Not all hope is lost: Castle Milk Stout reignites efforts to save endangered Nluu language

Castle Milk Stout has collaborated with award-winning film director, Lebogang Rasethaba, on a short film, ‘Last Stories of Culture‘, to help save South Africa’s native Nluu, recognised by the UN as among 30 of the world’s most “critically endangered languages“.

The short film follows the stories of award-winning music legend, Latozi “Madosini” Mpahleni, and ouma Katrina Esau (pictured above), who at 84, is reportedly one of the last three fluent speakers of N|uu, one of the languages spoken by South Africa’s San community, also known as Bushmen.

With several African practices and traditions slowly facing extinction due to the lack of preservation, Castle Milk Stout through its Heritage Month campaign, tipped the highly sought-after director to document the journeys and rich heritages of two of South Africa’s last cultural doyens of Koi-San and amaXhosa linguistic and musical institutions.

Available to the public on various Facebook pages, Instagram, YouTube and on Castle Milk Stout website, the film shows the role South African creatives play at an indigenous level to help safeguard our endangered customs and traditions.

The initiative formed part of Castle Milk Stout’s two-week long campaign aimed at commemorating Heritage Day, which included a collaboration with Tshepo Jeans, whose mission has been clear since the very start of his journey in 2015; to connect with people through the stories that his captivating denim designs tell.

“As a custodian of African heritage, we were inspired by our consumers’ efforts to constantly bring to the table conversations about heritage that need to take place in mainstream South Africa,” Castle Milk Sout brand manager Khensani Mkhombo said.

She added: “The issue of endangered cultural practices was high on the agenda of our consumers’ concerns, and we responded accordingly by creating a platform to encourage the conservation of our diverse cultures as Africans, through telling the stories of these two powerhouse matriarch.”

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