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The colour code of Bo-Kaap

By Zainab AdamsJune 9, 2026 5 min read

How Cape Malay families turned a hillside of rental houses into an identity.

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When residents of Bo-Kaap were finally allowed to buy their homes after apartheid, many painted them in defiant, joyful colours.

The palette — mint, rose, lemon, cobalt — is now inseparable from the neighbourhood's identity and its Cape Malay heritage.

Beyond the paint lies a cuisine of bobotie, koesisters, and Sunday afternoon call-to-prayer that has shaped South African food for three centuries.

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Cape Coloured & Coloured Communities

Cape Coloured & Coloured Communities

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