The Festival of the Soil

The Festival of the Soil was a country-wide festival seeking to address the problem of soil erosion in South Africa.

The Festival

Itformed part of the South African Government's response to the worsening problem of soil degradation and erosion, was a country-wide programme of open-air events, pageants, floats, and festivals held by cities and rural towns in late March and early April in 1968. These events culminated in a ceremony held at the foot of Jan van Riebeeck’s statue in Cape Town on 6 April 1968. The Festival followed the pattern of nationalistic pageants held in the past (such as the 1952 Jan van Riebeeck Tercentenary Festival), and was reflected by the political and cultural authorities of the day in their use of patriotic ritual, spectacle and symbolism. Given the extent and urgency of the problem of soil erosion, the Government had stated that the Festival would be an inclusive event aimed at involving all South Africans – however, this was not the case, as it was held within the rigid confines of apartheid, with its main focus and resources aimed at whites, which completely sidelined African, Coloured and Indian communities. This meant that the soil conservation message of the Festival was subsumed and was subordinate to, the political priorities and ultimate ideological aims (i.e. nationalistic and political), which drove the National Party Government at that time.

Sources

Festival of the Soil, Nigel, Programme for 27 March 1968

Festival of the Soil, Vredenburg, Programme for 3 April 1968

Festival of the Soil, Cape Town, Programme for 6 April 1968

Farieda Khan. 2023. "Festival of the Soil, 1968: Pageantry, Patriotism and Politics in the Soil Conservation Sector in late 1960s South Africa". Paper for the Assessing Colonial Soil Science in Africa and its Legacy. An Informal Workshop held by the University of Nottingham, England, 8 September 2023[1]

Veld Trust, Special Edition on the Festival of the Soil, July 1968.