Inside the museum building
The museum comprises an indoor section, as well as an outdoor component. Visitors begin their ‘Cata experience’ in the indoor part of the museum, where they will find exhibits of world-class standard. Life before the removal is depicted through artefacts and photographs. Pride of place is given to a model of a pre-betterment homestead - accurate in every detail. The homestead was modelled by internationally-acclaimed historical modeller, Peter Laponder, who has also done work for the Iziko Museums in Cape Town, and the Gisozi Genocide Memorial in Kigali, Rwanda. Click here to download a 6MB presentation on the making on the Cata model.The homestead is contrasted with the impact of betterment. Houses were demolished, fields and kraals had to be abandoned, established social arrangements were destroyed. The people of Cata were forcibly ‘villagised’ - with severe economic and social consequences.
The museum also focuses on the post-1994 period. The community’s engagement with the land restitution process over the period 1998 to 2000 is explained, and the signing of the historic Cata Settlement Agreement, in October 2000 is celebrated. Its links to the Vulamasango Singene campaign are explained. This campaign, by betterment villagers that were prejudiced during the lodgement phase and are seeking restitution, is the most significant early twenty-first century social movement in the Eastern Cape Province.
A museum outdoors
Visitors are then invited to view the outdoor part of the museum - a two-kilometre guided walk along a professionally ‘cut’ heritage trail. View the breath-taking scenery, while reading information boards along the way that describe the social and natural history of Cata. The natural heritage of Cata is extensive and spectacular. Situated on the slopes of the Amathole mountain range, Cata valley has notable geological features, its indigenous forests and grassy slopes are full of interesting plant life, and a number of rare birds (including the endangered Cape parrot) are frequently spotted here.
The walk takes visitors to the ruins of pre-betterment homesteads, and to the Cata toposcope. For many, the toposcope ‘brings home’ the effect of betterment on the community - the name of each dispossessed person is engraved in granite, with the distance to their demolished homestead noted. As one stands in the centre of the toposcope, surrounded by 334 names, and looks over the countryside to where the homesteads once stood, one begins to understand the force of the devastation.
For more information
…or to book your trail guide, please contact Boniswa on 072 568 7926.Entrance to the indoor museum is free. See the price list for the cost of a guided walk along the heritage trail.
Latest News
Feel the heartbeat of an ordinary Xhosa village - opt for a homestay and live with one of the Cata families for the duration of your stay. Perhaps you might like to have your evening beer at the local tavern and meet your neighbours. read more
From the newly-built chalets you can enjoy the view of the mountains and the Cata Dam on the road to Keiskammahoek. You can opt for self-catering or have meals prepared for you in traditional Xhosa style. read more
Cata is a paradise for children… bicycling or horse-riding or learning a little of the local language. And, of course, they could meet the local children and together with them, look for cattle in the afternoon.
But Cata is not as ordinary as you might think first when you enter the village. During apartheid the village underwent a complete forced removal from the hills to the valley. This programme was ironically called “betterment“ and affected millions of people all over South Africa. This, and the successful fight for restitution, is documented in the Cata museum. read more
