The Individual, Auto/biography and History in South Africa

“triumph of the human spirit”, and as the birthplace of reconciliation, and of the new
nation itself. 221
In 1999, the tour of B‐section was given a special name, the “Footsteps of Mandela Tour”,
and it was presented as one of the options available to visitors to the former maximum‐
security prison. Clearly, it was expected that most tourists would converge upon this
option, which was planned to take place every 15 minutes, with tours to be filled on a
“first come first served basis”. 222 The visit to Mandela’s cell came to constitute a kind of
pilgrimage, with visitors seeking out the possibilities of a redemptive experience. On busy
days, with different tour groups guided into the former maximum‐security prison
through different entrances, the passageway in B Section often became a congested
bottleneck as Mandela’s cell was turned into a sacred photographic opportunity.
The 1994 Jürgen Schadeberg photographic image of Mandela depicted looking out of the
bars of Cell No. 5 became one of the most iconic Mandela images. 223 RIM acquired limited
rights to reproduce this image on T‐shirts and sweaters in a special contract with
Schadeberg. These and other biographic Mandela images have been sold in a highly
commoditised museum environment alongside specially minted coins, ties, pens, key
rings, and “authentic replica[s]” of prison cell keys and framed lime quarry rocks. 224 It was
also in the Museum shop that the historiography of resistance was turned into heritage
curios. The recreated Cell No. 5 has also been a compulsory stop for visiting dignitaries,
while visiting presidents guided on the Island by Mandela himself have had the
opportunity to be photographed with him inside the cell. The aura of the cell was
221 See this conceptualisation expressed, for example, in the video, The Story of Robben Island: Cultural
and Natural Heritage Site (Directed by Terry O’Keefe, 1997), which was screened to Robben Island
visitors on the two ferries, Autshumato and Makana, during the journey to the Island. See also Nelson
Mandela’s address at the formal opening of RIM published as ‘Address by President Mandela ‐
Heritage Day, Robben Island 24 September 1997’, in Ilifa Labantu, Vol 1, 9th edition, October 1997.
Ahmed Kathrada, RIM Chair and former Robben Island prisoner used the phrase ‘triumph of the
human spirit’, and it became a central theme for heritage interpretation at RIM.
222 ‘Welcome to Robben Island: Visitor’s Information’ (Pamphlet, 1999).
223 The image has been reproduced in many places, including in Charlene Smith, Mandela, pp 76‐77.
224 T‐Shirt with Schadeberg Mandela Image; Authentic replica prison key used on Robben Island
Maximum Security Prison’; Authentic replica stone collected at a quarry on Robben Island, Robben
Island Museum Shop, Nelson Mandela Gateway, V & A Waterfront, Cape Town 2003.
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