“Liturgies in Kaaps” as demotic discourse for generating spiritual capital among youth

Abstract

There is a close relationship between language, especially a first language or mother tongue language, and identity formation. There is furthermore a connection between liturgical celebrations, faith and identity formation. Recent debates about being Khoisan or Coloured reflect contestation to the term “Coloured” as an imposed racial identifier resulting in some living in a continuous state of displacement, migration or liminality. Kaaps is the language of some “Coloured” people in South Africa, especially in the Western Cape, and there is a nascent movement amongst speakers of Kaaps to gain formal recognition for their language. This is reflected through varying literary forms, the use of media and television, clothing brands and even liturgical styles of worship in churches. Included here is an ongoing project to translate the Bible into Kaaps. This chapter explores by means of a literature study the potential of Kaaps to generate spiritual capital amongst “Coloured” youth in South Africa by means of liturgies in Kaaps that, as demotic discourses, can counter the hegemonic discourses of English and Afrikaans liturgies and as such the importance and possibilities of liturgies in Kaaps as relevant to the faith and identity formation of youth.