Instruments

In the picture you can see four of the
kids who are part of the Young San
Cultural Group.

In their hands are from left to right ...
can on a stick with some beans in it.
The girl on the left has the 'kaworoworo'.
I had a past blog article about it and
if you put kaworoworo in the search
field in the above right it should search
it out, if your interested.
The only thing I can add to my knowledge
of the kaworoworo is that by trying to
play it, I've found that as simple as it looks,
it takes some practice. So far, it appears
that I need a bit.

The next one is one of the new drums. In
fact, it is the big bass drum and you
can see in the middle of the drum's head
a black substance. That's from bees wax
and they put that on there to increase the
bass sound.

To the right the young girl has the '|'guru'
and again, there is a prior blog article
concerning it. Again, what I can add to my
knowledge of the |'guru is through my playing
it. This one is easier and you can see in the
girl's right hand what looks like a melon
skin. That has a little hole on the side of it
and there is a little piece of some type of
membrane over it. It plays best on the bare
stomach and it seems that it is something
that's played while someone is singing.

There are about two to three other instruments
that we need to get, plus also need to learn
how to play.

The second new drum's skin is already
destroyed. It only took a week so we have to
look for a new goat skin again. This time the
kids are going to pay for it. They have a little
fund they acquired from dancing for a few
tourists.

So the group's leader told them, you broke it,
you fix it.

The leader of the group is doing a good job
and is not only concerned with dancing and
performing but also the development of the
members character. Out here in the bush and
in this village, it is just so important.

But one thing I can say about the kids screwing
up the new drum ... well ... kids are kids no
matter where they are in the world.

Dancing in the moon light ...

As mentioned in the prior blog entry,
Saturday was supposed to be a special
night of dancing by the Young San Cultural
Group.

Well ... it happened ... it was something.

Around 6 p.m. everybody was in place at the
tree/cultural house area, ready to go. The two
new drums were in front of the fire heating up
the goat skins to tighten them up for the night
of song and dance.

At 6:30 when everything was organized the first
beat of the big drum (bass) started it all. The
sound of the drum was the call to the village and
about 30 minutes later the people began to
arrive.

I was really interested in watching the elders and
how they seemed to either enjoy or not enjoy the
spectacle. To get to the point, they enjoyed it.

The kids danced even more energized that during
the usual practices and the crowd really went wild.
The spectators jumped in and danced with the kids
whenever they had the whim to.

We had two bonfires spread apart by about 5 to 6
meters and the dancers danced between them.
In the night of the full moon and with the bonfires
blazing, added up to ... well ... wow. It was surreal
with the drum beating and the people dancing.

The kids danced for a total of 8 and a half hours and
it ended with almost all the kids sleeping in front
of the fires at 4 o'clock in the morning.

At around 2 in the morning people passing to another
village stopped and it resulted in a dance off. It was
the kids on one side and older (20 to 35) on the
other side. It was about even as to who won and it
was people giving it their all, so as the saying
goes, everybody won.

In the end the maize meal porridge was served and
everyone ate till full and that's about the time the
kids started dropping off by the fire.

In my opinion it was even more successful than I thought
it would be. The idea was to re-enact how it was in
the 'old days' when being around the campfire at night
was a way of life.

I haven't met any of the elders to ask their opinion of
how it was but I am feeling that they enjoyed themselves.

A goal of this was to make an activity that would attract
people away from the bars. It is only a one night thing
but even one night with less time in a bar is going in
the right direction.

As for me, I never get tired of being there seeing these
type of events. Even after many years I am still thankful
that I have the opportunity to experience these
incredible moments.

Tuning ...

In the picture you can see one of the drummers
from the Young San Cultural Group tuning our
second and newest drum.

Now the group is fully equipped with their own
drums and there is more to come to outfit the
group to be as traditional as possible.

Even though we are striving to have all the traditional
items, it doesn't mean that the songs and dances
will be totally traditional.

These are young kids and they are creative. They
have made new songs and new dances themselves.
It is fun to see the old traditional songs to keep
the 'old ways' going but it is encouraging to see the
young people creating and making for the future
generations, their version of their now culture.

The drum head is made from a goat skin. Depending
on some factors, the skin gets stretched out a bit,
at times. So, to tighten it up it just requires making
a fire and placing the drum near the fire, as seen
in the picture.

The girl is actually beating the drum and will remove
it from near the fire when she gets the skin tightened
to where it makes the sound she's looking for.

Tomorrow night's plan for having a night time performance
by the group is still on. We bought some maize meal
to make some porridge and will make a sauce to
go with it.

The program is simple. We cook some food while the
dancers dance. We formally break out the two new
drums, hopefully some of the villagers will come out
and it will keep them away for drinking for a little
while.

It will be the first time for this activity in the village since
'the old days'. Well, that's what I've been told.

Big drum

I just returned to the village after a few
days in the capital.
As mentioned in the prior blog post, the
cultural group received their first drum
out of two that was requisitioned.
The man standing behind the drum is about
5 ft 8 inches or 1.727 meters tall. That should
give a rough idea as to how tall the drum is.
This evening the Cultural Group broke it out
for the first time.
It was a energized moment. The dancers
danced spiritedly in honor of their new drum.
This drum has a real heavy big drum sound
to it and there is no doubt from anyone hearing
it, that it is substantial.
The drum head is made of goat skin and being
that it is new, is still a little damp and will
tighten up more in time. Despite that it has a
good sound.
The man who made the drum at first was skeptical
that we would pay for it. He mentioned that he'd
made drums before for people whom didn't pay.
He was one happy man when he received his
money immediately upon completion. He then
went back to finish the second one and said that
by Monday it should be completed.
The man worked hard and had to travel out deep
in the bush to find the tree suitable for the drum.
He went into a somewhat dangerous area where
there are buffalo, elephants, hyenas. If there are
buffalo, then probably a few big cats and of course
snakes, just to make this drum. He did a great
job and again, it sounds strong.
An idea for next Saturday night is to bring both
new drums out to the cultural area, light a fire
and have the group perform for the village. Just
like it was in the 'old days'.
I hope we can organize it and make it happen, it
would be great to be able to step back in time
for one night.

Footing in Rundu

Even though English is spoken in many countries
there are differences.
The header is an example of that. In the States the
header would be ... Walking in Rundu. But here, if
I said the word walking, not too many people would
understand what I was trying to say. Time and time
again I keep forgetting and use the word walking and
have to consciously make a note to remember to
use 'footing' the next time.
I took the picture while footing to the food store
and the land on the other side of the river is
the neighboring Angola.
At the moment I am in the Capital and hopefully
by Friday it is back in the village. I've received
a message that the drum we had a man make
who lives two villages over, is finished.
It will be the property of the Young San Cultural
Group and it should be the first of two. We are
having a little trouble finding a goat skin for the
second drum and when I get back I hope that
we can get on that.
So for now, it is goodbye from Windhoek.