Is "Coloured" A Race or A Culture In Southern Africa? (YouTube Discussion Thread Comments From A 2025 The Pensuel Show Podcast)

The Penuel Show, November 25, 2026

A follow-up from my initial video on The Coloured community in South Africa. -snip-
Statistics as of March 14, 2026 at 9:10 AM EDT:
Total # of views - 9,124
Total # of comments -348 
-snip-
The host of this podcaster"Penuel Mlotshwa, known as Penuel The Black Pen is of Zulu heritage.

Read more about this podcaster in the first pancocojams of this series whose link is given immediately below.

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Edited by Azizi Powell

This is Part II of a two part pancocojams series on the people who are known as "Coloureds" in the nation of South Africa and in some other southern African nations.

This pancocojams post showcases The Penuel Show's November 25, 2025 podcast entitled "Are Coloureds A Race Or A Culture???". 

This post also presents some discussion thread comments from that South African podcast.

Click https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2026/03/some-discussion-thread-comments-from.html for Part I of this pancocojams series.That post features discussion thread comments from another The Penuel Show podcast. That post is entitled "Some Discussion Thread Comments From The Penuel Show's 2025 YouTube Podcast "The Different Types Of Coloureds In South Africa". .

The content of this post is presented for historical and socio-cultural purposes.

All copyrights remain with their owners.

Thanks to The Penuel Show for his research and production of this podcast. Thanks also to all those who are quoted in this YouTube podcast. 
-snip-
Click https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2026/03/south-african-singer-tylas-july-2024.html for a closely related 2026 pancocojams post entitled "Comments About South African Singer Tyla's July 2024 The Breakfast Club Interview (with a focus on Charlamagne's "Coloured" Question)".

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SELECTED COMMENTS FROM THE DISCUSSION THREAD OF THIS PODCAST.
These comments were selected out of many more examples that could have been included in this compilation. They are presented in relative chronological order with numbers given for referencing purposes only.  

All of these selected comments are from 2026.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xXx9q4i9zSI&t=21s

1.@dustinsharpe8225
"No matter how you look at it , no matter how you identify all of these labels, black white colored, whatever the case these are all labels that were given these were not labels our ancestors gave us"

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2. @Mathilda5xp
"Amen to that"

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3. @maxchristians588
"Im with you on this, most colours dont know that the second generation Dutch called us Afrikaaners. But the following generations as they realise that giving us an identity more close to Africa. So they also took that identity away."

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4. @astronomers
"Coloured people in South Africa are not the same as mixed race. Trevor Noah is mixed race — he’s not Coloured. While we may have mixed ancestry, Coloured identity is a unique culture with deep roots that existed long before apartheid gave it a name.

Calling us mixed race overlooks our shared heritage, language, and identity. In fact, Coloured people reflect what the world could look like beyond racism — we’re diverse in appearance but united in culture.

That’s why I wish Tyler had stood up for that identity, instead of defaulting to an American view that doesn’t apply to us."
-snip-
"Tyler" is a mistaken referent for South African Grammy award winning singer "Tyla".  

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5. @ronaldwiley8357
"Tyla never said she was black , she said that she was Coloured, and that is why  so many Black Americans turned against her,"

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6. @mpilompanza9101
"I hear you but Tyla didn't have much of a choice. She's in somebody else's country so she's forced to play by their rules. As a South African I'm proud of the way she handled that situation"

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7. @vickykgoete3161
"Coloured is both a race and a culture in South Africa. It's 1 word which defines two separate things. Coloured is a race which defines people who are mixed with more than 1 race and yes unfortunately for you, Trevor is a coloured by race. You can't take that away from him or any other biracial people. Them being biracial makes them coloured. Both multiracial and biracial people are classified coloured in South Africa. Then there is coloured the culture which you are referring to. 1 can be Coloured by race and not by culture Trevor. 1 can be Coloured by both race and culture Tyla. I can be Coloured by culture and not by race eg Minister McKenzie and other non mixed looking coloured people.  You guys are like black Americans who identify as a racial category. You can't gatekeep coloured just like they can't gatekeep black because those are racial classification. You need to understand and separate the 2 definitions of coloured. 1 the race and two the culture."

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8.@MAG1323-b1z
"Nice topic to explore Pen. I'm a Durban "colored". A lot of us from Durban get some flack from other "colored" from Gauteng or Western Cape for the fact that most of us here don't speak or understand Afrikaans lol. Most "colored" from KZN speak Zulu or even Xhosa before Afrikaans, or Afrikaans not at all. So yes we are VERY diverse as "colored" people. But I think first and foremost we are SOUTH AFRICAN 🇿🇦"

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9. chris3gf
"Penuel but remember that not all coloureds speak Afrikaans...Coloureds will label them in a term "sturvy" coloureds because they speak the Kings English and don't partake in what many see as coloured culture... not all coloureds speak coloured slang...

Also there are coloureds who look white, like Paris Jackson, but it doesn't make sense for them to say that they are black either...so we can't term all coloureds as black or that all coloureds identify with a certain culture"

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10. @marj0001
"Appreciate your constant learning pieces Pen, really appreciate the time you take to to bring light to the coloured community. Alot of South Africans sadly get triggered/angered when the coloured community attempts to speak out, and you videos really do bring light and insight into a very complex group of people, especially so in a very diverse yet racially ignorant country.  Side Note - please don't do the stereotypical "coloured accent" its very condescending. As is the stereotypical "African accent" . thank you again."

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11. @feliciainglis4461
"Thank you for this pod cast. I am a mixed race person. Mixed with Indonesian/Dutch, British/St Helenian, Dutch/Cape Malay and British/Coloured. My culture is British/Dutch. Home language English. Was classified as Cape Coloured during apartheid. 🤷"

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12. @tylerdurden3722
"Indian and West Coast African is probably in their too.

One of first imported slaves and indentured servants the VOC imported to the Cape Colony (which the VOC created, not the Netherlands), came from their colony in Bengal (North East India).

In fact the first recorded marriage (recorded by Jan Van Riebeeck, a VOC employee, in his journal), was between a woman from Bengal, and a VOC employee (most likely a Dutch guy).

But the VOC didn't just hire Dutch employees. They hired anyone, as long as you could speak Dutch or learned as fast as possible. Even East Africans and Indian and East Asians were hired as Employees (but typically in lesser positions).

It's why the second governor of the Cape Colony was German. He was a VOC employee...nationality didn't matter...what mattered was that they spoke Dutch, so the organization could be a well oiled profit machine to keep shareholders happy.

Batavia was the Capital of the VOC...the headquarters of this terrifyingly powerful shipping company, with it own armies, navies, colonies, etc...whose power spanned accross the globe, being able to easily wage wars against superpowers and win.

In fact, the VOC was the most powerful private corporation to have existed in human history. Terrifyingly powerful.

Today, Batavia is called Jakarta (which is in Indonesia).

Slaves from all over the Indian Ocean coasts were taken to Batavia to be sold on the slave markets there. This is where a big portion of the slaves and indentured servants imported to the Cape Colony, came from.

Madagascar, Bengal and Far South India (called Macassar back then) were sort of regional headquarters for the company. Which is where a lot of the rest came from.

Out of fear for this corporate monster with shareholders and everything, the company was dismantled and their territories confiscated.

Then after Britain freed the Netherlands from Napoleon"s rule, the Dutch gave most of those territories to the British, in eachange for some territories in South Asia (the Dutch kept the South East Asian territories of the dismantled VOC).

This included the Cape Colony being given to Britain.

At this exact time, the British, for some reason decided they're going to erase all slavery from the Earth and declared war against slavery.

So they intercepted large numbers of slave ships, and freed the slaves...mostly in the Atlantic...most heading toward Brazil from Portuguese colonies in Africa.

Some of these freed transatlantic slaves (not a small number), were sent to Cape Town...and melted into the "Coulored identity".

And even before this, since the beginning of the Cape Colony, lots of Portuguese slave ships wrecked off the Cape of Storms over the whole period, and people "rescued".

In fact, the very first slaves were from such a wreck.

The VOC had a policy of not enslaving natives to work in their native lands. It was bad for business and a headache in the long run.

All the VOC cared about was profit.

Hence why Khoi weren't officially enslaved. Also because the VOC had a treaty with the Khoi to not enslave Khoi.

Though it did happen, by replacing deceased slaves with a random Khoi guy and forcing the deceased slave's identity on this poor guy."

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13. @peterprostt1053
"If the term Coloured is suddenly considered offensive, then surely the term Black should be questioned too — because that is also a colonial-era label. The problem isn’t the word Coloured itself; it’s the way some people try to force mixed-heritage individuals into categories that don’t reflect who they are.

You cannot call someone “Black” or “White” when they are of mixed race — that erases the reality of their origins and ignores the heritage of both parents. The term Coloured exists because mixed ancestry produces a wide range of identities, appearances, and backgrounds. It is a practical and accurate description of a community of colour - not a single colour, with its own history and culture.

That’s why it’s frustrating when people try to make “Coloured” an issue. It feels like the same mistake made in places like the U.S., where mixed-heritage people are pushed into the “Black” category whether they identify that way or not. It’s another form of erasure — forcing people into something they are not.

So if Black can be used without question, then Coloured should also be respected for what it truly represents: a distinct identity, not an insult.

You clearly have a problem with colour — not us,South Africans. You’re the one trying to force people into categories that don’t fit them. And by doing that, you’re causing more disruption and shame within the Coloured community, not helping them.

Coloured people know exactly who they are. It’s others who keep trying to shove them into boxes they don’t belong in."
-snip-
This is how this comment was written in that discussion thread.

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14. @Pure_Boxing
"Coloureds have existed before the construct or word coloured. So has the culture, without mixing or with mixing other races independently for long enough to be identified separately.

Being from a black or white or intermixed parents doesnt make you coloured culturally, perhaps you look different but that's as far as it goes.

To be coloured, is a specific form of life and identification, through actions and symbols which differ to other races or cultures. Ie we eat differently, we date differently, we dress differently, we think of things in different ways to other cultures"

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15. @tinyeyekon
"Hello! Thank you so much for this video and the video before, thank you so so much. I'm Zimbabwean by mom (descent) and Swiss through my dad. My dad is northern and southern European and south Indian and black. My mom's black. I've always been told to identify as black in Zim.   Majorly because of my skin, they say I'm not pale and very lightskin so I'm not coloured. I didn't have a problem with it as a toddler because I didn't really know about my heritage and mixture. I've gotten a DNA test and the mix is sooo beautiful. I've got Bantu/Southern African, basically Sub Saharan, Indian, Irish and English, Portuguese and Spanish and German. The Irish and English is seen in my surname and growing up I'd just say my surname is white. My grandmother was physically half Zulu and Indian. So there's alot in there indeed and I'm happy to share the coloured identity with others and to many having identity crises because of skin, hair and eye colour, there's alot within your blood and you should be proud of your DNA🙃❤️"

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16. @Star-hg1kt
"Ethnicity, ethnicities have cultures. Not a race"

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17. @AzaNaphtali
"AFRIKAANS 🇿🇦

Afrikaans is called Afrikaans because it was invented in South Africa when the Dutch came to South Africa with Malaysian and Indonesian men as workers on the ships. These men were great cooks, and skilled builders, and they are also responsible for building beautiful structures in South Africa. Malaysia and Indonesia where Dutch Colonies.

These men didn't have wives, so they got married to the indigenous khoisan women of South Africa. That's how the Coloured race in South Africa and Namibia began. That's why many of us have Surnames like Jattiem, Kamaldiem, Toyer, Noordien, etcetera. These are Malaysian and Indonesian surnames that came from our Malaysian and Indonesian forefathers.

Afrikaans is a mixture of Dutch, Malaysian, Indonesian, and Khoisan words like Gogga. Many khoisan words are actually used in prison language, also known as sabella.

A few words in Afrikaans that came from Malaysia and Indonesia:

Gordyn

Waslap

Kraan

Handdoek

Emmer

Kammer

Kwitansie

Koerant

Tang

Kwas

Piering

Das/dasi

Sertifiekaat

Tas

Kommunikasie

Soen

Apteek

Asbak

Mediekasie

Bioskop

Kool

Wortel

Piesang

Baklei

Baie

Jas

Baadjie

Baar

Bamboes

Tjap

Tramma kassie

Krabbetjie

Rampokker

Sadly many Coloured people don't know their history, because they don't teach these things at school. It's your responsibility to teach your children where they came from.

Don't let the corrupt government give you their version of His-story. They already taught you humans evolved from monkeys, so why would you believe anything they say when history has been rewritten multiple times to benefit those in power?"

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18. @vickykgoete3161
"29:07 Penuel why would biracial people be excluded from being coloured in your view if you accept coloured as a race? Because once you accept coloured as a race in this country (you actually don't need to accept it, its reality) thats how biracials are included as coloureds. Because yes coloured is synonymous with mixed race with biracial and multiracial people All included. In this country we never made the distinction between these two. We called them all coloured. Socially we know the difference, culturally we know and acknowledge the difference  but legally they're all called coloured, people mixed with more than 1 race. If you're saying coloured is a culture only. Which shared culture did Trevor and all those biracials you mentioned experience? But you want to know 1 thing biracials have with multiracials ? Is them being treated better than blacks and worser than whites, that's a phenotype thing, thats a race thing not a cultural thing because these people dont share a culture they share a RACE.

Those PA people are black by race and coloured by culture Penuel. There are also white passing people who identify with the coloured culture but their race is white"

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19.@vickykgoete3161
"26:24 You say black culture and coloured culture. Black is not a culture, its a race Penuel. The Zulu traditional dance is not vlack culture, its Zulu culture. The race unites all black people not a culture. Like we said within that black race we have various cultures. Same with the coloured race of mixed people. They have various coloured culture but the race is uniting all the various mixes and cultural backgrounds. You refusing to acknowledge coloured as a race is confusing you. There is coloured the race referring to a group of people mixed with more than 1 race and then there is coloured the culture which you love and understand so much. The fact that coloured people's culture is named after their race is confusing you. Coloureds have various cultures what unites them is the race Coloured which defines people mixed with more than 1 race."

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20.@Eniola0ne
"The word coloured is European invention of divide and rule. Coloured itself is creation of European. There nothing called Coloured before Colonialism. And Coloured was created to bring crisis of identity."

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21. @eldon.phukuile
"Why is there any pushback? I have no issue with asking curiously. Plus, I learned a hell of a lot!

To me, being PROUDLY coloured is a race, an identity, a culture. I do not identify as black culturally or identity-wise, but I identify as politically black. It’s nuanced, it’s complex.

BRUIN-OUs, ons is die MAIN OUs!"

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22. @aphiwemsomi
"Coloured is not a race it is just blacks who have a lighter complexion. In other countries colured and blacks are grouped as one. Apartheid laws made coloureds see themselves as separate from blacks so that they would not be oppressed as much. In the eyes of the rest of the world both are considered black people.

Tyla is struggling in America right now because she can't seem to grasp that coloured and black are one thing except in South Africa. Once she realises that she will prosper as a global star."

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23. @acidicsoul4978
"Tyla already understands that. What Americans want is "I am not coloured", something she won't say and doesn't have to. Her career is fine 👍"

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24. @Binti-no8hm
"Not we. The colonizers decided to label people according to colour. The one drop rule that some countries use to define whose black is also dehumanizing and supremacist. To accept that definition is a symptom of an ongoing enslaved mindset that sees the unique features of caucasians only while disregarding the rest of the population as off cuts to be lumped under one umbrella in spite of their very obvious differences in appearance"

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25. @vickykgoete3161
"Stop subjecting our country to the laws of other nations. In South Africa  we gave mixed people their own racial category called coloured. So let's stop undermining our laws n history for foreign views. Coloured is race in this country and it still is. A culture formed from this racial classification and so today coloured is both a race and a culture."

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26.@Nocrismisi
"Instead of you speaking on behalf of coloured people, why don’t you invite coloured scholars to your podcast and let them speak from the inside-out as opposed to you speaking from the outside-in. Make sure you invite appropriate guests like Patric Mellet, NOT your friend dj Warras who doesn’t even identify as coloured neither does he know something about anything."

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27.@elroyswarts0044
"Being Coloured is both a culture(ethnicity) and a race. Coloureds are essentially mixed race people. In fact, Coloureds are literally the most mixed group of people on the planet. Insisting that it is only a culture and not also a race takes away from the fact that it is mixed race people and gives the impression that it is possible to be mono racial but still be Coloured, or that it can be evenly split between mono racial and mixed race people, when that isn't the case. So being Coloured is both a culture and it has a racial component to it."

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28.@ziphovichlubi3081
"Based on the definitions and what is morally fair I agree coloured is a culture. It is interesting. A person has to be open minded to grow with this topic because it is vast and deep. So well-done my brother for threading where others choose to overlook or ignore the obvious truth starring them in face...."

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29. @Binti-no8hm
"What also needs to stop is the application of the American one drop rule as the dafault for what constitutes black as it falsely implies that white is pure. Many ethnically african people say colourds don't realize they are black when said colourd may have an equal mix of african, european and/or other ancestry. Imagine being on a clif with your 4 grandparents all hanging on the edge and you can only save one. Asking a coloured to choose one identity is impossible. The sum of all parts makes the whole.

Lets keep it real, nobody is black or white. Lets get away from placing so much stock in melanin levels. Skin/eye colour, hair texture, etc. is not what creates a cohesive society but rather common values and compassion."

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30. @GodfreyFortuin-ib3ml
"Penuel Thankyou for being sensitive to this contentious subject.I am firstly South African the apartheid classified me as coloured.I am of mixed ancestry.I have researched my genealogy through DNA slave , death, marriage records and certificates.I was very Anti white and emphasized my black and slave ancestry, I however discovered that my paternal side was descended from a German free burgher who settled in Stellenbosch and his son married my malay slave grandmother..Let us not perpetuate this matter of race,let us realise our joint humanity and South africaness.On my maternal side I have family in Botswana and they are motswana and Botswana on their passports no reference to their coloured race group"

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31. @manikmoon
"!00%! This 'race' classification has always been a deeply divisive tactic used by many an authoritarian entity. Your breakdown of the South African 'coloured' label is the perfect starting point to dissect this tactic. Culture is a whole other, and more important, subject. I, myself, am 'white' , however, I identify in no way to, say, a Frenchman, a German, an American - I am born English in culture!  - I am also a South African in nationality, that in itself brings a different cultural element to my 'Englishness'. 'Cultures' can either be, in part, celebrated and/or criticised, each is unique and can be incompatible with each other in some way or another, this is an area open to discussion and mediation."

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32. @Binti-no8hm
"Trying to place people in boxes is a fruitless endeavour Pen. You see cats with all kinds of shades, stripes and spots happily living their cat lives. Don't overthink it. If you want to make a productive change in society, focus the dialog on solving the socio economic issues for everyone whose impoverished."

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33. @FounderFreedom
"I believe solving identify in the coloured community will serve this purpose and instill a sense of pride that will have many beneficial knock on effects. It’s this loss of identify and living with such a shameful term that is part of many coloured people’s broken self-image.

The term Coloured was forced upon us. We should redefine ourselves, who we want to be as a people. If Xhosa and other black cultures have so many sub cultures then that should hold true for coloured people too."

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34. @elroyswarts0044
"Thank you for the respectful way you are talking about our people Penuel. That is important especially considering the fact that many South Africans and some non South Africans cannot stand Coloureds and are very dismissive of our existence as if we are not a legitimate and valid ethnic group with our own independent identity, history, and culture. Much love and respect to you bro.🙏"

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35. @chedacheezy8732
"Hi Pen, I like your content as you are educational and comical, chefs kiss👌

I agree with you and I do not think coloured is a race. I am coloured but I would most likely fall under mixed race than coloured because people always mistake me for being Indian, which I dont blame them. When I told my Xhosa friends I see myself as black and do not believe coloured to be a race, they laughed and told me no I am Caucasian Lol.

I am coloured from Gqebera the old PE, born and bred, but my parents are from Cape Town. My dads side is St Helena/Germany mix and my moms side is Irish/St Helena/India mix. So I have no known black gene but I still see myself as black and African because SA is my home, and I dont give a f### who disagrees.

On a side note Pen, if you did not already can you make a video about the true name of South Africa? Or are we just a direction? I always felt a bit disappointed that we have a direction as a name for our Country. Imagine naming your child North-West, who does such things."

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36. @vickykgoete3161
"It's Both."

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37. @Pinkfriday-nx3hv
"Me personally Coloured is both a race and culture, if we are talking about being Coloured in terms of racially it means u have African+ European or Asian or BOTH. meaning if ur Biracial, Multiracial, Multi-generational mixed, 75% African and 25% European, or 75% European 25%, u are coloured by because of ur admixtures with foreign continent(Europe,America and Asian) if ur coloured by in terms ethnicity/heritage/culture we mean Natal Coloured, Bushmen, Cape Malay, Griqua etc. Trevor Noah is Colored in terms of race, in terms of ethnicity he is Swiss and Xhosa, Sho Majozi is Coloured by race and  Sweden and Tsonga by ethnicity. Tyla is Coloured by Race and by ethnicity she is Natal Coloured."

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38. @ruwaynekock4983
"You’re absolutely right that “Coloured” is not a race, and you’re touching on something important about identity. I want to add a bit of clarity, because Social Identity Theory helps here:

 - Race is a broad political category shaped by power and history.

-  Ethnicity is about shared ancestry, lineage, language, and deep historical roots.

-  Culture is the lived expression of any identity — the practices, language, humour, food, values and ways of being.

Sometimes in conversations, race, ethnicity, and culture are used interchangeably, which can unintentionally blur the picture. When Coloured is treated only as culture or lifestyle, we flatten deep historical and genealogical realities into surface performance. When Coloured is treated as race, we fall back into the same logic that created the Population Registration Act. Both positions worry me. That said, I genuinely appreciate the courage it took to open this conversation. Thank you for starting this. Let’s keep building on it, drawing on expert and ordinary people's voices to create greater historical and conceptual clarity."

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39. @hildadavids217
"Hi Penuel, I am just like you very mixed, my mum is actual from the Bakgatla people, and her father was a Mopedi group. My paternal grandfather is Scottish and martenal grandmother is Mopedi. My Mom and Dad were the best parents I could have ever had. My father was not accepted by black people and they used the derogatory word against him, but was the most handsome, beautiful soul, I had ever met. He was so focused on his family, he never drank alcohol or smoked in his life. We once up a time lived in Soweto, but were never accepted. I think that my father endured the worst discrimination from black people. When people say that black people can't be racist, I just laugh. Fortunately my maternal grandmother told my parents to move us to a place where people who look like us lived, became my mother had a very short fuse when it came to her children, being amaboesman. Eventually we moved to Kliptown, we speak all languages, when they try and talk about us, we understand everything, so do both my parents. The coloured people accepted us warm hands, my mother became a prominent figure within this community. They loved her so much, because she loved everyone. I think that her blood pressure came down, became she didn't have to fight anyone calling her children the derogatory names. I am very happy to be called whatever, because coloured people are the most accepting people you can find. I don't care whether someone says we don't have a culture. We have our own way of life, that is our culture. When we have functions at home, that is where you will find represented is the true demographic of South Africa. You will find white people, black people, Indian people, and coloured people. That is what makes me a true South African. We most all African languages even if the others are not perfect, but I will hear what you are saying about me."

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40. @quentinvanrheede6069
"Great topic. Just 1 issue to throw into the pot: as I understand it, the term bi-racial refers to first generation children of a mixed couple. In fact, biracial people I know resent being called coloured but their children typically don’t have a problem with it. Personally, I don’t care. As a student I hated the term coloured; these days I accept it, pretty much as the ANC govt still de facto  maintains that classification."

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41. @siyabongasibanyoni6595
"My personal view this that Coloureds are a nation. Like the Zulu nation, we have a colored nation. They practice their coloured culture. It is not a race. You do not have to be biracial to be a coloured however you have to be from a specify geographic location or speak Afrikaans and practise the coloured culture. These are my personal views and no disrespect."

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42. @mpilompanza9101
"As a person who lives in KZN I understand what you are saying."
-snip-
From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/KwaZulu-Natal
"KwaZulu-Natal (... also referred to as KZN)[6] is a province of South Africa that was created in 1994 when the government merged the Zulu bantustan of KwaZulu ("Place of the Zulu" in Zulu) and Natal Province.

It is located in the southeast of the country, with a long shoreline on the Indian Ocean. It shares borders with three other provinces and the countries of Mozambique, Eswatini and Lesotho. Its capital is Pietermaritzburg, and its largest city is Durban, which is also the city with the largest port in sub-saharan Africa. It is the second-most populous province in South Africa, after Gauteng."...

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43. @9bj2jwh
"So then that should be true for any other culture, yes? If a non Zulu is born and raised in a village in KZN, that person is Zulu? I don't know that the wider population would agree thou, but like you, that makes perfect sense to me."

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44. @mpilompanza9101
"@9bj2jwh You do know that there are tons of non Zulu people in the KZN right? He said nothing about KZN only having Zulus what he's saying is Coloured is a culture in his understanding. Is he wrong?"

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45. @9bj2jwh
"@mpilompanza9101 please read my comment again... slowly and with understanding this time, you are inserting things I never said anything about. That's a you problem. ✌🏿"

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46. @COLOUREDCHILDCONQUERS
"In some communities some "coloured" people who practice Christianity think people who practice Islam are Muslims and not "coloured" which is weird when they are comparing a "social construct" (race) with religious preference when in fact they are just "coloured" people who practice Islam and not Christianity."

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47. @robinfisher2103
"Being a coloured is without a doubt a culture. The label COLOURED is a colonial construct. We are black or mixed race. I am from Zimbabwe my grandparents are from Cape Town, Kimberley and St Helena. Our habits and food and baking methods are  Cape malay/coloured completely. My grandparents and my mother spoke Afrikaans fluently. I feel so at home when I visit Cape Town yet I'm born in Zimbabwe, WHY ??? Cape Town is my ancestral home. Loved your first video on this topic, Gods blessings stay safe my Bru."

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48. @imhated1294
"The label AFRICAN is also a colonial construct."

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49. @SttsSttts
"I think it's both. Mixed people adopted and created their own mix version of a culture. You can't be colored and be white or african or Asian, you must have mixed ancestry. The same way you can't be Zulu or african without full african ancestry or afrikaner without being Dutch ancestry, simple."

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50. @masambeni
"Thanks for discussing these topics.  Just because you're not Coloured doesn't mean you cannot discuss this topic.  I like your insights."

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51. @robinfisher2103
"I am a coloured yes, but I believe we should label ourselves not the oppressive colonialist.  @masambeni"

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52. @robinfisher2103
"Yes I do, freedom of speech is in the constitution ​@masambeni"

**
53. @nostalgiakitty2057
"Coloured when I was growing up meant mixed race, these days it seems to mean people with partially African Ancestry who are Non-Bantu culturally. These days most race people indenifty with the cultures of both their parents, be they white and Indian, Zulu and Indian, Xhosa and Coloured, etc"

**
54. @AnthonyAbrahams-xm5gc
"Question is are all other Races really cultural"

**
55. @RushayBooysen
"Black is also a colonial construct"

**
57. @vanbronwyn
"According to South African government and race classification they are indeed a race.  Race is a social construct though, I do not look at race, it makes no sense to me as the character of a person makes them who they are not their skin colour.   Being coloured is a culture, I love my coloured brothers and sisters, they are such a vibe."

**
58. @justaboredhousewife7804
"Coloured is definitely a culture. Racially, i dont know what my genetic make-up is. Constitutionally,  im black, and i have no problem being black, as long as i can be a black coloured or coloured-black.

For those who want to do away with the term coloured, that's your perogative. You dont have to identify as Coloured.

When the apartheid government decided to take the Afrikaner title away from us and declassify us as coloured, we didn't cry about it. We took that term and made ot our own.Coloured is a culture."

**
59. @quintonkippen1963
"I posted this comment on the previous video. I would like to share the view that Coloured cannot be a culture. Cultures have a few things to destinguish them. Food, clothing/ dress, music and even religions and a mother tongue. So the Coloureds as race created by the apartheid government is just term to distinguish them and for segregational purposes."

**
60. @AzaNaphtali
"COLOURED PEOPLE

People have so much to say about Coloured history when they are not even Coloureds. They wanna tell us who we are and where we came from..well I'm here to right the wrongs!!!

The Coloured history began in the 1600's when the Dutch came to South Africa. These Dutch men brought Malaysian and Indonesian men with them as workers on the ships. Malaysia and Indonesia were Dutch colonies back then.

When these men arrived in South Africa they met the indigenous people of South Africa which is the Khoisan. They then built a relationship with the khoisan, and they began to marry Khoisan women and that's how the Coloured race began.

That was also the beginning of the Afrikaans language. Afrikaans is a mixture of Dutch, Malaysian, Indonesian, and Khoisan words.

Namibia used to be part of South, that's why there are still Coloureds living in Namibia till this day. These Coloureds also speak Afrikaans.

Coloureds didn't come from Bantu people. If Coloureds came from Bantu people we would've spoken the Bantu language of our Bantu mothers.

Bantu people came to South Africa in the 1800's with the British invasion. Zimbabwe and Botswana were British colonies, that's why Bantu people knew how to speak English instead of Afrikaans. The British used these Bantus like the Zulus to make war against the Dutch to take control of South Africa. They took part of South Africa that was later labeled as Kwazulu-natal. The British also brought the Indians to South Africa. And till this day the Indians are still here.

Bantu people aren't indigenous to South Africa.

Our history has been erased and changed to benefit those in power; that's why we as a Coloured race are oppressed and treated like foreigners in our own ancestral land just because we look different than the typical African phenotype.

And just to further elaborate; Trevor Noah is not a coloured!!!! He is biracial. He doesn't come from the Coloured history and ancestral line. Trevor Noah is a Bantu mixed with a white father."
-snip-
Trevor Noah is often mentioned in contemporary discussions about the referent "Coloured" in South Africa. Here's some information about Trevor Noah from his Wikipedia page https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trevor_Noah
"Trevor Noah (born 20 February 1984) is a South African comedian, writer, producer, political commentator, actor, and television host. He was the host of The Daily Show, an American late-night talk show and satirical news program on Comedy Central, from 2015 to 2022. Noah has won various awards, including two Primetime Emmy Awards.[1]

[...]

Early life

Trevor Noah was born on 20 February 1984, in Johannesburg, Transvaal (now Gauteng), South Africa.[18][19] His father, Robert, is Swiss-German, and his mother, Patricia Nombuyiselo Noah, is Xhosa.[20][21]

 Under apartheid legislation, Noah's mother was classified as Black, and his father was classified as White. Noah himself was classified as Coloured. At the time of his birth, his parents' interracial relationship was illegal, which Noah highlights in his autobiography Born a Crime.[22] Interracial sexual relations and marriages were decriminalized a year after his birth, when the Immorality Act was amended in 1985. Patricia and her mother, Nomalizo Frances Noah, raised Trevor in the black township of Soweto.[23]"...

**

61. @michaelvdnest
"My great grandfather is Dutch, my great grandmother is Zulu. My other grandfather is Indian and my other grandmother is Cape Malay.

I was born in Kliptown and grew up in Ennerdale.

By your definition I'm not coloured. Am I biracial?"

**
62. @seans6034
"Is black a race or a culture when the DNA varies considerably?"

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Reply
63. @marvelousnxele3724
"Black is an ethnicity to us, we are ngoni ( abantu) which is our race....I'm also biracial but I identify as umzulu"

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64. @gizahhub8732
"A race is a SOCIALLY CONSTRUCTED category that groups people based on perceived physical traits—mainly things like skin colour, facial features, or hair texture. Scientifically we are 99.9% genetically the same. So my question to you, Pen is; Why is there a need to classify us? Genetically we are either Male(XY) or Female (XX). I'm Female (XX-chromosome) and African (born on the African continent)."

**
Reply
65. @TheUncleRobb
"I agree 💯,, nurture has greater effect than nature. Culture is how you were nurtured."

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66. @kainscion9085
"What an interesting take! At first, I didn't know if I would agree with you, but my experience being Coloured lines up with this.

Both of my parents are Afrikaans, my dad grew up on a farm in Namaqualand and my mom is Cape Coloured, but I didn't grow up in either culture.

All my life, I grew up outside of the Coloured culture, with my one grandmother only introducing me to some of the Cape Malay culture, but nothing that sticks. Because of this, other Colourds have called me "White" since school, and that hurt my understanding of my identity for a long time.

I know for a fact that there are many Coloureds like me, and while I don't have any resentment towards the culture, it honestly is - as you've laid out - a culture."

**
67. @AMF5753
"Namakwalander hier. Both my parents are born and bred from Namaqualand, and so are their parents and the ones before them. People in Cape Town frowned because we did not identify with the Klopse and the culture here. It is important to understand that we also have variations in how we were 'cultured'. Our different 'mixes' infused different culturedness. And that it is ok to not be 'the same', even though we are mixed."

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Reply
68. @forgoogletotrack7181
"Correct. Coloured is a culture, it is the community you are raised in. Coloured culture has similarities nationally, but there are regional differences as well. Cape Coloured culture is different from Durban Coloured culture. Our accents are different regionally yet when one Coloured person from one province sees one from another province, we "see" each other, no matter what we look like."

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69. @kainscion9085
"​@forgoogletotrack7181 100%, that's the one thing I also do, "seeing" another Coloured in public, but yes, I have no tie to Coloured culture, unfortunately. I just check the box when filling in forms 😂"

**
70. @LM-rg9lj
"Im mixed race not coloured...coloured is a  culture..based on socialization"

****
This concludes Part II of this pancocojams eeries.

Thanks for visiting pancocojams.

Visitor comments are welcome.

Some Discussion Thread Comments From The Penuel Show's 2025 YouTube Podcast "The Different Types Of Coloureds In South Africa"

 
The Penuel Show, November 11, 2025
-snip-
Statistics as of March 13, 2026 at 12:07 PM EDT:
Total # of views -79, 618
Total # of comments - 1, 395 

****
Edited by Azizi Powell

This is Part I of a two part pancocojams series on the people who are known as "Coloureds" in the nation of South Africa and in some other southern African nations.

This pancocojams post presents some biographical comments and other comments from the discussion thread for Penuel's  2025 YouTube podcast ""The Different Types Of Coloureds In South Africa".

Click https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2026/03/is-coloured-race-or-culture-in-southern.html  for Part II of this pancocojams series. That post showcases a November 25, 2025 podcast of The Penuel Show that continues this discussion about the "Coloured" referent in South Africa.  Selected comments from the discussion thread of that podcast are also included in that pancocojams post.  

The content of this presented for historical and socio-cultural purposes.

All copyrights remain with their owners.

Thanks to The Penuel Show for his research and production of this podcast. Thanks also to all those who are quoted in this post. 
-snip-
Click https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2026/03/south-african-singer-tylas-july-2024.html for a closely related 2026 pancocojams post entitled "Comments About South African Singer Tyla's July 2024 The Breakfast Club Interview (with a focus on Charlamagne's "Coloured" Question)".

****
WHAT IS THE RACIAL IDENTITY OF PENUEL, THE HOST OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN PODCAST "THE PENUEL SHOW'?
From AI Overview [results from my March 13, 2026 question]
"Penuel Mlotshwa, known as Penuel The Black Pen and host of The Penuel Show podcast, is a South African podcast host, author, and influencer who identifies as Black.

Based on his public content, he is a Pan-Africanist who focuses on black consciousness, politics, and social issues, often discussing race in South Africa.

Background: He is of Zulu heritage, stating he was born into a home in the Madadeni Township in Newcastle, KwaZulu-Natal.

Name Identity: His moniker "The Black Pen" is commonly used to describe him on social media and by guests on his show.

Discussion Topics: He frequently discusses the complex nature of racial identities in South Africa, including the "Coloured" community, sometimes exploring the layered histories and varied origins of this group, while identifying himself as part of the broader black African experience.

Note: In one instance in a 2025 YouTube video, he explicitly mentioned, "hey I identify as colored," followed by a detailed discussion of the varied layers of the "colored community" in South Africa. Given the context of his work in "The Penuel Show" analyzing complex SA identities, he often acts as a commentator on these layered social constructs."
-snip-
Here's a comment from the discussion thread for The Penuel Show that refers to Penuel not being Coloured:

@Nocrismisi, 2026, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xXx9q4i9zSI&t=21s "Are Coloureds a Race or a Culture???"

"Instead of you speaking on behalf of coloured people, why don’t you invite coloured scholars to your podcast and let them speak from the inside-out as opposed to you speaking from the outside-in. Make sure you invite appropriate guests like Patric Mellet, NOT your friend dj Warras who doesn’t even identify as coloured neither does he know something about anything."

****
SELECTED COMMENTS FROM THE DISCUSSION THREAD OF THIS PODCAST.
These comments were selected out of many more examples that could have been included in this compilation. They are presented in relative chronological order with numbers given for referencing purposes only.  

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VszDW8DiXjI

2025

1. @elroyswarts0044
"To be Coloured is a culture, or ethnicity, but it does definitely have a racial component to it as well. That's not to say that Coloureds are mono racial because Coloureds are essentially mixed race people. Reducing it to just a culture takes away the fact that it is actually mixed race people. The average Coloured person is mixed with up to 6 different ethnicities and in some cases the mixing can go up to 20 or more different ethnicities that can be traced to different parts of the world. Coloureds are literally the most mixed group of people in the entire world. This goes back all the way to when slaves were brought to the Cape Colony from places like Malaysia, Indonesia, Madagascar, Mauritius, India, China, Myanmar, Angola, Mozambique, East Africa, etc. That's not even counting the Colonizers which were also present in the Cape Colony at the time, which are the British, Dutch, French, Portuguese, and the Germans. Then there are also the indigenous Bantu groups in South Africa, as well as the various Khoisan groups. All of these groups form the foundation of the gene pool of the mixed race people of South Africa known as Coloureds.

Concerning the Khoisan people, they are not exactly Coloureds in my opinion. The Khoisan people are mono racial African people, but they do form an important part of the ancestry of most Coloureds. The overwhelming majority of Coloureds have Khoisan ancestry. It is important to make the distinction between the two groups. Although the Khoisan people were also classified as Coloured people at some point in our history, they are not actually mixed race people in the sense that their mixed race descendants are. They are mono racial African people who are indigenous to Southern Africa and are its original owners.

This leads me to my next point. There is a movement among Coloured people to embrace their Khoisan roots, which is a good thing to do. However, some want to take it to such an extreme that they deny other parts of their mixed ancestry and claim to be Khoisan people exclusively. As you have also alluded to, these people are petitioning the government to remove the Khoisan term and have all Coloureds reclassified simply as Khoisan people, even without their permission and without any kind of consultation. To me this is problematic for several reasons. First it denies that slavery ever happened in the Cape Colony and that some of the other non Khoisan ancestors of Coloureds were brought to the Cape Colony as slaves. Secondly, it seeks to bring division between Coloureds who have Khoisan ancestry and those who don't. If they ever were to succeed in having the term coloured removed, what will happen to the Coloureds who have no Khoisan ancestry and who have only known the Coloured identity for all of their lives? Will they be forced to pretend that they are also Khoisan or what exactly will happen to them? To be Coloured is not just a term that you can take away if and when you feel like it. It is an entire identity and culture that our people have built for centuries. How do you just decide to try to destroy that just because you don't like the term coloured or because you want to deny that you are mixed race and claim to be Khoisan? Thirdly, the people who are behind this movement have appointed themselves the spokespeople of all Coloureds. They want to decide for the rest of the Coloured population what they are supposed to be called. Most Coloureds see nothing wrong with the term coloured but these Khoisan pretenders want to decide for everyone that they should be offended by the term even when they are not. That is the problem I have with people in the Khoisan movement. I am fully aware of the fact that there are land ownership issues at play here, and I'm aware that Coloureds feel disenfranchised by how we been treated for the last 30 years, so they see this as the only kind of way to gain recognition and respect, but a denial of reality won't help either. As much as some Coloureds feel a close kind of spiritual connection to the Khoisan people, they are still mixed race descendants of the Khoisan people and denying other parts of themselves is simply being disingenuous.

To be clear, Coloureds are not Khoisan people and Khoisan people are not Coloureds, but the Coloured community of South Africa carry more Khoisan genes than any other group in South Africa. This information is freely available on Google and is based on scientific evidence. If you were to go to the Northern Cape today you would still find actual Khoisan people living there in Coloured neighborhoods. Some of them still live in the bushes and live the way they used to live back in the day. In some cases in that Province you can't even tell the difference between who is Coloured and who is Khoisan because the Coloureds in that Province have so many genes from the Khoisan people. You won't find this in any part of the country except for the Northern Cape.

As for the Cape Malays, in my opinion, they are also mixed race people. In the same way that those who push the Khoisan movement have decided to take the Khoisan thing and run with it, they have also decided to take the Malaysian thing and run with it, to where over time they have managed to form an entire subculture out of it. The whole thing could just as easily have been Cape Indonesian, or Cape Madagascan, etc.

As for the term Cape Coloured, I believe that it's just a term that people came up with to other themselves away from Coloureds in other parts of the country. Many Coloureds in the Western Cape have a superiority complex and view themselves as the original Coloureds and therefore better than everybody else. Whenever you hear someone referring to themselves as the "real Coloureds" or the "true Coloureds" you can be certain that they are Coloured people from the Cape Town, also known as Cape Coloureds.

Though Coloureds are essentially mixed race people, there is more to being Coloured than just being mixed. Coloureds are a very specific ethnic group with a very specific culture and a very specific history. If you are not part of that you are not Coloured even though you may also be mixed. Trevor Noah is the most famous example of someone who may be mixed race but not necessarily Coloured. Trevor Noah is just a random biracial guy. Also, many people claim that light skinned or mixed race looking black people from places like America become Coloured or are classified as Coloured when they come to South Africa. That is not exactly true. They are just black Americans. No one in South Africa insists that any black American coming to South Africa is Coloured or calls themselves Coloured. South Africans have more sense than to do something like that.

As for the Afrikaans language, it is not only spoken by Coloureds in the Western Cape. Every Province in South Africa has multiple Coloured neighborhoods. In the Gauteng Province alone I can't count about 20 and even then I'm sure that there are some that I'm not even aware of. The overwhelming majority of these Coloureds speak Afrikaans. It is not exclusive to the Western Cape.

Coloureds are multi generationally mixed people but they are mono cultural. Coloured culture is the same everywhere, but with different variations that are based on region. I always say that Coloureds culture is like having different shades of the same colour.

As for people like Warras and those who have a disdain for Coloured identity and culture, I don't have a problem with them wanting to be something else and not wanting to be Coloured. I can respect that. At the same time, since they insist that they are not Coloured, why then do they turn around and speak to Coloured issues? Why do they involve themselves in our affairs and why do they speak on our behalf when they are not us? Why not just mind their own business and leave us alone?

Lastly, most Coloureds see nothing wrong with the term "coloured." People who reject the term are mostly woke Coloureds who will give you all kinds of nonsensical reasons as to why the term coloured is offensive to them, and therefore it should be offensive to everyone else too. These people are black identified and tend to politically align with black supremacist kind of political parties like the EFF and others. The biggest objective to the term coloured is that it came from the Colonizers which is ironic because the very same people who reject the term coloured because it came from the Colonizers call themselves black which is also a term that came from the Colonizers. Africans historically never viewed themselves as black. They identified by their tribal names. Colonizers introduced the term black as a way to put all darker skinned Africans under one umbrella, to strip them of their tribal identities, and dehumanize them in the process. Mostly black Americans have somehow managed to turn the term black into a positive, and since they themselves were stripped of their tribal identities they use the term black as a tribal descriptor, but it doesn't mean that the term was created with good intentions because originally it was meant as a pejorative.

Coloured PROUDLY and UNAPOLOGETICALLY."

**
Reply
2. @vickykgoete3161
"I agree with everything you said except on the biracial matter. If you agree that coloured is also a race as much as it  a culture than why do you  still deny biracials like Trevor Noah from being a coloured?

Trevor is a coloured by race not culture. Biracial people are recognized as coloured in Southern Africa precisely because coloured is a racial classification as well as a culture. You say South Africans aren't dumb enough to call Americans who come to SA coloured however we do call them coloured. Not because we are dumb but because in SA mixed people have their own racial classification called coloured. It refers to their phenotype n the fact that they have more than 1 race in them only. To want to gate keep the race coloured for the culturally coloured people only is not only impossible but its wrong because race doesn't give a damn about your shared history or culture. I put it to you that coloured is both a race and a culture . you and biracial people are coloured by race in this country. Same way when Trevor went to America and they called him black because of thier way of defining race is the same way when Drake comes to SA we should proudly call him coloured because in our country mixed people have their own racial classification. I think we should make a distinction between coloured the race and coloured the culture. These are two separate meanings."

**
3.  @rowanforgus
"Thanks Penuel very informative, and well researched video.  One thing I want to add as a Coloured person i feel wasn’t quite touched on in the video is the variation among Coloured people even within the same family.  For example, I have 2 siblings, both brothers, and my older brother could pass for an Indonesian or a Malaysian he has straight black hair with the same shade of skin colour as yourself.  Myself and my younger brother both have blue eyes and olive skin and people often mistake us for either white or Anglo-Indian.   We all have the same mother and father.   I also have cousins where in one family the oldest of 3 siblings looks completely like a white person, he middle brother looks African with Afro hair and dark brown skin and the youngest kind of looks mixed like Sho Madjozi.  Again, all 3 share the same mother and father.  The mother looks kind of Malaysian or Indian and the father looks like he could have Xhosa ancestry.  So, if we got rid of the classification “Coloured”, how would this work in cases like this?  My observation is my situation and the situation of these cousins of mine is not uncommon within the Coloured community.  So would families be split into different racial groups if the term “Coloured” was abolished?   Maybe you could cover this aspect of the Coloured community (i.e members of the same family with the same parents looking racially different to each other) in a future video?"

**
Reply
4. @EdenBloemstein, 2026
"I agree 100 percent! My family is exactly the same. Some can pass for Indian, indonisian, white etc none of us look the same😂 but we all identify racially and culturally as coloured"

**
Reply
5. @pamelafebruary8509, 2026
"To Pen's point; it's not about the look, it's the culture!"

**
6. @thiboznjabu64
"There is a 3rd category of whites in SA that you did not mention ! The Lebanese and Albanians (like  Mike Sham) , Portuguese , Italian , Jews and Eastern European (after 1994)  ..who mostly landed here after WW2 . They a fabric into the Black culture in SA ...AND even creating more subsets of 'coloureds'  in the SA demographics found in townships and villages  but offsprings fully self identified as the black grand maternal  culture/race  in that region . And of course 'coloureds' in the hinterland ( from Boer and farmworkers- whether Pedi , Tswana , Sotho , etc) . Also far east Asians ,-the Chinese/Japanese adding to the racial mix who lived amongst blacks (and conceiving children in townships/villages ) running butcheries , stores ,etc . I am of one such , a SAN Blackman - of Portuguese (great grand father of  PATERNAL) and German (great grand father of MATERNAL) ancestry and heritage  but choose and remain a Blackman!"

**
7. @ricardosmallberg678
"As for myself my great Grandfather was black african american...married to a Portugese woman ....my mother side had the same type of mix up...but there are Indian blood involved...coloreds diversity so complex"

**
Reply
8. @UppityColoured
"So they were biracial. Like many of my family members.

But besides that... We also have African American & coloured, White & coloured, African & coloured, Indian & coloured and of course coloured & coloured in our family (this is in MY household). And we all get along mighty fine. Zero issues whatsover."

**
Reply
9. @UppityColoured
"With all the mixing, with coloured and coloured alone, there are a myriad of phenotypes. Add the other mixes to the mix... Many more variants are at play. And it's a beautiful thing!"

**
10. @NinohBrown
"Are the likes of Walter Sisulu, Lindiwe Sisulu even classified as Coloured?

I for one have a problem with classifying people who are not part of the culture and communities as part of the broader community.

Lets not forget Race is used for economic opportunities, would it be fair to the coloured communities is the likes of Sizwe Mpofu, Trevor Noah or Sho Madjozi got economic opportunities under 'Coloured' even though they have little association with the community?

Great podcast/conversation Penuel, only thing i would have  like you to touch on is the Economic part. Race is not natural its man made and it was made to determine who gets which opportunities"

**
11. @vickykgoete3161
"To say coloured people are a mixure of other races but not a race would be undermining ourselves as South Africans. It would be undermining our unique laws and stance on the matter because we termed a concept for "mixture of different races" in Southern Africa. We called it coloured. We literally created a new race other than black or white where mixed people have a separate identity for themselves. Yes it comes from  dark, racist roots, well so does every other race. Biracial and Multiracial people found a home in having their own racial category in this country because indeed looking mixed has a separate experience so Penuel South Africa created a racial classification for mixed ppl and till this day we use coloured to define a race. Because we see mixed ppl on the streets daily and we say "look at that coloured girl" Do we know her culture? No. Do we know her language ? No but she's mixed therefore she is coloured because of her phenotype.

You gave us examples of different racial and cultural mixes across Southern Africa. They speak different languages, they have different religions, they come from different areas, they are mixed with different mixes BUT DO YOU KNOW THE ONLY THING THEY HAVE IN COMMON? Its that they are MIXED. That mixture, whatever kind it is. Is called Coloured in Southern Africa. Its a racial classification for mixed people. Now these people developed a rich culture and that culture is also called coloured. Coloured is both a race and a culture."

**
Reply
12. @KAMOYA17, 2026
"Not all Coloured people are mixed. Some took to the classification for better opportunities under Apartheid. There are many natives who are made up of indigenous people (eg: Khwe Xam) who were not allowed to speak their language and ended up being classified as Coloured but, they are not mixed."

**
13. @elizabethandrsu369
"koi & San  are not coloureds you are right."

**
Reply
14. @TheBertDJ
"​ @elizabethandrsu369 they are not, but were however lumped under the broader Coloured group by means of the Population Registration Act of 1950. I suggest you read up about the act and how it impacted the Khoe and San peoples"

**
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15. @mm53683
"​​ @elizabethandrsu369 Why do people keep repeating this like a broken tape recorder, it's boring now😭🤣🤣🤣 Do the rest of South Africa not understand or know that human beings are made up of DNA strands and within that DNA strands there's something called ancestry lineage and within those ancestry lineage, the Khoi Khoi and San people shares the same DNA strands with mixed Coloured people. It's called being ancestors. Hope this helps and your mind grasps because repeating this simple concept to big grown people is truly foolish. We all weren't good at Biology but I think this is actually common sense or maybe you should learn the history of your country of all corners of it,without the edited apartheid and ANC version"

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16. @StoryTeller-py8ns
"Listening is a skill"

**
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17. @vickykgoete3161
"The only people calling  Khoi-san people coloureds are coloured people. So instead of Khoi-san protesting at the Union Building they must go protest in Cape Town to Coloured people and tell them to Stop referring to Khoi-San as coloureds. The coloureds, some of them, come from the Khoi not the other way around."

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18. @LeeOE051
"​ @vickykgoete3161 Facts, Marr relax hlm🙏"

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19. @TheBertDJ
"The Khoe and San people were lumped under the broader Coloured group by the Apartheid government under the Population Registration Act of 1950."

**
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20. @mm53683
"​​ @TheBertDJ It's 2025 and many across South Africa still don't know this, as if we're making up our own stories to say this. That's why they think that some of the descendants of Khoisan protesting at the union building and Cape Town are ridiculous because they don't even know their own country's constitution but fast to comment.It's embarrassing to see, even people across the globe know more about South African and Khoisan history than most people in these comments"

**
21. @Isla33-n2k
"Yeah I don't mind being called black or coloured, but Im definitely not white. Im tan skinned with long curly hair.

When I studied in the Netherlands so many spanish people came up to me and instantly spoke spanish 🤣 kaanti I'm afrikaans"

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22. @mm53683
"​ @Isla33-n2k I love that about us, what some people may feel is an offence is actually interesting to hear other people's perspective as a South African, best experience, multi-ethnic is a great blessing🙏😁My uncle was also told in Kuwait that he's Mexican, he can't be South African🤭🤣🤣🤣 We can look like any other ethnicity and as well as connect with any ethnicity, it's beautiful and a gift from God🙏 It was normalised like in America because everyone shares in the Black American culture there but here it's not the case, we have completely different social nuances and traditions even through we live cross culturally, most of us just grew up inter religiously not culturally until adulthood came. The tribalism in South Africa won't allow for integration, it seems it'll always be a one-sided effort. Many people in this country aren't the most adaptive and agile. It's not the same as American, to honour my African ancestry, I feel its best to be called African that allows not to erase the existence of the rest of me in my multi-ethnic self or what my other enslaved ancestors endured after being brought from parts of Asia and other parts of Africa too. "

**
23. @andrewkock2537
"I personally would like to be acknowledged as a black person I have Griekwa heritage bloodline"

**
24. @bigl3885
"I'm a coloured gent from Cape Town, my mum is a Cape coloured woman with fair skin, but my dad is technically black with an English name, and Afrikaner surname. He doesn't speak any nguni language, only Afrikaans and English, yet his brother, sister and mom spoke Xhosa. This is the best breakdown I've ever seen. I've learnt a lot from this that I didn't know... I also found that a town in the Garden route called Mossel Bay has coloureds with Portuguese ancestry.

You forgot to mention that during Apartheid a lot of black African people took European surnames to get better treatment, or benefits that coloureds got back then, and their children and grandchildren still consider themselves coloured today.

Lastly, as far as stats go, I think the percentages are off, because a lot of coloured people, especially in Gauteng and Eastern Cape see themselves as black, so the true number could be as high as 11%"

**
25. @joyelias6975
"This is a very good breakdown of the coloured community in South Africa. I personally had friends from most of these groups. I know this is beyond the scope of your video, but for interest sake I thought I would comment that the term coloured as a label for mixed race people is not unique to South Africa, but it is widely used in Southern Africa particularly the English speaking countries and Namibia.

It is used in Zimbabwe, Zambia, Malawi, Namibia, and though there aren't many in Botswana it is still used there too. Also, Zimbabwe, Zambia, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, and Angola all have a large mixed race community.

Moreover, in former British colonies like Zim, Zambia, and Malawi the coloureds are grouped into British coloureds, Asian/Indian coloureds, and Continental/European coloureds (Portuguese and Spanish). There is now an emerging subset known as Chinese coloureds because many Chinese men are settling in these countries.

I say this as a mixed race person who grew up in South Africa, but I'm from Malawi, and I have traveled to several Southern African countries.

Awe, mase kind."

**
26. @ProjectSisters2021
"Our Family Story: A Reflection of the Coloured Community’s Diversity

I was born in the Western Cape in 1966, and my family’s story is a real example of how beautifully diverse the Coloured community is in South Africa.

My father’s father had Khoi roots and his mother was of German descent. My mother, born in Cape Town, was the daughter of a white father and a Coloured mother with Scandinavian ancestry. So from both sides, our heritage carries a mix of Khoi, European, and Coloured influences — all meeting here in the Western Cape.

That mix shows clearly in our family. Out of six brothers, four have blue eyes and very fair skin, two look Italian, and one has darker features. My older sister has Japanese-like features, while my twin and I are often told we look Spanish or sometimes even Chinese. Yet we are all from the same mother and father.

Because of our background, we were registered as Cape Malay, but our family represents so much more than one label. Our roots connect to the Khoi, European, and Asian lines that built the Coloured identity over generations.

And beyond just appearance — we’ve also developed our own culture. We may share history with other Coloured families, but our way of speaking, our food, our traditions, and even how we treat people reflect our unique blend. We were raised with respect, pride, and a deep appreciation for every part of our heritage.

So yes — we are part of the Coloured community, but we also have our own family culture within it. That’s what makes our community so special: no two families are exactly the same, yet we all belong to this colourful, complex, and beautiful story of South Africa.

I’m sharing my story because I want people to see that being Coloured isn’t about looking one way or fitting into one box — it’s about where we come from, how we live, and the love and pride we carry for who we are."

**
27. @UppityColoured
"It's so interesting. In my family I have all kinds of coloureds. Cape Malay, Griqua, Cape coloured, other coloured, biracials, multiracials, those who follow the Muslim religion, Christian religion, those who turned Muslim, those who turned Christian... And so on and so forth. The whole lot. We're EXTREMELY mixed."

**
28. @jesseabrahams9683
"As a coloured, I wanna thank you for this video man! This must have taken a lot of courage to decide to make and eventually put this out! Good on you Pen!

Many South Africans unaware of how diverse and racially mixed coloured people are.

The cape is a lot more mixed then you've touched on but its a really good start. A lesser known fact is the migration from St Helena Islands, Mauritius and Madagascar. With the abolishment of slavery these places were used to hold previously enslaved peoples. However it also had a mixed creole community (european and locals mix) and the later migration of both Creole and previously enslaved to the Cape.

Places around ports in Cape Town and Durban also had German, English, Scottish and Irish apart from the more commonly known Dutch, French, Portuguese and Spanish."

**
29. @tombimashri8149
"Coloureds vome in different Colour shades of skin nd different hair textures after all we vome from Black/white, Infian, Arab, Dutch, Portugues infact the zunited Nations in our different colour shades hair textures but we are ONE THE SAME PEOPLE UNFER ONE UMBRELLA GUYS."

**
30. @RoyalPriesthoodd
"As a 1st Gen or OG "coloured" white mom and black dad... born in 92 in Zimbabwe.. but1 grandma is a Lottering.. so i empathise with ALL coloureds in Zim , Zambia , SA , Namibia, Bots and beyond.

it was difficult growing up not being fully accepted in All communities white ,black or coloured with a "black"  name yet living with a white mom...

School , sports and dating present many challenges.. black girls say youre a player or i thought you didnt date black girls , coloureds ask why is your name Shona and your hair nappy???

Before you know it you s-curl and relax your hair, gel it , get a nickname and start dorping and spinning cars ... because atleast in this community.. we look alike physically...

but when you visit uGogo take out the earrings, gel and pull up your jeans also speak properly..

its hard to be yourself when you constantly get judged from all angles... but now having lived in NZ , Uk , Australia.. its not as bad either your black or white...

Also after turning to Christ and realise im blessed to have experienced all commumities including Indian through my step dad. we all bleed red"

**
31. @craigarendse8417
"Thanks for the video, Pen it really gives people something to think about. I can already see many will comment without truly reflecting on the questions you’ve raised.

Every community has its challenges, especially in a country where people of colour were systematically pushed into poverty. That poverty can bring out the worst in people, but it doesn’t define who we are.

In the Coloured community, many of our natural leaders are thriving in the corporate world and focusing on their families which is understandable. There are countless successful Coloured professionals across the Western, Northern, and Eastern Cape, yet we remain divided because those who claim to represent us often don’t reflect our real values or lived experiences.

Leaders like Gayton McKenzie, Fadiel Adams, and the NCC and the Khoi San adjacent groups don’t speak for all of us. What we need are genuine role models from our professional, business, and faith based communities people who reflect integrity, humility, and strength.

Patricia de Lille is a great example: a confident, dignified woman who mirrors the Cape Coloured mothers many of us grew up around women of faith, strong moral values, and quiet resilience. Even though I don’t agree with her politics

And when it comes to identity it’s not as simple as saying we’re all black. How is black even defined? We can’t just say nonwhite equals black that ignores the complexity of who we are. Coloured DNA is among the most diverse in the world; one person might look white but simply carry more European or Khoi ancestry, while another might show more African or Malay heritage.

That’s why we call ourselves Coloured not out of division, but because it reflects our intergenerational heritage. We’re not “mixed” from one generation; even our grandparents and great-grandparents were Coloured. Our diversity runs deep"

**
32. @bigl3885
"19:47 I feel like coloureds in Kokstad, KZN has their own unique history that's different from the rest of KZN. They're probably the only coloureds who speak Afrikaans in that province."

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33. @elroyswarts0044
"As a Coloured person I thank you for your kind words Penuel. Most of us see nothing wrong with just being Coloured and we see nothing wrong with the term. What we hate is people constantly trying to police our identity and labelling us anti black for not ticking the black box and being proud of our mixed race identity. Our history is filled with slavery, forced family separation, and pain, but inspite of it all of the challenges that we had to face our people were able to overcome, establish a brand new identity, and build a rich culture that reflects everything that we are as a people. What we want is to be acknowledged as African just like everybody else, and we want to be treated just like everybody else. Equal access to opportunity and respect. Not privilege or special treatment. That's about it."

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34. @ZulphaN, 2026
"👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼 beautifully said.  We only want to be treated equally and not like 3rd class citizens in our own country."

**
35. @TheKefmoth
"I’m black. Husband is coloured.

My kids… one identifies as coloured. The other as black. Interestingly, the darker one identities as coloured and the lighter one as black.

To me they are black.

Especially when sun kissed… the melanine cannot be denied when the sun comes."

**
36. @smcptrsa
"Im proudly coloured and im not offended if people call me that, its just a way to identify, im not black or white, im what people call cape malay coloured but in my family tree i have Indian, white European, cape malay coloured, coloured and now xhosa family through my siblings marriage so i have no time for racism, i respect all races and tribes, its so mixed in my family, im Muslim and my aunts Christian and married to a pastor, i get along with everyone, we all just vibe when we're together, we just one family."

**
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37. @adhdmed
"You are absolutely right. Coloured is a Culture, Not a Race."

**
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38. @Jeff_Hayes26
"Its a race"

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39. @LINLYN81, 2026
"@Jeff_Hayes26  It is not a race. My mother is half German and her mother was half Xhosa/ Half Khoi. My father is of Sotho, British, Khoi and Malay origin. These two people are not the same race, the only genetics they share is Khoi."

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40. @mm53683
"Been saying that, that's why our whole constitution is full of errors. Categorising Coloured people by their culture and categorising black South Africans by their continental identifier, African, categorising Biracial people as Coloured when that's not even their culture. It's messed up and the government is causing havoc refusing to rectify.this should be the next national protest"

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41. @forgoogletotrack7181, 2026
"We should be defined socially and politically by our tribal affiliation and the community culture we were born into, raised in and continue to live in. 

In Cape Town I grew up with Coloureds dark as night and white as milk, yet I identified with them because our culture was the same, not our DNA."

****

2026

42. @coryhenri480
"Excellent presentation,Sir!  Unfortunately, our black ancestry is largely unrecorded, likely due to the "side chick/concubine" syndrome, often hidden behind the hedges a few hundred meters from the homestead. I have traced my maternal lineage to Ogle and Green of the 1820 settlers, and my paternal lineage (Pillay) to a village in India. Sadly, my black lineage is lost. Thanks once again for an excellent presentation on the topic"

**
43. @ruwaynekock4983
"Listening to this conversation truly moved me. It sparked feelings of gratitude, pride, some discomfort, and reflection. As someone officially classified as ‘Coloured’ but who also identifies as Black, I see parts of my own story reflected in what you’ve shared. You’re absolutely right that “Coloured” is not a race, and you’re exploring an important nuance in understanding the complexity behind that label. I want to make it clear: sometimes race, ethnicity, and culture get mixed up, which can cause confusion. “Coloured” is an ethnicity that includes many different cultures—not just a race or a single culture. Recognising this distinction is important because it influences how people see themselves and how they are recognised in our country. Still, I want to acknowledge your bravery in addressing this very sensitive topic of identity in South Africa. I am both triggered and grateful. Triggered by conceptual shortcuts and by the old patterns of being narrated from the outside. Grateful that a sensitive conversation is happening in the open and that people are responding with honesty. Many of us carry both pride and pain from our histories. The conversations happening show that people long for a deeper understanding. Thank you for sparking this vital dialogue. Let’s keep building on it, welcoming more voices, including scholars, elders, and those navigating these identities in complex ways, sharing more history, and striving for clearer understanding."

**
44. @johanthuynsma5041
"Thank you for this excellent video! I have learned so much and I agree with all you have said. Now I have an understanding and insight that I did not have before, especially with regards to why some people embrace the term Coloured and others detest it. But South Africa and the world need to see and hear more about this culture, its diversity and all its stories and peoples"

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45. @mphomapoulo5026
"The whole idea of Khalads being referred to as a race is based on how white South Africans lied that Khalads are predominantly Khoisan (a lie), and also that Khoisan are not African (another lie) let alone Bantu. Every time you hear anything about the Khoisan, they are never referred to as African nor Bantu. The divide and conquer strategy is still very much alive despite the perpetrators of such, not being in power anymore!"

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46. @alisterdirector1475
"Yeah it is all a white supremacy tactic. And it is disgusting"

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47. @filomenagoncalves5255
"Am  colored from angola 🇦🇴  my mother was a mix of white portugues and african black woman so my  was dad  mix of indian and black and arab ,now i live in south africa and because of my light skin many see me as a white person ,but my hair is curly but i see my self as a colored where in angola am seen as a mulato -mistico -colored ,am proud of my heritage"

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48. @astronomers
"Coloured people in South Africa are not the same as mixed race. Trevor Noah is mixed race, he’s not Coloured. While we may have mixed ancestry, Coloured identity is a unique culture with deep roots that existed long before apartheid gave it a name.

Calling us mixed race overlooks our shared heritage, language, and identity. In fact, Coloured people reflect what the world could look like beyond racism  we’re diverse in appearance but united in culture.

That’s why I wish Tyler had stood up for that identity, instead of defaulting to an American view that doesn’t quite apply to us"
-snip-
“Tyler” refers to the South African Grammy award winning singer named "Tyla".

**
49. @reveniaabrahams7449
"Thanks for mentioning the Maasbiekers. I do not refer to myself as a coloured because it is a category that was created by the apartheid state to divide and conquer people. I am a South African of mixed origin. My mother was first-generation mixed race from a German father and a Maasbieker mother. My father's heritage is Khoisan, Dutch, and Asian"

**
50. @marcelholster8265
"I'm only halfway through this very interesting and enlightening post, but would be interesting to hear your views on the St Helenian ( British Territory of St Helena). My mother often spoke of her grandmother that was of St Helenian descent. I identify as coloured with German/ St Helenian ancestry."

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51. @robingeorge7151
"Pen, great discussion. I'm a coloured from Cape Town with mixed ancestry from German missionaries, Jamaica, India and from the indigenous Khoi and the San (my grandpa). I consider myself as 100% South African as when I travel outside of the country I am very aware of it. Some significant coloured people you can include: Harold Cressy (first person of colour to obtain a degree from UCT/ education activist), Abdullah Abdurahman (first person of colour in South Africa elected to public office and a doctor) and Cissie Gool (first woman of colour to be elected to public office in South Africa a lawyer). There's many more I can mention"

**
52. @shereendevilliers7711
"My bloodline as a coloured person my mother’s father was black Zambian her mother Khoi. My father’s dad is Somalian from Zanzibar his mother Malaysian/Dutch mix slaves of the Island of St Helena.My birth certificate says Cape Malay because my fathers Muslim background.

I have a friend who is mix Indian/Coloured and her grandmother was one of the people who hid Mandela and Sisulu(who is mix race himself) in their house in a township when they were on the run from the police.

We have this diverse background and were so involved during the struggle but today seem to be a nuisance to many but not to Jesus 🙌🏾"

**
53. @markwhiting7347
"My grandfather on my mother's side was white my grandmother's  Khoi when he married my grandmother his family wrote him off the same happened to my fathers side ."

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54. @BeetleCrazy
"I personally feel that I need to work harder at all things and constantly need to justy my existance as a coloured person born in Cape Town. We just want to be treated equally, be given opportunities and to be considered on merit, nothing more. Not looking for any favours, just to be treated equally. Salute to people like Trevor Manuel, Jonathan Butler, Ashley Kriel, Gorrie November, Allan Boesak, Abdullah Ibrahim, DJ Ready D... to mention a few. Thanks for shining a light on the coloured discussion."

**
55. @Zimbabe220
"So good! I love this. As a Ndebele Coloured (pat) mixed with and Shona coloured (mat) plus my paternal granny's father was a zulu coloured/indian man that grew up in the diaspora.   I love that you spoke exactly to my whole identity. Through oral history in my family I knew this broadly as a coloured person but I certainly learned so much today . Because truth be said, we always heard that we have a white relative that had children with a Ndebele woman and that's how your great granny came to be she was one of 26 children etc.. and I always thought, who were these guys?!  😂 - anyways thanks for the deeper understanding. I feel like I know the history part of these family stories better. And I love the history part of it. I love being coloured. I love the diversity in my lineage. 

And the culture aspect is spot on. We are a culture. We even have our own accents when we speak English and mix the English with the indigenous languages having had native speakers in the home. It's a unique culture and it should be embraced."

** 56. @BerylPretorius-q7e

"I am a mixture of black and white of zulu and Irish. My grandfather was a Rorke from county Dublin who settled in Zululand . My grandmother  was a princess of the Myeni tribe of Umbumbo, she was  gifted to my grandfather as a wife for a favour he had done for him (CHIEF)

THIS BOOK WRITTEN BY MY LATE MOM AGNES RORKE LOTTERING WHICH WILL BE MADE INTO A MOVIE COMING SOON"

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57. @glenjoseph3756
"I’m a Namibian male born in the Eastern Cape as a “Cape coloured” and could identify with the conversation regarding the cultural differences and how it affects and influences us as people groups. Well put together."

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58. @esmevanheerden9449
"There are some coloured families with half of the relatives being white."

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59. @twrho
"Hate the term colored I'm mixed race very interesting learnt a lot❤"

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60. @julianduplessis3334
"@twrho I wonder who came up with the term as I agree it's terrible. However, today many Coloureds accept it and will find it very hard to disassociate them from the term"

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61. @sharonsmart1176
"Wow, it's such a  great topic. On my birth certificate ..Cape Colored being born to 2 Mix race parents. I'm sure if I checked my DNA it will kick out so many ancestors. That's okay with me cause I identify as a Christian woman only. It's not where you came from, but what you doing with this precious life. My first memories were being raised in this huge house by my parents and fraternal grandparents, who have Indian and San heritage and maternal grandparents and Indian and White British heritage. The very next memory being forced by Apartheid government into Manenberg, which became he'll on earth. My poor husband shared the same fate being removed from Heathfield.The problem with him being in Manenberg was because his physical appearance was whiter than the so-called whites. So he suffered under Coloreds and was even removed twice by Police claiming he was kidnapped, until they saw his parents. Moving to Mitchell's Plain, where we raised a family and resided to Belville North in our 50. The point being I would definitely not change my life should I get a second chance. The 🙌 life you lived created the person you are now, and I Love my life❤.Unfortunately, there will always be unfairness, and you have to teach your kids how to handle these situations with the Love of Christ. Thank you again for this important Topic."

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62. @Andrea-sg1ri
"I look forward to the conversation because many of us coloureds don't really know who we are so it might be very sensitive. Colourism is a big thing in the coloured community that has seperated families til this day. It was brought on by Apartheid where fair coloureds with straight hair were favoured above their darker skinned family members with 'kroos' hair. I must say that I'm very proud of Tyla for sticking to her identity. I'm not a fan of her music but I love her personality. There's something so very special when a person knows who they are and chooses to remain true to who they are - even her accent remains! She sounds like she's from Dbn. I love it. She's definitely encouraged me to be true to my identity as a Saffa coloured living in the UK. Being coloured is deeper than a race. We have a rich history of diversity in our genes. We don't fit into any box. I'd dare to say we have not been discussed because we are unchartered territory not because it's offensive. People will always make assumptions about things that don't make sense to them. The moment a coloured person steps into who they are and are mindful of the richness of diversity in their genes they can change the world! Thanks for opening this platform for this convo to take place"

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63. @rodneymockson
"What hurts my brother is this, in the apartheid eras, we as coloreds were called Comrades, Maxhabane,we wear the UDF ANC and SACP badges on our bareds we were toy toying with our fellow black Comrades we couldn't sleep in our parents homes because you were so cautious and afraid of the apartheid cops come look for you there, but as soon as we won our freedom together and our democracy, our black Comrades pushed us aside and neglected us for 31 years to date thats the sad part"

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64. @jossangeles4011
"As a Black American, I find this content very informative. I think it was well done."

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65. @ChermPetersen
"Know this is exactly what I'm pointing to how do I know you from America without me asking or wondering.,...by the way you introduce yourself .....as a black American ......once again let's go back to Tyla.... how much more clarity and exceptional wouldn't it have been if she just introduced herself to the world as a proud young non white or black but just as a Afrikaner ... to people from thee other side of the boarders   people wouldn't have feel so offended or confused  when interviews take place ....what they know foresure  is the fact that this person is from South Africa but what they don't know is the fact that nor the white race ,nor the black race sees our existing.... that's why we don't really know how to identify ourselves to the world...if you say white or black you are lying yourself ..,. that's why I feel my identity in my introduction must speak for itself.....I hope you get my point ."

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66. @shannonnaicker4040
"This government has continued with apartheid race classification. Just ridiculous. Thanks for the video"

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67. @fabianpetersen2452
"My grandmother and her family were a mix of Javanese indians. They looked like it also, darker skin with straight hair. My grandfather more khoi and german mix 🙆‍♂️ my kids my wife her mother white and black mix 😂😂😂 so i cannot tell u the mix, it is straight hair, light skin to dark skin, coarse hair u just never know until the kid is born 😂😂😂"

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68. @michaelmouton4607
"There's also a huge population that come from St Helena island (where Napoleon was held), a lot coming to the Cape looking for work. That's my family story at least part of it 😂"

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69. @justjoshua_07
"My great grandfather came from there. My grandmother was part of the first generation of our family to be born here."

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70. @WilmaDavis-c9p
"@justjoshua_07 My grandmother also."

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71. @nathanjosephalard
"The Khoikhoi weren’t one tribe – they were a whole family of nations. The main Khoikhoi groups included the Nama, Goringhaiqua, Gorachouqua, Cochoqua, Chainouqua, Hessequa, Attaqua, Inqua, Gonaqua, Korana, and later the Griqua. Their roots connect deeply with the San, forming the wider Khoisan heritage of Southern Africa.

The Griquas are a mixed-heritage people primarily descended from Khoikhoi, with additional Dutch/European and some Xhosa/Sotho/Tswana ancestry.

Because many Griquas look more “mixed” (Coloured identity overlap), people sometimes simplify the origin story to “Dutch + African.”

But historically and genetically:

Khoikhoi + Dutch is the core,

with some Xhosa and other African influences.

Cape Town has a small but historic Bengali Indian presence dating back to the 1800s. Early arrivals came from Bengal as cooks, artisans, tailors, and traders, with some becoming part of the Cape Muslim/Malay community. Their descendants still form a quiet but important part of Cape Town’s cultural mix today."

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72. @alecyardley5278
"Penuel, I’m a mixed-race South African with Khoi, Malay, and French heritage, and I have to be honest, I’ve learnt more in this one video than I have in the past 26 years of my life. Truly fantastic content. This is the kind of history we should be learning in schools. South Africa is an absolutely beautiful place with beautiful people, a real rainbow nation."

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73. @CoreyJ.Williams
"If the colored people were here in the USA they will be considered black period!"

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74. @joliewoliee
"I am a coloured person that’s in the US and this is true, but this conversation had nothing with that. It’s to discuss coloureds that currently live in South Africa."

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75. @cianyoung34
"Alot of these coloured groups you talking about are now mixed with each other because of work in other cities this is why we feel we 1 people."

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76. @tsheporahope1712
"Coming from a painful apartheid era, raised in black township whereby my grandmother had to hide her silky long hair with a dock, unspoken of why she is fluent in Afrikaans, being called a bushman because of my ginger hair and had to fight all my childhood life but having almost  half of my neighbors as mix race of setswana speaking and coloured and our relatives from Easterus only attending funerals, what a wound you just opened, at work I usually tell them am proudly South African, even my sons as much their father is Mopedi, they know mix race leanage they don't identify with tribe but with proud South Africans"

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