When a Menu Makes Apartheid a Joke
Earlier this month, I took my son and nephews to a restaurant at Gobabis to celebrate one of them’s 17th birthday. The establishment has an undeniably warm and inviting farm-style atmosphere. Its decor is carefully curated. Its ambience is pleasant. But the warmth of the setting was overshadowed by what I found on the menu. […] The post When a Menu Makes Apartheid a Joke appeared first on The Namibian .
Earlier this month, I took my son and nephews to a restaurant at Gobabis to celebrate one of them’s 17th birthday.
The establishment has an undeniably warm and inviting farm-style atmosphere. Its decor is carefully curated. Its ambience is pleasant. But the warmth of the setting was overshadowed by what I found on the menu.
Some of the burgers are named Groot Baas, Ou Nooi (albeit Noi), Klein Baas, and Klein Nooi (Noi).
Some may dismiss these names as harmless farm humour, nostalgic Afrikaans expressions, or playful references to rural life. That is the problem!
They are not innocent words. They are part of a vocabulary of racial domination, forced deference and humiliation.
They come from a world in which white authority was normalised and black subordination expected.
Groot Baas referred to senior white male authority figures, and Ou Nooi to the senior white woman in the household or farm hierarchy.
