By John Edwin Mason

Have you had the luck and been in central Cape Town on January 2nd - any year? It’s madness.

Roads throughout the city are closed, the pavement’s packed excited crowds, their blankets, camping chairs and cooling boxes surround them. Getting anywhere fast is a schlep - but no one seems to care. Because this is the most significant day in the calendar of the Kaapse Klopse (the Cape’s unique marching minstrels).

It’s ‘Tweede Nuwe Jaar’.

Once the ‘Ghoemas’ - traditional drums made from modified wooden barrels - begin, all worries disappear and there’s only one objective: have a jol!

The messages John Edwin Mason conveys through his photographs are quite precise: celebration, togetherness and exuberant movement. The beaming smiles of the minstrels as they march through a lively Bo Kaap, the rich and glittering colours of the troupes’ uniforms against the bright blue African sky, or the Malay choir practicing by candlelight on a cold winters night; ‘One Love – Ghoema Beat’ delivers rare and heart-warming images like these.

Dr Mason - who teaches African History in Virginia and has a long-standing relationship with South Africa - realised he’d never actually witnessed the carnival before, even though he calls Cape Town his second home. A friend heard he wanted learn more about the tradition and introduced him to the head of Cape Town’s leading troupe. The Pennsylvanians instantly welcomed him as a member. Of course, we can’t all be so lucky. You see, to become one of them takes absolute dedication from an early age. It’s no walk in the park.

Over the next three carnival seasons he partook in public parades and spent time with the members in their homes and hangouts. From this unique viewpoint he was able to capture the most intimate moments of the carnival – and this is exactly why I find this book so touching.

Achieving an incredible feat with his latest work, he explores the origin and evolution of the carnival tradition in depth and, importantly, also demonstrates the joy that it has brought to countless generations. The book has an interesting and personal storyline with an extra close-up view of the Klopse; of the kind I have never seen before.

Just don’t expect deep literature. It’s about the visuals.

‘One Love, Ghoema Beat’ is an outstanding tribute to the history of the Cape Malays.
It’s great buy if you’ve been to the carnival and want something to remember it by - and an even better one if you haven’t. Because it’s sure to make you want to see it for yourself.

Buy it here

Liesa Belling