The importance attributed to the Haj pilgrimage by South African Muslims is reflected in the availability of extensive Haj-related literature in their native language.
Haji Gassonnodein, better known as the “Carel Pilgrim,” was the first Cape Muslim to perform Haj between 1834 and 1837. His pilgrimage came within three years of the abolition of slavery at the Cape, currently the Republic of South Africa.
Mogamat Hoosain Ebrahim wrote a doctoral thesis entitled “The Transformation in the Management and Tradition of Haj at the Cape.”
A record kept by fellow Capetonian Bakkar Manuel entitled “Bakkar Manuel’s 1903 Travel and Diary,” a copy of which is kept in the Tropenmuseum in Amsterdam, gives a detailed account of his travels.
They anchored in Jeddah on Oct. 28, 1903. “Jeddah is a dangerous port,” he wrote. He had witnessed two steamboats wrecked in the harbor “with only their masts sticking out.”
They left Jeddah for Makkah on Nov. 2 shortly after Fajr prayer with 16 camels, but their caravan consisted of thousands of camels. “There are a great many camels as far as the eye can see,” he wrote.
He also wrote that he and his wife, Baheya, did not feel very happy the first few hours, as “the camel jerks very much.”
Many pilgrims used to attend Haj classes before embarking on Haj.
Some read books such as “Die Haj” (The Pilgrimage), written in Afrikaans in the 1930s by Shaykh Achmat Behardien.
In the 1940s, Shaykh Ismail Hanif wrote a book entitled “The Haj and Umrah,” also in Afrikaans, especially for his Haj students.
Imam Ismail Johnstone wrote a two-part book entitled “Die Gajj en die Oemroh” (The Haj and Umrah pilgrimage) in Afrikaans and in Arabic.
The “toering” (a conical straw hat) was the typical headgear of male Muslims in the 19th century. This was replaced with a red or black fez with a tassel it if the wearer had performed Haj. Women wore a gold pattern band under their scarves. Nowadays, white skullcaps have replaced the fezzes.
First of Cape Hajis came 3 years after abolition of slavery
