Bergie is a term used for a subsection of

homeless Homelessness or houselessness – also known as a state of being unhoused or unsheltered – is the condition of lacking stable, safe, and adequate housing. People can be categorized as homeless if they are: * living on the streets, also kn ...

people in

Cape Town Cape Town ( af, Kaapstad; , xh, iKapa) is one of South Africa's three capital cities, serving as the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. It is the legislative capital of the country, the oldest city in the country, and the second largest ...

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

. The word originates from the

Afrikaans Afrikaans (, ) is a West Germanic language that evolved in the Dutch Cape Colony from the Dutch vernacular of Holland proper (i.e., the Hollandic dialect) used by Dutch, French, and German settlers and their enslaved people. Afrikaans gra ...

''berg'' meaning "mountain" – the term originally referred to the homeless people who sheltered in the forests of the slopes of

Table Mountain Table Mountain ( naq, Huriǂoaxa, lit= sea-emerging; af, Tafelberg) is a flat-topped mountain forming a prominent landmark overlooking the city of Cape Town in South Africa. It is a significant tourist attraction, with many visitors using the ...

. The synonymous term stroller typically refers to

street children Street children are poor or homeless children who live on the streets of a city, town, or village. Homeless youth are often called street kids or street child; the definition of street children is contested, but many practitioners and policym ...

living a bergie lifestyle. They are

vagrant Vagrancy is the condition of homelessness without regular employment or income. Vagrants (also known as bums, vagabonds, rogues, tramps or drifters) usually live in poverty and support themselves by begging, scavenging, petty theft, temporar ...

s and

scavenger Scavengers are animals that consume dead organisms that have died from causes other than predation or have been killed by other predators. While scavenging generally refers to carnivores feeding on carrion, it is also a herbivorous feeding b ...

s, sometimes begging, performing odd jobs or working as informal car guards for tips. Most of them are

Cape Coloureds Cape Coloureds () are a South African ethnic group consisted primarily of persons of mixed race and Khoisan descent. Although Coloureds form a minority group within South Africa, they are the predominant population group in the Western Cape. ...

who speak

mixed with a few

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

terms, and are known for their sense of humour, vulgar language and alcohol consumption. Their lifestyle is portrayed in the 1987 novel ''The Strollers'' by

Lesley Beake Lesley Beake (born 1949) is a Scottish-born South African children's author. Life Lesley Beake was born and went to school in Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 council areas. Hist ...

, the 1998 documentary film ''Pavement Aristocrats: The Bergies of Cape Town'' by

François Verster François Verster (born 1969) is an independent South African film director and documentary maker. He has a wide background in writing, music, academia and film. After completing an MA degree with distinction under literature Nobel Prize laur ...

, and the play ''Suip!'', a

black comedy Black comedy, also known as dark comedy, morbid humor, or gallows humor, is a style of comedy that makes light of subject matter that is generally considered taboo, particularly subjects that are normally considered serious or painful to discus ...

co-written and directed by Heinrich Reisenhofer.

References

Homelessness Cape Town culture South African English Afrikaans words and phrases {{homelessness-stub

See also

References