The Ismail family had a reunion at Wynberg Park.
Nadia Anhuizen, Grassy Park
This is dedicated to Ghaneef Wolmaraans who was one of the great grandchildren who was so excited about the reunion but passed away suddenly about two months ago.
The descendants of Achmat Saban Ismail and Sulaylah Moses Ismail celebrated their 10th anniversary reunion in style at Wynberg Park on Sunday October 9.
The couple who initially lived in Constantia settled in Grassy Park during the mid-1920s where they raised their 10 offspring.
Achmat “Spiegies”, a renowned Islamic scholar-cum- teacher and plasterer by trade, was the grandson of Imam Ismail, who became the imam of the “Dadelboom” or Palm Tree Mosque in Long Street Cape Town from 1866 to 1889.
In 2012, the family held the first reunion at Wynberg Park – to commemorate the family’s illustrious and rich history and “to keep the family together”. It was a resounding success and every year, this tradition was upheld until the pandemic struck.
The reunion is a big affair and traditionally, each group wears specially designed T-shirts, makes a banner with the name (and family icon) of their parents and prepares a grand march. This year, families could also bake a cake which symbolised the family icon.
By 8am on Sunday morning, young and old started rolling into the park, dressed in their T-shirts emblazoned with the nickname or icon associated with their ancestor. This year the event gained greater significance as it also coincided with the celebration of the birthday of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH).
Ismail and Sulaylah had 10 children who not only resided in Grassy Park but plied their trade as plasterers, businessmen and hawkers there as well, significantly contributing to the development of the suburb.
The siblings were renowned for their strong values, brutal honesty and fiery tempers which they probably inherited from Iman Ismail who – according to court documents – was a firebrand himself.
The grand march was the highlight of the morning as the descendants of Ismail Ismail (dressed in black) wowed the crowd with their clinical and creative marching band and manoeuvres.
The yellow team, not to be outdone, composed a rap to demonstrate their style and creativity.
The rest of the day was spent with activities like races and card games and tug-of-war, etc.
Children received prizes like toffee apples and party packets as a reward for participation. While the games were being played, adults simply relaxed in their gazebos, sipping tea, eating koeksisters and generally just chilling and catching up with each other.