Bo Kaap Bargee

I completed this painting today...... 'Bo Kaap Bargee ' (Cape Malay Sailor). This gentleman was just a site walking around with his 'gummy' smile in the streets of Cape Town.

I was fascinate with his facial features. The Cape Coloureds of the Western Cape have their front teeth surgically removed, and the real reason has long been forgotten. Coloured people have been doing it so long that they forgot the real reason why thay do it. "You know when you do something that your parents and your grandparents where doing and you ask why are you doing it, they answer, I don't know, because my brothers did it! " Was a quote from a Coloured Man! Some say its a sexual myth or fashion victomhood! It portrays their identity and is called the 'Passion Gap' or Cape Flats Smile'. I certainly don't think it's attractive at all!


The "Bo Kaap" or "Cape Malay Quarter" belongs to the culturally and historically most interesting parts of Cape Town. Many of the inhabitants are decendants of the people from Indonesia (Batavia), Sri Lanka, India and Malaysia, who were captured in the 17th and 18th century and enslaved by the Dutch-East Indian Trading Company. Many were Mulims and others were converted to Islam by the Cape Muslim community.
The Cape Malays and their religious leaders played an important role in the development of the language and culture of the Cape colony. The Afrikaans language evolved as a language of its own through a simplification of Dutch in order for the slaves to be able to communicate with the Dutch and amongst each others, since they all came from different countries and cultures. Educated Muslims were the first to write texts in Afrikaans.~ southafrica-travel.net

Hope you enjoyed this little bit of fascinating information and the reason I find them an interesting race!

xx