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On 26 September 2025, Nelson Mandela University hosted a Heritage Month workshop on its South Campus where staff, students, First Nation leaders, and community youth built a traditional Matjieshut. The event, aimed at honouring the traditions of the San and Khoikhoi people, showed why preserving Indigenous knowledge matters and how hands-on participation can bring history to life.
Their Story
The Matjieshut is a structure that once provided shelter for First Peoples, built with reeds and mats, lightweight yet strong enough to withstand tough landscapes. By reconstructing it, participants reconnected with knowledge that predates textbooks, preserving practices that risk being lost to time.
Associate Professor Magda Minguzzi, who led the initiative through the Indigenous Knowledge Systems of the Built Environment UNIT, explained the deeper aim: “The goal was to reawaken and share Indigenous knowledge that is rapidly fading in many parts of South Africa. Students and community members gained first-hand experience of heritage that cannot be found in books.”
The Event/Occasion
The three-day workshop took place adjacent to the School of Architecture and brought together diverse voices: Mandela University staff and students, leaders of First Nations communities, young people from surrounding areas, and knowledge holders from Namaqualand in the Northern Cape.
Guided by Chief Jean Burgess of the Ghonaqua Peoples and cultural storyteller Jason Jacobs, participants worked side by side, weaving mats, binding reeds, and shaping the hut. Each step was an act of remembrance and continuity, blending learning with lived experience.
Community Reactions
For the students, the event was eye-opening. Many described it as their first encounter with First Nations traditions in a tangible way. Youth participants said the process deepened their understanding of South Africa’s layered heritage, while community elders welcomed the chance to see young people engaging with traditions long overlooked.
By the time the Matjieshut stood complete, it was more than a shelter, it was a symbol of cultural survival, pride, and shared history.
