making clothes

Our Young San Cultural Group uses as
their clothing, skins, just like in the old way.
The San cannot hunt anymore as was their
cultural/ancestral way. So to get skins it's not
like the way it used to be where the hunters
would go out and of course bring them back.
Now, how one gets a hold of skins is to
request it from the local game farms or
from the game hunters.
There is game hunting allowed and it is done
in a controlled manner so as to not deplete
the animal population.
Our cultural group has grown a little and we
were in need of a few articles of clothes for
the boys.
In the picture you can see one of the managers
of the group sewing a skin into a piece of
clothing.

There were a few things that happened this
week. One actually happened and the other is
a promise for something to happen.
First, the promise of what may happen. That is,
that we may get the opportunity to take the
cultural group kids to a game park. This will
be accomplished with the help of one of the
Lodges which are along the Okavango river.
The owners are from South Africa and they
are interested in working and supporting the
San people.
They have promised to provide two game
watching vehicles and the kids ought to be
looking pretty important riding in those. None
of the kids have seen many of the game animals
and this should be a huge treat. Here it is a
bit different as there isn't much transport
available for these types of activities.
To say the least, this will be big.
As a way of saying thank you to the Lodge
owners we are hoping to go to the place
itself and perform an appreciation program.
This will also get the kids to see this Lodge
which is a really nice one.
So, as it goes time and time again. This is a
promise and nothing has happened and
seeing is believing but this one seems a
little more sure than usual.

The thing that did happen was on the 7th it
was National HIV testing day. Man, there was
at least 150 people that showed up. The other
years there were like 15 tops. Don't know
what happened but it was crazy.
Knowing one's status really is the only way to
plan.
If one is negative they can continue to protect
themselves, or, if they were just plain lucky, then,
they can think seriously about protecting
themselves.
For those who have contracted HIV, then, they
can be monitored until or if, they may need to
start taking ARVs.
But to have that many people come out is
close to a miracle.
It was a good week and really pretty satisfying.

Rollin

In the picture is what is for dessert
today.
The weather in the southern hemisphere
is starting to change and the sun is
beginning to get a bit stronger day by
day.
This gives us the opportunity to get more
creative with our solar oven menu as we
have more heat to work with.
What me and my site mate made were
these rolls. There are two types thanks
to a care package. We have blueberry
and raisin.
With the limited supplies we have out
in the bush it takes a little creativeness
to put anything other than rice and sardines
in our plates.
It is a simple recipe and if anyone is interested
here it is ...

-1 and half cups of flour
-1 package of cinnamon oatmeal
half teaspoon of salt
-1 to 1 and a half tablespoon(s) of yeast
- over room temperature of water or warm to touch

knead that together and let sit in warm place for
about half an hour.

Then the key to this is to roll it out using an old
ketchup bottle into a semi thin sheet. (The
bottle is the only thing we had to roll the
dough out). Just joking and anything to roll
out is obviously ok.

Next ingredients are ...
- cinnamon
- sugar
- blueberries
- raisins

Sprinkle a generous amount of cinnamon and
sugar on the top. Then add the raisins and
blueberries. Roll them up them cut them into
pieces like in the photo.

We put them in the solar oven for a few hours
but now the sun is overhead and the oven
is really hot. So don't know how that would
translate into a regular oven temperature.

But it came out great, it is a little treat and
despite being out here in the middle of nowhere,
with a bunch of sun, it can be done.

Visitors

In the picture on the left are two bicyclists.
They are from France and have been cycling
down the west coast of Africa.

They've been on the road exactly one year
when they dropped in to stay overnight here
in the village. At the end of one year they have
accumulated 11,000 kilometers.

For me it was interesting and I can speak the
French language. They were surprised and
of course they observed and mentioned that
I speak the Quebec / Canadian French. But
actually I really speak the Le Senegal village
French. I can speak well enough to not be
able to go hungry in any Francophone country.
But it was good nonetheless to be able to use
the language again.

Also in the picture on the right is the guy from
Romania and his wife and child.

We are located in the middle of a national
park and there isn't much for miles or
kilometers at a time. So, for cyclists our
location is actually advantageous.

So far we've had a couple from New Zealand
and the United States stay here about a month
back.

This is actually a pretty fun thing to be able to
have people drop by and if they are cycling
through Africa they are apt to be interesting.

As far as activities in the village ... it has been
a little slow. The work with the cultural group
has been sidetracked due to a church taking
the group and using them as a choir. It is ok
except for the fact that the church has practice
on Friday and then has services later on
Saturday. So, they cut into the time that was
used as cultural group time.

I really don't know how this will pan out but I am
hoping that the cultural group will be able to
get back together. But this one I am not too
sure of.

This seems to be a typical scenario. It goes
like this ... whenever it is too good to be true,
it is.

So, it is placing a little more emphasis now
on the small business sector or ... working
with the guy who is working to develop his
beekeeping.

So, seeing as plan A is sidetracked, it's time
to go to plan B.

Now it is out tomorrow to look for a plan C.
I found that a volunteer always needs to have
one plan in the bank, just in case.

semi traditional

In the picture is a traditional piece used
by the village's San cultural group.

The skirt is tied around the waist and
the beaded area is worn over the behind.
When the girls are dancing the beads
move and it adds kind of maracas sound
to the songs.

The one in the picture is actually a mixture.
The yellow pieces are reeds and are
actually traditional for the Mbukushu people.
They are a Bantu language speaking tribe.
The other pieces are porcupine quills.

The San (Khwe) people are Khoesan
speaking and their traditional pieces
are the porcupine quills.

For the Young San Traditional Dance
Group we have about 6 of those at this
time. We are in the process of trying to
change the reeds to the quills.

To get the quills is not easy and it is more
about people happening to find them. So,
it is going to be a process to outfit the 6
skirts with the quills.

It will take time. Things move slow out here
in the bush.

Blank Slate - Sign

I have been back in the village for over
a month and it is always a little struggle
to get momentum going again.
But ... things are starting to move. Right
now the majority of the people in the
village are out in the bush collecting what
they call ... devil's claw. .
They dig it up, sell it and it is then exported
to somewhere in Europe where I've been
told they process it for some natural remedy
or drink. I really don't know for sure.
We have been continuing with the Young San
(Khwe) Cultural Group project. In the picture
is an old metal shelf from a locker that we'll
try and make a nice sign out of. The kids
have gotten a little entrepreneurial and have
gone out to the road and are trying to attract
tourist to watch them dance and hopefully
leave an offering.
What happens is that we are the first village
that anyone comes too after driving 60 km
or about 42 miles. So by the time they come
up upon the village they are going pretty fast.
The kids have found that they need a decent
sign that is at least 500 meters or yards
ahead of where they are so the people have
time to stop or not jam on the brakes and
create an accident.
So, me and the Romanian guy have volunteered
to try and make a good sign that will be easy
to read for people who are traveling at 130 kph
or 80 miles per hour.
We also made a music CD of the songs that
the group performs. I took the audio off the
video clips that we took of their practices. The
group played it last night. I wasn't there but
I guess they had a little speaker system and
the neighbors all came over thinking that they were
performing. The kids danced to the CD and also
decided that they wanted to do a few of the songs
over and also add to the 12 songs on the disc.
We are trying to also take the kids out to the
game park to see some of the animals. This
is always an exercise in patience and the ability
to face rejection and being let down. We have
talked with an organization about transportation
but we would be going in a few weeks during
their school break. A few weeks is a long time
when it comes to planning things out here. So,
that's on the drawing board and we'll just try our
level best to make it work for the kids.
I've had a discussion with David the head of the
cultural group and a person who works with
cultural issues and so forth.
The point is that with the change in the traditional
ways of the San that the knowledge of the those
ways have a chance of vanishing with the passing
of the elders. I brought back a small Flip Video
camera and the thought is to try and film interviews
with the elders and hopefully get them to demonstrate
the traditional skills and tell us of the old ways.
The thought is that if we can document some or all
of it that it would be available for future generations
if need be. I am not sure if this has been done before
for this San (Khwe) people but no one seems to
remember anything like it.
The plan is to create a small digital library . But like
all the ideas and plans, it seems great and we are
ambitious about it. The real thing is ... can we do it.
This will take participation and if the elders agree
then we are in business.
We have one man who lived the old ways until he
was in his early 20's, so he would have gone
through all the traditional ways such as hunting a
springbok on foot. This would have proven that
he was capable of being a provider. We will
start with him and he is a good man with an
open mind and he understands what we are
trying to do.
I am excited about this as I should have a
tremendous chance to learn of the old ways. Of
course they will talk in the San language of
Khwedam so I will understand not too much.
David will fill me in afterwards.
Right now the majority of the work is cultural related
and in my mind it is more important than what it
seems to be. A people have lost their traditional
ways and are struggling to find another identity
or way. Sometimes it is better to take what you've
learned and then go back to the beginning or
basics. In this case the basics are the old societal
ways.
Now, the societal ways are somewhat confused and
many of the ways such as only elders could drink
alcohol, respect for adults and expectation of young
men providing for their families are on the way to
being lost. These are just a few examples.
By keeping in touch with the old way's expectations
from the society and adapting it to today's life, I
think that the San could work they way out of the
marginalized life that many are experiencing now.
All this sounds good on paper but it is a challenge
at the least. That's why I came back for a third year.

Mood lighting

It has been a while since I've posted to
this blog. In the meantime I've been back
home to the States for a month's leave.

I arrived back in the village last weekend
and have begun my third year here.

It takes a few days to get back in the swing
of things for the obvious reason that the life
in the States as compared to here is very
different. It takes energy to grasp a hold of
the 'now' and the wheels in the brain were
spinning continuously marking the differences
from here and there.

But it is back and it is time to get back to
business.

I went to the cultural group's practice yesterday
and they were highly motivated and it was
really fun and the energy was proverbially off
the charts. We've gotten a new skin to replace
the one on the second new drum. That was
the one that the kids destroyed within the first
week. It is a duiker skin and should be a few
times stronger than a goat skin. They said that
the duiker skin should last at least three years.
All we have to do is get the man who made the
drums to do the process of treating the skin and
make it fit.

We did a little home improvement as you can
see in the picture. With electricity at what is best
described as 'sometimes' we have to always
have the candle back ups.

We made four of these wall mounted candle holders
out of some wood that was laying around. One person
mentioned that we are getting the old castle lighting
scheme going.

They may call it that but I call it mood lighting. In fact,
it's really kind of nice at night and has a peaceful and
tranquil effect which is a good way to end anyone's
day.

So, it is back in the saddle again and as things get
moving, I will be posting more entries.

One more year and more ahead.

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.