Wednesday, June 9, 2010

THE MAKARAPA AND A CRESCENDO OF EXCITEMENT


GREETINGS FROM BLISSFULLY CHAOTIC SOUTH AFRICA!!!
TAMMY GIRL here...

It is Soccer World cup fever here in South Africa at the moment!
 The vibe in our city is incredible and the dress code in our city suggests that whoever you are, you should be dressed in Soccer gear! Foreign guests are swirling amongst our ranks and the spirit is a mixture of excitement, jubilation and glorious chaos! Amidst the celebrations is a firm atmosphere of unity!!!..
WE WELCOME OUR VISITORS!!!

Here at home, we are not immune to all these happenings.  We admit, we are extremely excited !
(It's hard to write this blogpost whilst the radios and TV's are streaming the sounds of Vuvuzelas)
On Friday our family will be congregating with others to watch the opening ceremony and first match between 

SOUTH AFRICA and MEXICO
on a big screen TV. 

But right now....We are ready!
We have our supporters gear, our Vuvuzelas and our soccer balls. 
Are you ready?

If you would like to join in the fun, then grab a 'UNITY IN DIVERSITY' button on our sidebar.
(Thank you, Mimi from 'Loving for a living' for your creativity with this button!)
Also, if you would like to participate in showcasing a particular country involved in this event, please see yesterday's post. 
Click HERE

Roll on Friday! 
---xXx---

Today, the citizens of Johannesburg congregated around Sandton City in a long human chain, parade and street party in support of our national team:
BAFANA BAFANA. 
The parade has been called the....
"UNITED WE SHALL STAND!" parade...

At 12 o'clock midday over 50 000 jubilant supporters turned up to line the streets around Sandton to wish our team well. We wanted to get there, but the roads were gridlocked and we were late. As expected thousands of people took the opportunity to show their support.
What an amazing site!!!....I am sure you will be seeing it on TV sets around the world...

One can't help being driven along by the prevailing excitement.

One of the interesting features of this world cup series here in South Africa is the
"MAKARAPA"

Along with the 'Vuvuzela' (The big noisy trumpet which is receiving mixed reaction from across the world) the Makarapa is one of the items which epitomises the spirit of Soccer fever here in our country.
These hats are basically 'reconstructed hard hats' which are worn in support of the various Soccer teams.  There are many varieties on offer for purchase at the moment, especially with the millions of doting Soccer World cup fans in our land.

Here is a short history of the
"MAKARAPA"
The Makarapa as we now know them was originally created by Alfred Baloyi, who, in 1979, attended a Kaizer Chiefs match against Moroka Swallows at Orlando Stadium. As anyone who has attended a football match and has sat in the cheap seats will know, this is no casual business - in fact, it can be downright dangerous, as missiles are hurled from the upper seats. Baloyi's friend Hendrik Langa worked on a construction site, and supplied him with a hard hat to protect himself during the match. Alfred, an artistic type from childhood, felt his hard hat could do with some colour - once (safely) home, he set about transforming it into a celebration of his team colours and logo. It didn't take very long for Alfred's creations to be noticed: wearing his makarapa to matches, fans would offer to buy the makarapa right off his head. As time passed, Alfred recognised that his artistic inspiration was hot property, and that he could give up his job at that time - washing busses - and make a living from his passion. He established a small workshop in his shack in Germiston, and supplied a steady stream of customers with his unique creations.
The rest is history! You can read his story


One other thing...
Please forgive me if I am not visiting your blogs at the moment. 
Over the next few weeks, I will be concentrating on bringing the news of the festivities in our country (as we see it).  Our goal is to make our blogposts both informative and enjoyable for you, our readers.  So please bare with us during this time...

Here are a few pictures to show you that despite all the celebrations in our country, we still focus on our beloved canine companions...




So....are you excited?
Are you ready?
Are you participating?
Either way, we are sending lots of love to you all at this jubilant time...

 

26 comments:

Doris Sturm said...

WEll, I wasn't excited until I got into reading your blog and the excitement is catchy all the way over here in my remote, sleepy nook of the world ;-)

I put up your button and will work on my article for my discussion about USA and Germany and then e-mail you when it's done.

Be safe and try to stay home -

Angus said...

We have a Wold Cup Festival here on Saturday. Photos will follow soon after.The mongeese have made it to Camps Bay - little sign of progress from there.

MySpecialDoggies said...

Hi Tammy & Gang
Neeli thinks that soccer balls should be for doggies - not for humans to kick around!
Enjoy the games,
Wags & licks,
Nadine, Apples & Neeli

Jacqueline said...

It's almost here and I can feel the excitement when I start reading your blog post!...I hope you and your famlly have a wonderful time watching the games and enjoying the festivities...Stay safe, Caryl and kiss your beautiful babies for me!

Scout and Freyja said...

Great post - makes me wish I was there with you. One thing you can say about South Africans - they certainly have great creativity and imagination! WOWZA! Those hats are really something! I think I need one - to wear to church!☺

Heather and Kelly said...

It's getting exciting!!! GO SA!!

Looks like Tammy and Toffee are getting into the spirit too :)

mayziegal said...

Wowza! Now I'm all excited! And those hats are KERAZY!

Guess what? There was an article in that NY Times newspaper about the vuvuzela and we thoughts of you immediately! Did you see it maybe? http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/09/sports/soccer/09horn.html?ref=sports

Wiggles & Wags,
Mayzie (and Mom)
mayzie

Mrs. JP said...

Wow, just looking at those crowds gives me the willies. I'll be watching on TV here in the holler and being so happy that I'm not in the crowd. But now I know what to say BAFANA BAFANA!!!
Tammy and Toffee are being patient while they are adorned for their picture. So cute.

WFT Nobby said...

You are right about the mixed reaction to the vuvuzela. I heard a discussion on the radio this morning in which the decibel levels generated by a 'chorus' of these trumpets was compared to the noise from a pneumatic drill etc. etc. In England, football fans tend to sing, and I am planning, amongst other things, to incorporate a video clip of this tradition on the post for Saturday's England v. USA game.
Cheers,
Gail.

Golden Samantha said...

The atmosphere there sounds pawsitively electric! LOVE the hats, but haven't heard the "trumpet" yet - will have to tune into the TV news tonight! Maybe we'll hear one! We haven't been very good at visiting lately at all - the "new" one here has taken vast amounts of MY blogging time heheh! Thanks for the always-interesting news and facts about what is happening there!
Big, big Hugs xoxoxoxo

Sammie and Mom

♥I am Holly♥ said...

What a wonderful post! It looks so very exciting!! Have lots of fun and stay safe!! Lots of love, Debbie and Holly

Tama-Chan, Benny, Vidock, Violette, Ollie, Heloise, Momo, Ryu said...

WOO HOOOOOO! You are certainly doing a great job getting us all excited about the start of the competition!

Two French Bulldogs said...

Wow..so exciting. Tonight we will post the badge. You guys have so much going on over there. We love the updates and info. Mom said it is very good to learn about the World Cup and different cultures and traditions.
Benny & Lily

Maggie Mae and Max said...

Hi there!

Nice to meet you. I am fairly new to the bloggie world so I never gots the chance to get to know Max but hopefully I will get the chance to know all of you. Please stop by and visit me!

Woofs and Licks,
Maggie Mae

Amy & the house of cats said...

Ok it is honestly time - I am not excited about the World Cup BUT that is because right now it is the Stanley Cup (hockey) finals here and my beloved Blackhawks are in the finals. I am not jinxing it by saying anything about winning or loosing - lets just say when the series is done it will easier to focus on other sports.

It is funny because my boyfriend is much more interested in soccer than the typical sports that are popular here - he actually used to do security work at the local teams games, and he even played in a league when we first met. But I got him into the hockey (which is kind of soccerlike if you think about it - more so then any of the other sports at least) so he is not thinking about it too much now either!

All the pictures show much excitement there is there now - we hope that all goes smoothly and that everyone just has a good time!

And of course the dogs are all gorgeous as always!

Asta said...

King Toffee, and Tammy
We awe excitewed!
We will be wathching and cheewing as a family..Those Makawapas awe way cool! I don't hink my head is big enuff fow one, but I suwe wouldn't mind wapping up in youw bootiful sczwf wif you ow get one of those soccew balls that King toffee has.
I'm suwe that angel Max is pwacticing his goals wif all ouw angels in heaven
smoochie kisses
ASTA

The Life of Riley said...

I've added your button to Riley's blog. Thanks for the history of the hats - now I'll know what I'm looking at when I see them on TV! I'm enjoying seeing your photos and reading your views along with what is on our TV news coverage about the cup. It sounds so exciting for you all over there!

sprinkles said...

I can feel your excitement come right through the screen!

I had a dream about you last night. I dreamed that you decided you were no longer going to blog and I was so sad!

houndstooth said...

One of the boys in Mom's class today had on his jersie from Mexico! I had to wag my tail about that. We love those hats! I wonder if the people at the nursing home would be impressed if I wore one to visit them.

Bunny

~Kim at Golden Pines~ said...

I have to admit that I have not been much of a soccer fan, but Caryl, you are making it really hard to not be one! Your enthusiasm and excitement is really contagious--I'm hearing it on the news and am now starting to pay attention! :-)))

Lorenza said...

We are sooooo ready!... and nervous!
Friday at 9am here in Mexico, 99.9% of people will be in front of tv's!
Good luck to everyone!
Kisses and hugs
Lorenza

the booker man said...

yes, my husband and i are quite excited. we can't wait; it's almost time!!

the booker man and asa's mama

Deborah said...

Just reading your post makes me more excited for the games but I have been following it because my favorite newscaster flew to the games and she is broadcasting from the games! I love your photo's. They are awesome.
I'll grab your button! Thank you!
xxoo
Deborah

Tweedles -- that's me said...

I cannot believe this big festivity is going on.
Every time we visit- it seems to get bigger and bigger - what a celebration of all good things
love
tweedles

Clive said...

There were great reports on our television news last night from SA - the excitment is infectious!

We are really looking forward to opening ceremony and concert on Friday - Sorcha has been telling Mom here about all the music acts - she knows a lot more about music than her Mom who made very silly comments about the 'black eyed peas' - she is very embarrassing!

Up Cameroon!

take care
Clive and Murray

ps-Colm is supporting the Ivory Coast but that is just because he always like an outside bet and he got them at great odds! If they win we will certainly be celebrating!

KB said...

I love the whole story, all the little details included. I especially enjoyed seeing the decorative hard hats for wearing to games. I chuckled!

And, of course, thank you for the wild life photo. I think that was a lion in the photo - and its body shape is so similar to our mountain lion shape. Wow.

Every time I see a photo, I am struck by Tammy's beauty and air of gentleness.