By Akhona Ngxikwe
The rise of cultural societies at Stellenbosch University (SU) tells a story of a changing campus, providing students with vital spaces to embrace their heritage and culture. What was once a landscape largely comprising of international student communities has expanded to include South African cultural societies registered at SU, creating new opportunities for students to find belonging through culture.
Today, that landscape has expanded to include South African cultural societies such as the SU Zulu Society, Vendas in Stellies, the SU Xhosa Society, the Bapedi.Batswana.Basotho Society, and Khomanani Matsonga, which are registered SU societies.
Through weekly Ingoma gatherings, Zwibodo storytelling circles, and festive celebrations of language and dance, these communities allow students to remain rooted in their cultural identities while navigating life far from home.
Former SU Societies Council Chairperson, Thandile Ngxikwe, recalls that when she served in 2023 to 2024, cultural societies were largely made up of inter-national communities such as the Zimbabwean, Namibian and Nigerian Societies.
“I think what stands out is that there’s more dynamics of identity,” said Ngxikwe. “There’s more students who seek a feeling of belonging and a feeling of cultural identity than there was of wanting to adapt and assimilate into the established Stellenbosch culture,” she said.
That desire for belonging in-spired students to create spaces they felt were missing. Founded in 2023, the SU Zulu Society was born from a simple idea. After regularly travelling to other universities for Zulu cultural events, founder Sinethemba Ngcongo and his co-founder Senzakahle Mazibuko, who are both completing a postgraduate diploma in Transport and Logistics, decided it was time to create a similar sense of community at Stellenbosch.
‘‘We thought, let’s just bring it home and create the same environment that we were longing for,” Ngcongo said.
Today, the society hosts Ingoma every Friday, where members gather to sing, dance and embrace Zulu traditions. Ngcongo said that the society helps students adjust to university life while reminding them of where they come from. “When you miss home, there are people you can speak to and cultural activities that make you miss home a little less.”
Vendas in Stellies, formally established in 2024, shares a similar mission. Treasurer and third-year LLB student, Tshianeo Mudau, said the society was created to ensure Venda students did not lose touch with the traditions they had grown up with. “We don’t want you to just deviate from everything that you’ve been doing for the past 17 or 18 years,” he said.
One of those traditions is Zwiibodo, a gathering where Venda men share stories, discuss life and pass cultural knowledge to one another. Women also meet for traditional singing and dance, creating opportunities for members to celebrate their heritage while studying far from home.
For Ivanna Manale, a third-year BA (Humanities) student and Chairperson of the Namibian Society of Stellenbosch University (NAMSSU), formally reestablished in 2023, belonging is often found in the smallest moments.
“It’s nice to have that space where you can say a certain word and not have to explain what it means. It’s about sharing slang and feeling a sense of familiarity,” said Manale.
She believes cultural societies become more than places to socialise, offering students opportunities for leadership, re-presentation and meaningful conversations, while celebrations such as Namibian Independence Day help students remain connected to home.
While each society celebrates its culture differently, they share a common purpose: helping students stay connected to their roots. The SU Xhosa Society, for example, advertises regular Intlanganiso gatherings centred around cele-brating Xhosa language and culture. Across campus, cultural societies are continuing to create spaces where students can embrace their heritage while building lasting friendships.
Beyond student initiative, society leaders said the university has played a supportive role in helping these communities grow. Both Ngcongo and Mudau described the registration process as welcoming, while venue bookings for cultural events have generally been accessible, allowing societies to host gatherings that celebrate language, culture and tradition.
Ngxikwe believes these societies’ growth represents more than an increase in student organisations. It reflects a campus where more students are choosing to celebrate who they are.
“Cultural co-existence takes time,” she said. “I wanted, in the next five years, for Zulu students to be able to have a sense of home.” A few years later, this vision is no longer limited to one society. It is reflected across a growing network of cultural communities that many students now call home.
