Western Cape indigenous culture
May 12th, 2009, 01:16 PM
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Western Cape indigenous culture
Are there any traditional indigenous villages in the Western Cape that we could visit and perhaps spend a night in?
I feel awkward even asking this question! Our family (with kids ages 9 and 11) is spending a month in southern Africa this June/July. We'll spend about a week in the Cape Town area in addition to driving up to the Cederberg Wilderness Area for a 3-night trek. We'll also spend 10 days in Zimbabwe on safari and in Victoria Falls.
We're psyched, but I'm concerned that we won't get the experience that my wife and I had in East and West Africa of hanging out in small indigenous villages. By "indigenous" I guess I mean black, though I am uncomfortable saying that. I don't mean to say that Afrikaners aren't "African" or we don't care about their culture; I'm sure we'll experience and enjoy it. But it seems a shame to travel to sub-Saharan Africa and not experience the longest-standing traditions there. Especially for our kids, who haven't been to Africa before.
We will take a tour of some NGOs in Cape Town townships and will probably spend a night or two in one of the townships there. And from Vic Falls our safari guides will take us to visit a village and school in Zimbabwe. But rural villages tend to have more traditional lifestyles than urban ones, and guided visits make genuine interaction difficult.
So... where else in the Western Cape can we see traditional indigenous African life? We will have a car and a few extra days when we drive up to Cederberg. We could visit “Ma Betty’s Xhosa Cultural Experience" (http://www.oudtshoorninfo.com/attrac...4&category=105) outside Oudtshoorn; it looks interesting but of course staged. Anyone have a better idea?
We also have a full day in Jo'berg that we could devote to this purpose, if that's enough time to get to a small village. I know township tours and cultural shows are an option there, too.
Am I searching for a part of South Africa that doesn't exist (or exists only in Zululand)? Please feel free to make suggestions and/or educate me....
I feel awkward even asking this question! Our family (with kids ages 9 and 11) is spending a month in southern Africa this June/July. We'll spend about a week in the Cape Town area in addition to driving up to the Cederberg Wilderness Area for a 3-night trek. We'll also spend 10 days in Zimbabwe on safari and in Victoria Falls.
We're psyched, but I'm concerned that we won't get the experience that my wife and I had in East and West Africa of hanging out in small indigenous villages. By "indigenous" I guess I mean black, though I am uncomfortable saying that. I don't mean to say that Afrikaners aren't "African" or we don't care about their culture; I'm sure we'll experience and enjoy it. But it seems a shame to travel to sub-Saharan Africa and not experience the longest-standing traditions there. Especially for our kids, who haven't been to Africa before.
We will take a tour of some NGOs in Cape Town townships and will probably spend a night or two in one of the townships there. And from Vic Falls our safari guides will take us to visit a village and school in Zimbabwe. But rural villages tend to have more traditional lifestyles than urban ones, and guided visits make genuine interaction difficult.
So... where else in the Western Cape can we see traditional indigenous African life? We will have a car and a few extra days when we drive up to Cederberg. We could visit “Ma Betty’s Xhosa Cultural Experience" (http://www.oudtshoorninfo.com/attrac...4&category=105) outside Oudtshoorn; it looks interesting but of course staged. Anyone have a better idea?
We also have a full day in Jo'berg that we could devote to this purpose, if that's enough time to get to a small village. I know township tours and cultural shows are an option there, too.
Am I searching for a part of South Africa that doesn't exist (or exists only in Zululand)? Please feel free to make suggestions and/or educate me....
May 12th, 2009, 06:26 PM
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http://www.khwattu.org/4/home
You could investigate this. Someone shared this link with me. I have not done it, but would consider it. Having a car, as you will, would really help.
You could investigate this. Someone shared this link with me. I have not done it, but would consider it. Having a car, as you will, would really help.
May 12th, 2009, 09:47 PM
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Hi btburger
I'm not sure exactly what you're looking for, but in South Africa in particular the realities of "traditional villages" tend to be a hybrid of contemporary and traditional life, with some residents moving back and forth between modern urban centres (e.g., Johannesburg) and their ancestral homes. Cell phones, radio and television are commonly available directly or indirectly and the internet isn't uncommon either via schools, government facilities or libraries. As a result, popular culture and traditional culture have mixed for a long time and the boundaries between them can be difficult to perceive, much less to understand. I can recommend Bulungula (http://bit.ly/deTiL) in the Eastern Cape as a place where you have the opportunity to navigate these boundaries in a very traditional but unstaged environment. It sounds like your plans are well developed already, but if you can adjust things to spend 4 or 5 days at Bulungula, I believe you'll find what you're looking for.
Also, in the Western Cape, the traditional patterns of settlement were not village-based. The Khoe were pastoralists and semi-nomadic and the San were hunter-gatherers and also semi-nomadic. Their ways of life have been up-ended, co-opted, destroyed, transformed by 400+ years of European influence including colonialism and slavery, urbanisation, civil strife and other forces. Most of the communities outside of urban centres will resemble rural farming or fishing towns/villages on a Western pattern.
Global warming has made the farming of wheat and other crops less viable up the West Coast and the depletion of fishing stock (along with the corporatisation of fishing fleets) has made traditional fishing village life a vanishing reality, so "traditional" communities are in a state of flux for those reasons as well.
The Western Cape is also relatively affluent and has excellent tourism infrastructure, so most little towns and villages have packaged some sort of tourism experience for visitors, making access to "ordinary life" a bit more complicated. Ordinary life also tends to be...ordinary. We also have the complexity of "coloured" culture which is distinctive in the region and full of contradictions, nuances and unique experiences from the cuisine to music to religion and much more (http://bit.ly/KV4zv)
Some suggestions for less packaged authentic local experiences in the Western Cape:
Home-based accommodation found along the South-North route (http://www.south-north.co.za) - Papendorp in particular is a good option.
Stay at the Beacon of Zebulun guesthouse in Atlantis (http://www.beaconofzebulun.co.za) and ask proprietor Sabrina Adams to introduce you to the local flavour of life in Atlantis
You could just wander into towns like Eland's Bay or Citrusdal or Piketberg or Zoar or Elim and start chatting up the locals. YMMV.
As atravelynn suggested, !Khwa ttu is an excellent option for learning about San culture, but it is not a village.
There are other options closer to the city of Cape Town, and if you would like the authentic local urban/suburban neighbourhood experience I'm happy to make other suggestions.
There are also tours, museums and other "staged" venues for learning about and experiencing authentic local culture that I can suggest - just let me know whether that would also be of interest
HTH
Kurt
I'm not sure exactly what you're looking for, but in South Africa in particular the realities of "traditional villages" tend to be a hybrid of contemporary and traditional life, with some residents moving back and forth between modern urban centres (e.g., Johannesburg) and their ancestral homes. Cell phones, radio and television are commonly available directly or indirectly and the internet isn't uncommon either via schools, government facilities or libraries. As a result, popular culture and traditional culture have mixed for a long time and the boundaries between them can be difficult to perceive, much less to understand. I can recommend Bulungula (http://bit.ly/deTiL) in the Eastern Cape as a place where you have the opportunity to navigate these boundaries in a very traditional but unstaged environment. It sounds like your plans are well developed already, but if you can adjust things to spend 4 or 5 days at Bulungula, I believe you'll find what you're looking for.
Also, in the Western Cape, the traditional patterns of settlement were not village-based. The Khoe were pastoralists and semi-nomadic and the San were hunter-gatherers and also semi-nomadic. Their ways of life have been up-ended, co-opted, destroyed, transformed by 400+ years of European influence including colonialism and slavery, urbanisation, civil strife and other forces. Most of the communities outside of urban centres will resemble rural farming or fishing towns/villages on a Western pattern.
Global warming has made the farming of wheat and other crops less viable up the West Coast and the depletion of fishing stock (along with the corporatisation of fishing fleets) has made traditional fishing village life a vanishing reality, so "traditional" communities are in a state of flux for those reasons as well.
The Western Cape is also relatively affluent and has excellent tourism infrastructure, so most little towns and villages have packaged some sort of tourism experience for visitors, making access to "ordinary life" a bit more complicated. Ordinary life also tends to be...ordinary. We also have the complexity of "coloured" culture which is distinctive in the region and full of contradictions, nuances and unique experiences from the cuisine to music to religion and much more (http://bit.ly/KV4zv)
Some suggestions for less packaged authentic local experiences in the Western Cape:
Home-based accommodation found along the South-North route (http://www.south-north.co.za) - Papendorp in particular is a good option.
Stay at the Beacon of Zebulun guesthouse in Atlantis (http://www.beaconofzebulun.co.za) and ask proprietor Sabrina Adams to introduce you to the local flavour of life in Atlantis
You could just wander into towns like Eland's Bay or Citrusdal or Piketberg or Zoar or Elim and start chatting up the locals. YMMV.
As atravelynn suggested, !Khwa ttu is an excellent option for learning about San culture, but it is not a village.
There are other options closer to the city of Cape Town, and if you would like the authentic local urban/suburban neighbourhood experience I'm happy to make other suggestions.
There are also tours, museums and other "staged" venues for learning about and experiencing authentic local culture that I can suggest - just let me know whether that would also be of interest
HTH
Kurt
May 13th, 2009, 11:53 AM
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Kurt- Thanks for all that info. Bulungula sounds just perfect. (It reminds me of a place we loved in rural Ecuador called the Black Sheep Inn.) I am trying to fit a 4-night stay there into our itinerary -- it will unfortunately require flying, but I think it's worth it.
In Cape Town, we are signed up for a tour of township NGOs with Uthando (www.uthandosa.org) -- any thoughts on that? In addition, we are thinking of spending a night at a township B&B; Majoro's, Kopanong, and Malebo's all look good to me, and I welcome any recommendations (for one of these or another one). I know there are township tours, but I think the NGO tour plus the B&B should give us a good intro to the townships.
In Cape Town, we are signed up for a tour of township NGOs with Uthando (www.uthandosa.org) -- any thoughts on that? In addition, we are thinking of spending a night at a township B&B; Majoro's, Kopanong, and Malebo's all look good to me, and I welcome any recommendations (for one of these or another one). I know there are township tours, but I think the NGO tour plus the B&B should give us a good intro to the townships.
May 14th, 2009, 02:59 AM
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Hi btburger -
A flight to get to Bulungula is cheap cheap compared to what the experience will be. Don't hesitate!
Uthando is a very good organisation and a tour with them will indeed be memorable and of excellent quality. I would ask you, however, to consider the approach you're laying out to this trip and what lessons your kids will derive from visiting all the rural, traditional, disadvantaged and poor black Africans who are having all these wonderful things done for them by white people (in many cases, foreign). I've intentionally phrased it in a way that's over the top and provocative, but it's to make the point about deeply ingrained ideology that's often sub-conscious, and to prompt you to ask yourself whether you might be contributing to the perpetuation of the same with your kids. Of course we don't want to hide (from) the uncomfortable realities, but there is more to the people and places in southern Africa than the challenges we're facing and vast stretches of protected wilderness. What will their/your understanding be of what it means to be African when they leave? You have the power to help shape that understanding through the choices you're wrestling to make now.
(I don't know you, and my intention isn't to offend, so please don't take my comments as a personal slight, or as an effort to pass judgment on how you choose to educate your kids...or plan your travels. My hope is to raise the question for consideration.)
Alternative experiences to consider to Uthando's NGO tour might be to learn African or Cape Malay cooking, drumming, or storytelling with Andulela (www.andulela.com). You could also do the art route tour with Coffee Beans (www.coffeebeansroutes.com) to visit the studios and homes of local contemporary artists. These experiences aren't structured around charity, they share and affirm local culture, and they take place in environments that will raise many of the same kinds of questions about the disparities of wealth and poverty, education, health and so on without making this the focus of the experience.
If you then stay in a township B&B, you'll get a fuller experience from that as well. Any of the 3 you mention will be great.
Again, Uthando is excellent - don't let me dissuade you from them. Just an attempt to raise consciousness about unintended consequences I've seen over the years.
HTH
Kurt
A flight to get to Bulungula is cheap cheap compared to what the experience will be. Don't hesitate!
Uthando is a very good organisation and a tour with them will indeed be memorable and of excellent quality. I would ask you, however, to consider the approach you're laying out to this trip and what lessons your kids will derive from visiting all the rural, traditional, disadvantaged and poor black Africans who are having all these wonderful things done for them by white people (in many cases, foreign). I've intentionally phrased it in a way that's over the top and provocative, but it's to make the point about deeply ingrained ideology that's often sub-conscious, and to prompt you to ask yourself whether you might be contributing to the perpetuation of the same with your kids. Of course we don't want to hide (from) the uncomfortable realities, but there is more to the people and places in southern Africa than the challenges we're facing and vast stretches of protected wilderness. What will their/your understanding be of what it means to be African when they leave? You have the power to help shape that understanding through the choices you're wrestling to make now.
(I don't know you, and my intention isn't to offend, so please don't take my comments as a personal slight, or as an effort to pass judgment on how you choose to educate your kids...or plan your travels. My hope is to raise the question for consideration.)
Alternative experiences to consider to Uthando's NGO tour might be to learn African or Cape Malay cooking, drumming, or storytelling with Andulela (www.andulela.com). You could also do the art route tour with Coffee Beans (www.coffeebeansroutes.com) to visit the studios and homes of local contemporary artists. These experiences aren't structured around charity, they share and affirm local culture, and they take place in environments that will raise many of the same kinds of questions about the disparities of wealth and poverty, education, health and so on without making this the focus of the experience.
If you then stay in a township B&B, you'll get a fuller experience from that as well. Any of the 3 you mention will be great.
Again, Uthando is excellent - don't let me dissuade you from them. Just an attempt to raise consciousness about unintended consequences I've seen over the years.
HTH
Kurt
May 14th, 2009, 10:52 AM
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Kurt- I appreciate your thoughts and am not at all offended. It is a challenge to figure out how to give our kids, and my wife and myself for that matter, a good perspective on the many different aspects of African life, especially when most of our independent travel will take place in a tiny part of Africa (the Western Cape). Anyway, I'm checking into several of your suggestions and welcome any others as well.
Thanks again,
Bruce
Thanks again,
Bruce
Apr 20th, 2010, 10:05 AM
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Kurt- I've been slow to post this, but.... your tip on Bulungula was the highlight of our monthlong trip! THANK YOU! See my other post ("South Africa with family - many questions") for a full trip report.
May 5th, 2010, 11:54 AM
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Thank you so much for your question. I have picked up good information about a number of things to do and see on this site, but rarely information about township and village trips with Black South Africans. I suggest you contact Dreamcatcher South Africa. They provide wonderful Cooking with Kammamas trips into the townships and they also recommend homestays. They are a great resource for cultural information and contact with Black South Africans.
See Dreamcatchers South Africa or dreamcatcherfoundation.com
I went on one of their trips with the Ford Foundation and I used them for trips I plan for friends and colleagues. Have a great trip. Carrolle
See Dreamcatchers South Africa or dreamcatcherfoundation.com
I went on one of their trips with the Ford Foundation and I used them for trips I plan for friends and colleagues. Have a great trip. Carrolle
