Kaworoworo

In the picture there is Anton playing a musical
instrument called the kaworoworo.

It is obvious to see that it is a piece of wood
which is bent and with a string. The bent wood
tightens up the string till it gives the desired sound.

On the side that you can't see, are small cuts
into the wood or notches. These are situated
at the bottom of the arc. 

Above you can see Anton holding the kaworoworo
and at the same time he is moving a stick across
the notches, with the thumb of his other hand he is
moving the string in and out and also ... adjusting
the sound with his mouth, which acts something
like a speaker.

It has a twangy but earthy sound to it.

Interesting thing is that no one in the village I am in
knows how to play it. (Anton is not from our village).

From what I was told, it has only been a generation
or two since the kaworoworo was used almost nightly.

At night the men used to sit around the fire and play
the kaworoworo while telling stories and giving out
wisdom. Stories of how greed was the downfall of a
person, for example. These stories were told to teach
the younger ones the ways and wisdom of the elders.

The problems we have is that we need to go
several villages over to find some elders who still can
play these instruments. Then we need to find some of
the younger ones who want to learn.

Hopefully through our efforts we can save some of these
traditions within the village before it is too late.

Thanksgiving 2010

Being from the USA and here out in the bush
of Namibia on a Thanksgiving Day makes one
go out and try to do something a little special.

In the picture is our Thanksgiving Day meal. No
turkey, gravy or stuffing. There's none of that out
here 70 km (46 miles) from anywhere.

We just have to make do. We put this little quick
and simple feast together. We, as in me and my new
site mate Gretchen.

The bread is actually a Romanian recipe called gogos.
The s at the end of the word should have a little 's'
underneath it to give it a 'shuh' sound. They are
really good and actually make a little pocket to allow
a filling if desired.

In the bowl is an 'out in the bush what you got' recipe.
It is cooked dried split peas with sardines in chili sauce
added in are some salt, pepper and ketchup.

It came out ok and was a good meal. Bob the Romanian
guy came over and we had a nice little Thanksgiving day.

In this case it wasn't the food that was the center of this
Thanksgiving for us out here in the bush, it was the
people we were with.

For me, I will always remember Thanksgiving Day 2010.
It was me, Gretchen, Bob the Romanian guy and a
pile of gogos.

Not forgetting the hand ...

That feeds you, is the best way to describe the
topic of this blog article. In the picture is a
dog that hangs around Bob 'the Romanian
guy's' building/house. When Bob went back to
visit Romania for 4 months, the dog was basically
left to fend for herself. That's life out here in the
bush and it may not be exactly survival of the fittest,
but being fit helps, a lot.

So, I would go by there daily and give the dog what
is called fat cakes. Fat cakes are made by making
balls of dough and putting them in boiling oil. They
aren't bad at all but because there isn't any stores here
that sell dog food (seeing as we are 70 kilometers out
in the bush, may be the reason), fat cakes was about the
only option.

The dog really went down to skin and bones, she had
5 puppies at the time and she would eat one fat cake,
then take the other with her and bury it for later.

So fast forward a few months and the dog is being fed
and is healthy and doing well.

Every time I am walking towards Bob's place the dog
just comes running at me and is almost crying.

I don't give her much food now as she is ok but every time
as she approaches I just think of the old saying ... the one
about not forgetting the hand that feeds you.