The Cape Malay Trail

Paul Murray

Edna and Frank Barlow, authors of Here Comes the Alabama, a well researched history of the CSS Alabama, have provided a translation of the old song of the Malays at the Cape:

Here comes the Alabama, the Alabama comes o’er the sea
Here comes the Alabama, the Alabama comes o’er the sea
Girl, girl the reed-bed girl, the reed-bed is made-up for me
On which I can sleep
Girl, girl, the reed-bed girl, the reed-bed is made-up for me
On which I can sleep.

The origin of the song is obscure. According to the Barlows, the words appear to indicate that the song was composed when the Alabama returned from the East, that she was certainly recognised from her previous much publicised visit, and that the words were spontaneously uttered by someone who saw the ship arriving, and that that person was from one of the whitewashed houses on Signal Hill, with a sweeping view of the bay.

To this day the song remains one of the most famous of the Malay “ghommaliedjies” — songs which were sung to the rhythmical beat of a ghomma, a small drum. Traditionally, the Cape Malay choirs sing the song at New Year. Whatever the origin — some even suggest the ship was coming to liberate slaves, which is unlikely, because slavery had been abolished by then, and furthermore, the ship belonged to a nation trying to maintain the institution of slavery — the advent of the Alabama left a suitable impression on someone or some people, to the extent that they would write a song about it.

The sight on the day, of the ship entering Table Bay, must have been stupendous for those who sighted her arrival, from their homes high on the slopes of Signal Hill. With New Year just around the corner, the pulse of Cape Town will be throbbing as one hears the calypso like song sung by the traditional Malay Choirs on New Year’s Day, as well as a number of days thereafter.

Recently, I myself had reason to be looking onto Table Bay from Signal Hill. Engaged in research for a forthcoming publication on Food and History in Cape Town and surrounds, I was following a lead given me by a colleague, which took me to Signal Hill, where, it is alleged, a hostess serves Cape Malay dishes from her private home. Unable to locate the place I had set out to look for, I ended up marvelling at the breathtaking view of Table Bay.

Needless to say, there were no commercial raiders such as the Alabama, just commercial tankers, anchored, waiting to enter the harbour. It quickly became apparent to me how the setting of the mountain as backdrop, and the bay in front, with a ship coming in from afar, could lend itself to a ditty such as the song, Daar Kom die Alabama.

Mission unaccomplished, I proceeded to one of my all time favourites, Biesmiellah Restaurant (2 Wale Street, in the Bo-Kaap) where the same Cape Malay recipes are prepared as they were hundreds of years ago. Standard fare for yours truly are two samoosas as an entrée followed by the main course, tomato bredie. All the main traditional Cape Malay dishes are included in the bill of fare, such as curry and bobotie. Biesmiellah is a gem of a place, carefully run by owners Mr and Mrs Osman, always at your service. C Louis Leipoldt, Afrikaans poet, paediatrician, but also gourmet and Cape food historian, describes how to prepare many of these Cape Malay dishes, which one simply cannot prepare without adding spices such as masala, turmeric, fennel, coriander and cinnamon sticks. So, the next day, I found myself in Grassy Park, in Victoria Road, in the vicinity of the Grassy Park Hotel, pursuing a ’Spice Trail’.

On arrival in Victoria Road, Shakes Bakes Makes No Mistakes offered me some nuts and sweets for sale. Then, along came a youngster with Mango Tango, lovely ripe mangoes neatly stored in a box supported by his left shoulder. The Hotspice Factory Shop owned by Mr Kahn, assisted by Felicia, has a wealth of smells that set your olfactory nerves on fire! Mr Chibba’s shop Durban Spices, with similar stock but on a larger scale, is on the opposite side of Victoria Road. A little further down then road, in the direction of Cape Town, there is a food shop selling freshly made samoosas, with a choice of chicken, meat and vegetable fillings. By the way, if you want your fish fresh, there are stands along Victoria and Klip Roads, operating all year round and offering fresh fish for sale on a daily basis. Mr Taliep Ismael, assisted by Mr Charles Cornelius, flay the fish especially for you while you wait. With some of the assortments of fish on offer, you can make a favourite Cape Malay dish, namely pickled fish! It makes my mouth water when I think of the magnificent pickled fish our domestic, Mrs Olga Petersen, used to prepare.

Researching the Cape Malay trail provided so many interesting and varied experiences, taking me from Signal Hill to the Bo Kaap and on to Klip and Victoria Roads in Grassy Park. It goes to show how the concepts of food and history are inextricably intertwined with the rich texture of Cape Town’s culture. Cape Malay is such a pivotal part of that culture, with its origins mainly from the East Indies from where slaves were brought to serve the economy. The economy at the Cape was based on slave labour and the institution of slavery affected every aspect of Cape society. The exhibition currently on display in the Slave Lodge at the upper end of Adderley Street is well worth the visit. Highly professional, the exhibition places in perspective the lifestyle that people, who essentially were commodities, in the form of human flesh, were forced to exist. They formed a part of Cape society then, as their descendents in Bo-Kaap and Grassy Park, do now, except now all are free.

C Louis Leipoldt’s recipe for Pickled Fish

Choose a fairly firm-fleshed fish, such as geelbek or yellowtail; softer kinds, such as stock or kabeljou, will not keep as long. Clean and cut up the fish into equal sized pieces about three inches square; fry them in lard without previously dusting them with flour or covering them with batter; strew some salt on them and let them drain while you are making the pickle.

For this you lightly brown sliced onions and a bruised garlic clove, a couple of crushed chillies, a dozen black peppercorns, a tablespoonful of moist brown sugar, and one or two lemon or bay leaves, stirring them constantly till they are well braised. Then add half a cupful of good curry powder, mixed with two cups of good vinegar, and let it simmer for a quarter of an hour. Now add enough vinegar to make the pickle into a fairly thick liquid. Put some of this at the bottom of the dish in which you intend to keep the fish, and put on it a layer of fried fish; cover with more pickle and proceed in the same way till the dish is full.

Mix what remains of the sauce with more curry powder, boil it up with two cups of vinegar and pour this thin sauce over the fish. Put aside in a cool place for several days and serve when required with thin bread and butter

Next: The Sushi Trail



19/12/2003

boontoe / to the top

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