The Bushmen, San or !Kung
Introducing the Bushmen also know as the San or !Kung people On religion: Kung, like the Bushmen as a whole, are traditional tribal religionists and very close to Christianity. They believe the celestial bodies (sun, moon, morning star, and the southern cross) are symbols of divinity. They believe the praying mantis is a divine messenger […]
The Wagtails Necklace
Bushman story of how the wagtail got its necklace. The Wagtail is one of our prettiest and most delicate birds, which has lived alongside man for many generations. The gentle Bushmen loved this bird too. The friendship began long ago when the Bushmen lived in the Cape in low caves with rocky walls and sandy […]
Sun, Moon and Stars in the night sky
There are many stories told of the sun, moon and stars. Some stories say that the Sun was once a man from whose armpits shone rays of light. He dwelt alone in a hut and his light shone only for himself. Some children belonging to the first Bushmen were sent to throw the sleeping Sun […]
God and the After Life
The Bushman’s god is nothing other than the unseen but all-encompassing prescence of the wilderness and the vast sky and mountain. They prayed occasionlly to the Sun or the Moon and the Stars, but they could give no explanation as to why they did this. Sometimes they called this prescence ‘Kaang’ or ‘Cagn’ and not […]
Bushmen Rock art and painting
A short introduction to the Rock art of southern Africa. Rock Painting There are over 15 000 sites in Southern Africa where such paintings have been found. The oldest in Namibia maybe as old as 27 000 years,though most were probably painted within the last 2 000 years. the Kloofs of the Cape Mountains. The […]
Stories of the Khoikhoi
“O Heitsi-Eibib Hail! Our forefather, Send luck to me. Give into my hand the wild game. Let me find honeycomb and sweet roots And I will sing your praise. Are you not our Father’s father You, Heitsi-Eibib? (T. Hahn, The native tribes of S.W. Africa.) The Khoikhoi It is said that the Khoikhoi, probably originated […]
Legends of the Cape of Good Hope
Stories from the Cape of Good Hope or the infamous Cape of Storms The Cape of Storms No one who has seen the vast and mysterious-looking bulk of Table Mountain looming up out of the ocean as their ship draws slowly through the dawn towards the southernmost tip of Africa could fail to be awed […]
Stories of the Karoo
The Great Karoo The Spectral Hitchhiker From the distant dark days of Jan Prinsloo to the modern age of motorbikes and tarred highways seems a great jump, but the mysterious atmosphere of the Little Karoo is unchanging. Not far from Uniondale on the national road, there is a turn-off that leads to Barandas. Here no […]
New Brighton Township Vegetable Garden
Previous Next It was in late 2008 when I was first introduced to Mama Winnie, a Xhosa Gogo (Grandmother) by Mr. Pandla, a one time member of uMkhonto we Sizwe, “The Spear of the Nation”, the armed wing of the liberation struggle and at that stage a guide at the really good Red Location museum. […]
Elukholweni Primary School
Farm school near Port Elizabeth Previous Next This is a school that was established on farm land on the western outskirts of Port Elizabeth. When I first visited the school early in 2008 with Jeremy and Jo Stattersfield with son Ned from Dover in England, they came away with what is best described as shock […]
