Braai
The word braai (pronounced "bry", rhyming with the word "dry") is an Afrikaans word, which may be used as either a noun or a verb, meaning "roast", "grill" or "barbecue". The Afrikaans word Braaivleis (as a form of food or a social event) is related to this.
In ESAT both words can refer to the food, the process and the cultural practice - as well as the subject of and/or names for at least the following two stage plays
Contents
Braai as food, cultural practice and/or event
Verb
To braai (or "braaing") means to burn or to roast in a general sense.
Most often used to refer to the popular process of grilling, roasting or barbecuing meat, sausage, "sosaties" (kebabs) or fish (sometimes other foods, corn on the cob, mushrooms, vegetables, bread, etc.) on the coals. The meat done in this fashion is specifically referred to as braaivleis (i.e. "grilled meat").
The practice of grilling or barbecuing meat is of course widespread international practice and has been so since the discovery of fire itself, so it is by no means limited to Southern Africa. However, to "have a braai" is nonetheless an enormously popular - and in some ways significant, and even culturally defining, social custom in South Africa, Namibia, Zimbabwe and Zambia. It is often found as a nostalgically retained practice among South African expatriates living across the globe.
The practice itself though is derived from the pragmatic custom of most travelers, explorers, and hunters to roast meat on a fire and coals on hunting and other trips. The particular name for the practice and the prominent social role it has played in the evolution of South African society in the 20th century, largely originated with the Afrikaans-speaking segment of the population however. Interestingly enough, it has since been adopted as a distinctive local practice - especially on festive occasions - by almost all South Africans, rural and urban, from many ethnic backgrounds, over the past 50 years or so. There is now even a national "Braai day" in the country.
In this sense "having a braai" is thus a particular kind of social performance and many arcane rituals and conventions have arisen around the process - as well as an enormous range of commercial activity from numerous recipe books, courses, braai competitions and so on to the sale of all kinds of ingenious equipment for "braaing" have been developed or imported from other countries.
Noun and adjective
"A braai" or "the braai" can either be a reference to the physical construction, or the portable implement, on which you braai the meat ( "he built a braai in the backyard", I bought a new "braai") or the whole event - inclusive of the apparatus and the processes involved in barbecuing meat (and other foods) over coals and consuming it with family, friends and/or colleagues ("I was invited to a braai", "they had a huge braai"). Adjectivally you would speak of things like braai tongs, braai wood, and so on.
Braaivleis, a stage play by Charles J. Fourie (1965- )
The original text
A play in three parts about a family murder in an Afrikaner context. .
Translations and adaptations
Performance history in South Africa
1995: First performed at the KKNK in 1995, directed by Charles J. Fourie, with Lida Botha, Morné Visser, Johann Myburgh, Jana van Niekerk and Abey Xakwé.
1995: Performed (with the same cast) in the Dock Road Theatre, Cape Town.
Sources
Braai, a stage play by Willemien Brümmer (1974-)
The original text
The play was originally conceived as a text called Aandlied ("Evening song"), and submitted for the the Klein Karoo Nasionale Kunstefees and the Dagbreek-trust's text development project. The concept won the award and was then developed, with the help of Schalk Schoombie and Marthinus Basson to become a fully developed play called Braai ("Barbecue"), which was first performed at the KKNK in 2014.
The play looks at the cycle of violence that seems to characterize life on South African farms and in South African families.
Performances
2014: Premiére at the Absa KKNK in Oudtshoorn, produced by TEATERteater and directed by Lara Bye, with Charles-Edwin van der Walt, Dean Smith, Esther von Waltsleben, Fiona du Plooy, Gys de Villiers, Leon Kruger, and stage managed by Wilhelm Conradie.
Sources
https://af.wikipedia.org/wiki/Willemien_Br%C3%BCmmer
http://www.braai.co.za/blog/generalbraai/what-is-a-braai/#.U4nl6cUaLhk
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Braaivleis as a popular South African form of cuisine
The Afrikaans word Braaivleis (also used in English and often other local languages), the word refers to the popular South African culinary custom of roasting meat outdoors on hot coals, what is (and usually referred to as a "barbecue" in other parts of the world, and a "barbie" in Australia.). It is often simply referred to a "braai".
Braaivleis is also the name of the product of such an event, i.e. the meat that has been roasted. It is usually eaten hot of the coals, with salads, bread or pap (i.e. maize porridge). The gathering is a familiar trope in South African culture and writing, and the activity itself can constitute a theatrical event or performance in its own right.
SEE FURTHER: Braai
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