SPU and DINK close Heritage Month with Nama Hut Exhibition and Colloquium

Sol Plaatje University (SPU), in partnership with Dit is ’n Noord-Kaap Ding (DINK), brought Heritage Month to a close with a celebration that highlighted the depth and resilience of Northern Cape traditions. For four days, from 29 September to 2 October, the University’s Central Campus was alive with discussion, reflection and cultural exchange during a colloquium that centred around the exhibition of the |haru oms, the traditional Nama hut.

Set against the backdrop of the Library and Resource Centre, the gathering carried the theme “Celebrating a Shared Heritage.” It drew cultural practitioners, academics, students and members of the wider community together in conversation about the living threads of language, culture, customs and traditions in South Africa.

At the heart of the programme stood the |haru oms. More than just a mobile home, the hut is a powerful symbol of the Nama people’s resilience and cultural continuity. Its presence told a story that stretched across centuries, connecting the Nama to other indigenous nations such as the San, Tswana, Sotho, Zulu and Xhosa. Its placement on SPU’s campus was more than symbolic; it represented the University’s ongoing commitment to honouring traditions and knowledge systems rooted in the Northern Cape.

Heritage is woven deeply into the fabric of SPU’s academic identity. It forms one of the institution’s niche areas of teaching and research, brought to life through Heritage Studies, which combines education with community engagement. The University’s focus on heritage is not incidental but is part of its 2025 to 2029 Strategic Plan, which highlights academic visibility, enriching the student experience, building community ties, and shaping institutional culture. By hosting the DINK colloquium and exhibiting the |haru oms, SPU demonstrated how these priorities are made tangible through programmes that bring scholarship and tradition together.

The colloquium also became a platform for voices passionate about preserving endangered languages and traditions. Speaking at the event, Ms Mmatlou Jerida Malatji, Lecturer: Court Interpreting and local organiser of the colloquium, described the exhibition as a living expression of collective heritage.

“This exhibition is an expression of a shared heritage that the Centre for Creative Writing and African Languages is working towards preserving. It is a demonstration of some of the collaboration that the Faculty of Humanities is engaging in to preserve the Nama languages. Sol Plaatje University is privileged to be located in a province that is home to endangered languages, and through this work, we are committed to amplifying and preserving them for future generations,” she said.

As the final day of the colloquium drew to a close, the |haru oms stood as a reminder of the resilience of the Nama people and as a symbol of what shared heritage can mean in modern South Africa.

More than a commemoration, the event at SPU was a bridge between past and future, between culture and scholarship, and between the university and the community it serves.