Continued from the post above
“You know a lot,” Jono commented. He had been
eager to bring the evening to a close but when Marika spoke up, he changed his
mind and happily seized upon the commonality of their knowledge to engage with
her. “And you were right about the army, it played a big role in the lives of
the Bushmen. In 1974 the South African Defence Force decided to incorporate two
Bushmen tribes into the army; the Barakwena and the Vasekele.”
He laughed, a bitter sound.
“This Africanization was good marketing material for the army because it could
conveniently claim that race discrimination no longer existed and that blacks
were now legally allowed to bear arms. Oh yes, the SADF was very proud of
itself, and it announced that it had abolished race discrimination, that both
white and non-white soldiers received the same wages and the same opportunities
for promotion but this was clearly not true since the highest rank a Bushman
could achieve was staff sergeant; so much for equality.
“And yes, their tracking powers
were very good but a lot of the stories were urban legends, with some white
soldiers claiming that a Bushman could ‘follow a faint spoor at a run for 30km
or more, he can predict his prey’s behaviour as if he is clairvoyant—but he can
also read and write.’
“Another story said that if a
patrol has a Bushman in it, then it is unnecessary to post guards at night
because even if the Bushman goes to sleep, he will wake even if the enemy is
still far away and will raise the alarm. The SADF hoped that stories like this
would create a psychological advantage for them, to their enemies who feared
the Bushman powers.
“Now Marika,” Jono continued,
“some of your love for the Bushmen probably came from what you may have read in
the newspapers or maybe what your parents read and told you. Because, during
this time, the white Afrikaner press was in love with ‘these beautiful people’
and the problems they had in adapting to white society were misrepresented in
many newspapers. All the things that were in reality very shocking and terrible
were recounted as if they were quaint and charming. The Bushman’s aptitude for
mathematics, their athletic skills, their love of singing; all of that was
presented as fairy-stories. It was considered charming how many of the students
in primary school were married with babies of their own by the time they were
fourteen. Yes, very charming.” Jono was sarcastic.
“So,” he continued, “the army
claimed they were doing a good thing and the press supported them and it looked
good but in reality, the Bushman was moved ever further away from his natural
life. He drank more, alcoholism increased and soon the whites learned to track
as well as they did, so their unique skills were not unique anymore. Also, they
weren’t in their natural environment enough to keep their skills fresh. Their
children were sent into the bush for few weeks every year, to help them train
in their natural ways, as if it could be learnt like that, so quickly.”
Links:
Website: lisadenikolitswriter.com
Readings on YouTube:
- Helen’s Revenge: http://bit.ly/1phxCsg
- Dumi, An Exerpt from The Witchdoctor’s Bones: http://bit.ly/1lirtpA
Pinterest Moodboard: http://bit.ly/1f56CCG
Twitter: @lisadenikolits
Book trailer: http://bit.ly/1gNPYeB
* books can be ordered (or pre-ordered) at Amazon.ca or from
inanna.ca and can also be found in select bookstores. If you have any trouble
ordering a book, please contact the author, Lisa de Nikolits, at
lisa@lisadenikolits.com
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