Visit to Mooi Plaas

Now this was one unforgettable experience. Megan, Jaco, and I had a
great weekend in the end of May with Heidie & Lappies and Sonja &
Awie and all of there kiddos! This is one cool family that has
reached out to Megan and I since we first visited Mariental in
November 2005 before permanently moving in in January. Awie was
filling in as a relief teacher at Lappies' school and Sonja is
Heidie's sister, so there are many connections. In addition to spend
a day and night in the veld with the Bushmen (see below) we got to
touch Botswana, track a Black Mamba (the scariest, most dangerous
snake here!), drive in the veld in the night looking for animals,
braai, and hang out with two incredible families for a long weekend!

The Bushmen are traditionally nomadic people who live in the Kalahari
(Namibia and Botswana) as hunters and trackers. They have incredible
knowledge of the veld (open field) of the Kalahari and can survive
quite happily for a long time out in the veld.

However, there is little open land not owned by private people or the
government for them to live on, so many groups now live in
'homelands" which are like reservations. They are basically the
lowest when it comes to social rank amongst the different tribes of
people living in the homeland. Kids at school get teased for being a
"bushman" whether they are or not. We learned that many are ashamed
to dress in their traditional dress as other tribes can when going to
town because of ridicule. There are few opportunities for earning an
income on the homeland. In addition, their culture is sort of dying
out.

Awie, a farmer whose farm borders one of these homelands, has gotten
to know one special family of Bushmen. He has established a
relationship with them a created a camp on his farm where they have
built some of their traditional houses. He has worked with them to
establish Bushmen tours in a non-exploiting way for tourists. The
Bushmen come to his farm and stay in their own houses that they have
made. The tourists come to the farm and stay in stick and mud houses
built by Tswanas. The two camps are right next to each other, so the
tourists with Awie walk over and spend the day with the Bushmen
talking (Afrikaans is the common language), learning about their
lives, culture, and how they make things. Awie knows a lot about
their culture and wanted to help them to teach others about it while
also earning some money to help improve their lives in a way that
they are not exploited. He serves as a translator if the visitors do
not speak Afrikaans.

Luckily, the weekend that we (Megan, Jaco, and I) were visiting,
there was a tour scheduled. We were able to join in and were a total
of five visitors for the Bushmen. That is about the maximum size for
the design of the tour. We had a great day with the Bushmen. We
learned that the patriarch is one of the main leaders of the whole
Bushmen community in this homeland. His daughter who was paralyzed
at a young age and in this culture would normally be cast off is now
one of the main leaders and is a traditional healer in their
community. We didn't just meet any Bushmen, but some of the main
leaders! They were kind and enjoyed showing us things like how they
make ostrich egg shell jewelry and how they find water in trees in
the veld. They took us on a walk in the veld and showed Megan how to
track a springbok, don't think that she would survive very long in
the veld. What looks like a bunch of random marks in the sand is
actually a pathway to dinner for the trained eye and knowledge of the
Bushmen. They showed us how to make a traditional trap out of
sticks, string, and grass in hopes of catching a steenbok. The young
men taught us a game that they enjoy which involves throwing sticks
on a pile of sand and seeing which one flies the furthest.

In the evening we were invited to join them at their campfire where
they sang and danced into the night! The next morning, after a good
sleep in a stick and mud house in the veld, we went back to the
Bushmen to thank them for teaching us about their culture and say our
goodbyes. At this time we also had an opportunity to buy crafts that
they made. Megan and I both bought jewelry for ourselves and for
gifts. Jaco got a handmade walking stick like Awie and Oupa Bushman
(patriarch) have.

This was an experience that now of us will forget! We even learned
about a special connection between Oupa Bushman and Jaco's great
uncle who was from a farm only 60 kilometers west of Awie and Sonja.

Many thanks to Heidie and Lappies for arranging this weekend to visit
Mooi Plaas ("Beautiful Farm") and many thanks to Awie and Sonja for
hosting us!!!!!!!!!!!! We had a great time as you can see from some
of the photos!