Today I went to Kob Inn and Jujurha with Tata Tshawe and Linda (from the Department of Arts and Culture). These areas are about 200 kilometers away from East London in the area known as the Transkei (pronounced like tran-sky). These are the real rural areas like you wouldn’t believe. Actually these areas are probably more like what many of you might think of when you think of Africa: dirt roads, open fields, no electricity, no cars (besides the rare passer through, people from the nearest town, or government vehicles), round houses with thatched roofs (called rondavels), and many women carrying things on their heads. I went to these areas with the Tata Tshawe (my boss; his name is actually MR Dumalisile, but he himself is a Xhosa chief, so we call him by his clan name which is Tshawe and tata means father or dad in Xhosa) and Linda from the Department of Arts and Culture (both of them are Xhosa; you might not think that with a name like Linda, she would be African, but Linda is actually a Xhosa word which means “to wait”). They, and every Xhosa person I talked to about these areas, said “So, you got to see the TRUE Xhosa way of life!” The way of life in this area is the closest things to real traditional Xhosa life as you can get, and the people in this area are the “true” Xhosas, the “pure” Xhosas.
We first went to a Great Place which is the name of the place that a chief lives. We went to visit one of the area’s chiefs because he knows his stuff and is Xhosa through and through. He had a family tree that traced like four generations back from him and shows his royal lineage. He explained how the Xhosa are from the Nguni peoples and that there are three brothers that all Nguni people trace their linage back to. He said that the Xhosa come from the eldest brother (and therefore are of greater importance and have more prestige) and that the Zulu come from the second born, and the Swati from the last born. He is very proud of his heritage. In fact, as part of my research, I am asking to video tape people from the different South African tribes first convincing the camera that they belong to the tribe they identify themselves as and then to convince the camera that they belong to a different tribe (then people will watch these videos and have to guess which one is a lie and which one is truth). When I asked this chief to say he was Sotho, he got very upset and asked “Why woul anyone say they are something they are not?” he explained to me that as the chief, he represents the whole Xhosa people and is a place of reference for what is pure Xhosa tradition and to even say he is something else (even in this context) would delegitimize him in front of his people and his leadership would be put into question. I apologized and we moved on, but I learned a lot about the important role that chiefs play (especially in rural South Africa).
When we left, we saw a lot of elderly women gathering together, and Tata told me that they we waiting for the government truck to come and give them their pension (which is R900 per month or about $120). We came across a car that was unloading four women, and one women was walking on all fours and all of us were heart broken. She must have broken her back sometime in life and can only get around by walking on all fours. So Tata said we should give them a lift to meant the government truck. That was my first insight into the fact that life is so much more difficult here. This women could not get proper medical attention (and cannot afford it anyway) but is making due with what life has thrown her.
We went further into Kob Inn and met a group of people that Tata knew (he is originally from this area) and had organized for me to include in my research. Now, I had explained my research to Tata, but there must have been a communication breakdown somewhere along the way (as there so often is for me here J). In the videos I am making I want people to wear there everyday clothes because if they are dressed in their traditional clothes, then their ethnic identity is automatically given away. He thought I wanted videos and pictures of traditional dances and clothing and traditional life (which I do want but are not part of my formal research project). Now I felt I needed to explain things to him, so as to avoid further miscommunications because we were planning to meet more people to help me with my research. It got quite heated because as I explained, Tata said “But people overseas must know our traditional clothes and way of life.” He did not understand that I wanted to film to videos in order to show other South Africans, not Americans. So, I was saying I wanted them to wear their everyday, more “western clothes” for my videos, and he and the people were saying they wanted to wear their traditional clothes. So, it sounded like I was saying they must dress as I want them to because it is more like me which is not what I was trying to say. That was the first episode that made me feel a little bit crappy because do want to know and understand their culture (that is why I am here), but I also need these videos to be done properly. So I suggested that I take some with and some without, but I think the damage had already been done.
Then, we chose a few people to do the videos, and it was a challenge. These people in this area did not have the luxury of school, so they are all “uneducated” in the formal sense and cannot speak English. Now, to keep the videos fare and controlled, I have to have the people (no matter what their tribe) speak English in parts of the videos. So, we began to coach them in how to say certain things, and some never quite got it, but we made due with what we had. So, in the midst of all of this, I thought to myself: “Self, would you be able to do this same thing if someone came and asked you to do it in Xhosa?” and the answer is NO, I could not do it. So, what gives me the right to ask them to do this for me? I was not necessarily harming these people in any way, but I felt very neo-colonial in my relationship to these people; let me explain. A white man comes in (and a get immediate respect because I am American and white in this remote area, I do not ask for or deserve this respect, but I get it none the less) with the government and tells people that they must wear their western clothes and speak English. Against the backdrop of apartheid that these people are coming from in which African culture was demonized and western culture glorified, my position there was anything but what I wanted it to be. I really really hope that I did not have a negative effect on these people, and I hope that they understand that I really do have a great respect for them, their culture, and their way of life. The last thing I want to be associated with is colonialism, and yet I found myself playing that role.
I did not get to take many “cultural” pictures, because by the time I was done doing the videos, everyone else was drunk. Unfortunately, drinking away ones sorrows is a principle that has even touched this part of the world.
We proceeded to Jujurha (pronounced jew-jew-gha where the gha here represents that guttural g that is so common in German and Dutch) where things got a little bit better. Tata Tshawe and the Heritage office (which is the branch within the Dept of A&C that I work with and he is the manager of) has adopted the Jujurha Women’s Heritage and Development Project by trying to give them a little bit of funding. They are promoting these women’s independence and self-reliance by providing resources for these women to further develop their bead-working skills and sell the items they make in order to create income for themselves. We went to visit these ladies so that I could get a few more videos and so that Linda to give them a report of what is happening from the offices’ side and what they can expect from the office. These women are amazing! They we so kind and friendly, and even though they spoke about as much English as I speak Xhosa (which is next to none, but two ladies did speak really good English), we still had a great time and I could feel their appreciation for me being there, and I feel they could feel my appreciation for them allowing me to come and visit them.
When I entered the house, there were dried corn cobs hanging from the rafters, and Tata told me that people here do this so that people that come into the house know that they people staying here are farmers. Then, we moved to the rondavel and sat in there, so I could do the videos. We had fun while I filmed the videos and they laughed when I spoke a few Xhosa words here and there. They showed me all their bead work they had done and even dressed me up in a bunch of it which again got lots of laughs and hopefully showed my willingness to learn about their culture). Then Linda gave her report, Tata gave thanks on my behalf (which I was very grateful for; it really pained me that I could not properly express myself and my gratitude for all they had done for me), and they had prepared a great meal for us. I did not do much of anything for them and did not spend a whole lot of time with them. They gave me a great meal and helped me see how women survive in this harsh environment that is rural life in South Africa. I know that we all grew so much. They were grateful for my visit and that I had come so far and had the opportunity to visit them, and I feel blessed to have been shown such great love and to have the opportunity to be a part of their lives for a short moment. They are inspiring and show me the power of the human soul to love and push forward in the face of so many challenges. I wish I could explain to you how difficult life really is here is the rural areas (it sucks), but these people push forward the live life and love it and do the best they can with what they have been given. I take too much for granted that is for sure, but that is only the first step . . . what am I going to do to stop taking these things for granted? That is the real question! There is a great different between realizing my unearned privileges and actually taking the steps to refuse these privileges.
I hope I do not sound like a romanticist and I really hope that I do not present these things in a manner that makes them out to be hokey. I hope that I present these issues and people in a proper light that can help in some small way.
Oh and on the way home, we stopped and met . . . guess who? . . . Thabo Mbeki (who is the current president of South Africa), we met Thabo Mbeki’s mom, she is sooo sweet, I will try to post her picture soon.
Rural South African life is unbearably heavy; and once again colonialism shows its ugly face but this time through me . . .
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