South Africa culture

We think of South Africa as a country of diverse cultures because we automatically define culture in terms of its external, most obvious manifestations: food, dress, rituals, song, dance, games, etc.  But culture is a way of life and external manifestations are merely signposts to an infrastructure of beliefs that determine the manner and style of our existence.  And the old signposts no longer point to our actual culture; they are really the remains of eviscerated cultures no longer supported by the beliefs that gave rise to them.  What they really provide is variety. 

Variety and diversity may seem the same but variety is variation on a theme while diversity indicates difference, separateness, and it derives from our real culture, our common culture. We don't realise it but we do have a common culture, a culture of race and colour consciousness based on the hierarchical ordering of races and the need for separation.  It is a culture that evolved, was instilled and nurtured through colonial and apartheid separate development.