With the Click of a Tongue
BOTSWANA | Wednesday, 19 September 2007 | Views [1277]
San Bushmen Elder GHANZI
We'd crossed the border and had entered into Botswana where, after an incredibly long bus ride, we stayed in Ghanzi. The next morning we woke early and had a Bushman walk with the San Bushmen of the Kalahari. I'm a huge fan of the films 'The Gods Must Be Crazy I & II' so I was extremely excited about this activity. Sure enough their attire and demeanor were just like that of the movies. They almost seemed like children with their small (yet extremely fit) physique and their jovial personas as they were constantly laughing and wearing HUGE grins on their faces. Normally the Bushmen tribes have little communication with foreigners (a term which refers to anyone who doesn't live in the Kalahari) but due to the discovery of diamonds in the desert these people were forced off the land that hundreds of generations have occupied and now live in dwellings near westernized cities. Since many of the elders don't speak English and none of us have mastered the click of the tongue we had an interpreter. From them we learned how they use the land to survive such dry and arid conditions like filling an ostrich egg with water which they bury for months at a time and return to it when needed. We also learned how they use plants for medicinal value, like birth control. However, it was heartwrenching to see that their move to a westernized society has had its affects on them with alcohol and cigarettes. Our interpreter informed us, for 10 years an appeal has been in court to allow the Bushmen to return to the desert but it wasn't until this year that it went through with approval. With this new approval many of them, mostly elders, will be returning to the desert sands. Unfortunately their numbers will be fewer than what they were before leaving. Sadly, the San Bushmen are a dying breed and their customs and traditions will probably go with them but I have hope that they will thrive.
Tags: Culture
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