Makarabas have defined fans since the 1970's,
writes Nathalie Rosa Bucher

Forget Ascot, full breed horses and English aristocracy. When it comes to fancy head gear and noisy style, South African soccer fans wear makarabas, hard hats as spectacular as the wheels of proud and prancing peacocks and blow their opponents down with “vuvuzelas”.

The dazzling hat made out of building helmets is a stunner, a real looker. More than 900 days left before the 2010 World Cup kick off, South Africans now already are dressed for the part as a flamboyant, ingenious host nation.

Michael Souter, 47 a graphic designer and accomplished painter, is a makaraba aficionado, collector, producer and historian since the day he set eyes on one, 10 years back.

While your average supporter goes to watch matches, Souter skims the stadium not for notable moves on the field – he admits to usually not even keeping track of the score. For Souter, soccer is mainly about headgear.

Take the encounter between South Africa and Zambia in September: supporter Xolile Mzizana, 39 went to Newlands Stadium, filed into the stadium holding a vuvuzela, wearing a crafty hard hat and filled with patriotic zeal, kept his gaze firmly on the grass field below him supporting Bafana Bafana. He also frequently jumped up and shouted loudly to express his dismay as Zambia trounced South Africa.

Souter however brought his camera and turned his back to the field for most of the game.

While others follow their favourite teams like pilgrims from match to match across the country, Souter grazes the stadium for supporters wearing makarabas and takes photographs of them. He knows most of the regular supporters and enjoys the vibrant mood. “The main supporters are there all the time, there is a fantastic atmosphere,” he said.

“I go to quite a lot of matches but I most love the World Cup. It is the ultimate of all. I look forward to 2010! If you recall the world cup in Germany, the camera attention often was with supporters wearing funny hats,” he said.

Initially, the story goes, supporters wore their miner’s hats to be safe from flying bottles and other objects thrown around the stadium by angry supporters. Souter said that while it was unclear what the word meant, some people told him that makarapa meant “person working away from home” others said makaraba was a colloquial term for hardhat. A Kaizer Chiefs supporter is credited with having made the archetypical makaraba.

The makaraba was replicated in the late 1970s, early 80s by miners, who used their miner’s helmets to display their loyalty to their favourite club and the beautiful game with paintings and slogans. Now that makarabas have gone onto the production line, builder’s hats are used and before they are covered with logos and soccer iconography, they are carved out with shapes like wings or horns. It goes without saying that a Kaizer Chiefs fan would never be seen posing with, god forbid wearing an Orlando Pirates makaraba. The same applies vice versa to a Pirates fan…

Souter’s garage in Meadowridge on most weekdays is filled with between one and four men who work with him and dozens of makarabas. The garage is scattered with builder’s helmets, especially since his wife discovered that buying in bulk reduced the cost price drastically. “I started buying 10, then moved on to 20, then 50 and now we are at units of 100. I am sure they wonder a lot about what I do with the helmets!” said Rona Souter, 44.

Even though traditionally the makarabas belong to soccer, Souter has broadened the focus. On the shelf where the transformed plastic helmets are displayed, are also Formula 1 helmets, dedicated to Felipe Massa and Lewis Hamilton. Among the finished “makoya makarabas” (original makaraba) a green helmet stands out, with horns and a rugby ball on. A little further I spot a New Zealand cricket makaraba: “Bond – Fleming Licence to Thrill”, inspired by the names of Stephen Fleming, legendary former captain of the Black Caps and Shane Bond. Nearby is a patriotic makaraba: “The land of possibilities – South Africa”.

The soccer teams represented are not exclusively South African: one is dedicated to the Socceroos, Brazil and Les Bleus, as well as few English helmets, an Ivorian flag painted next to Chelsea and Didier Drogba, “the African All Star”.

Souter draws a template for each makaraba, and each piece is unique. The first step involved is to polish the helmet, followed by heating up the hat to make it easier to saw it. “This hat is made for protection, so it is pretty hard to cut through the material!” said Souter.

The craftsmen manage to cut out about 10 helmets per day. A special primer is used to avoid scratch marks before the helmet is painted in one base colour. The makaraba is then decorated by hand. All steps involved in making a makaraba take six hours. “This is not very cost effective”, Souter admits but it is a “kind of a love for Africa” that makes him stick to this project, which his wife and two young children are as passionate and knowledgeable about as he himself is. It also offers an income to ten men from Imizamo Yethu. Souter said that he was driven to depict life in Africa in a real, positive but not romanticised manner.

Most orders and sales of the makarabas, which cost between R220 to R900 come from or go overseas. “The British have taken to the makarabas. There is a huge demand. It’s a great souvenir!” said Souter. Slogans such as “Shosholoza”, “Woza” and “Laduma” adorn many hats.

“There is a regular demand for these unique soccer artefacts,” said Harry Sithole from African Image in Church Street who stocks and sells some of the makarabas made by Makoya Makaraba.

Souter once even had a request for someone attending a Dolly Parton concert. One of the most stunning pieces was commissioned by the city of Cape Town and handed over by Mayor Helen Zille to FIFA after South Africa was announced as the hosting country for the 2010 Soccer World Cup. He also produced an astonishing piece worn by the deputy mayor for the opening of the Homeless World Cup in 2006. Besides Zille and FIFA officials, even models have paraded down the catwalk wearing makoya makarabas during last year’s Nokia Cape Town Fashion Week.

Michael Phram, 27 from Blantyre, Malawi one of the 10 men who are part of this upliftment project is enthusiastic about the special head gear. He said that Malawian supporters also wore special hats and dreams of taking home a Flamers makaraba.

Vulile Mtimba, 22 stays in Samora Machel and has been working for Souter for one year. He is a fervent Orlando Pirates fan. However, when Bafana Bafana is playing, he supports the national team. Like all South African fans, he suffered as much as the injured players badly missed that day, watching the Zambians take over.

Xolile Mzizana, 39 sitting a bit further up was wearing a makaraba he had made five years ago. “I made it for fun, on my own,” he said. Mzizana’s makaraba is dedicated to his club Moroka Swallows and highly authentic, as it bore the Total brand logo. Mzizana said that the petrol company was a sponsor of the Soweto-based club that celebrates its 60^th anniversary this year.

It was his wish to be recognised that lead him to make and wear his own makaraba. The hat is essential to reveal his primal allegiance. His jersey and the vuvuzela on the other hand stand for his loyalty for the national team, explained the self-confessed regular at Newlands. 2010 fills him with pride but he confessed to feeling bad watching Zambia’s captain Christopher Katongo, number 11, score three spectacular goals.

Makarabas, which are slowly conquering the world beyond the soccer fields and stadiums, together with the vuvuzela, are set to become the symbol and souvenir of the 2010 soccer world cup.

Latching on the attraction of the outstanding hats, a cell phone provider uses both the makaraba and the vuvuzela on its starter packs

And a beer company has launched a campaign also figuring a makaraba. South African supporters clearly are ready to impress and blow away the world. Let’s hope their team also will…