South Africa:50th Anniversary of "Volkspele" in SA

Commemorating the 50th Anniversary of South African Folk Dancers (Volkspele) with a couple in Traditional costume. A special Commemorative Datestamp was used at Bloemfontein.

VOLKSPELE - FOLKDANCES 1912 - 1962 By Sylvester L. Crozet Published in The South African Philatelist March 1962

Folk dancing had its origin in 1912 when Dr S. Henri Pellissier, a young South African who held a teaching post at Naas, in Sweden, undertook a study of Swedish national costume, folksongs and folkdances.

He became so enthralled with this facet of Swedish culture, that one day he confided to a companion his innermost thoughts...I could creep into my shell with shame, ‘he said’, on account of the apathy of my own nation towards a culture; a culture which in a country as Sweden, is the pride of the folk life; while we live in a distant background and only gather together at occasional farmers’ meetings in the country districts...I will take it upon myself, when I return home, to elevate to a place of honour our own national dress, our own songs and our own folkdances.

In these few words lies the birth of the graceful folkdances as they are performed by South African men and women today.

Early in 1914, on his return to this country, Dr Pellissier inaugurated folk dancing in the village of Boshoff in the Orange Free State and, for the purpose of the inception, translated a number of Swedish folk games into Afrikaans and presented these to the young people who were interested in the innovation.

The introduction of these movements, which were gracefully executed with the utmost dignity, found great approval and contributed considerably to the already known, so called, Afrikaans dances, which were then little more than games played at picnics.

It is of significance to note that Dr Pellissier felt that folkdances and folksongs could not progress without the careful study and making and wearing of folk dress by the participants. Therefore on December 16, 1915 - the Day of the Covenant - he persuaded twenty-five men and some fifty women to attend the celebrations in Voortrekker dress. This in all probability was the first occasion on which celebrants attended such a festival in national costume.

From this time onwards, folkdances were regularly practised by the scholars of the school at Boshoff and later at Ficksburg, also in the Orange Free State. It was not long before the innovation spread far and wide, and in a short while the nation became interested in the advancement of the art.

As time passed folk dancing gathered momentum and, with the advent of the centenary of the Great Trek in 1938, this form of entertainment in South Africa became firmly established. Throughout the country classes in folk dancing were held and every possible precaution was taken to ensure that this, the youngest branch of our culture, would be established on a sound and methodical footing.

Exhaustive research was undertaken in regard to the attire of the Voortrekkers and the costumes of folk dancers were modelled on the early festive raiment of these pioneers.

Time, as always, has brought with it variations in the dress which was the vogue nearly a century and a-quarter ago. Hence, so as to assist both men and women to garb themselves properly for folk dancing; which now-a-days takes place at cultural gatherings on public holidays; the Uniale Raad vir Volksang en Volkspele has established a code of correct dress for both sexes of performers.