Daniel Cuthbert

Disappearing Cultures and Tradition: The Bushman

A 50mb PDF file of this project can be downloaded from /dcuthbert_the_bushman.pdf

   
  
     
  
Young Khwe Bushmen in Platfontein prefer western fashion for inspiration, over more traditional ways of dressing. Often the abuse they receive as Bushmen, be it when they speak their language or dress in a more traditional manner, pushes the youngsters to fit in rather than embrace their culture.‘It’s quite difficult for us when we go to cities. If I talk to my friend in my language, the others say stop, we must be saying bad things about them, as they don’t understand. They call us xie xie xie (derogatory slang), so we change for them’
   
  
Children showing interest in modern computer games over education inside Platfontein.
     
  
Teenage pregnancy is on the rise. Many young girls pretend to be pregnant after seeing the older girls in later stages of pregnancy.
  
Teenagers with no job prospects or aspirations turn to alcohol to pass the time. This has led to a heavy drink culture in the youth, with many spending their days idling and drinking to keep amused. ‘Why not, I love being drunk. It’s better than sitting around doing nothing. We have nothing to look forward to’
   
Due to a lack of education, many kids are left with little to do during the day.Teenagers with no job prospects or aspirations turn to alcohol to pass the time.This has led to a heavy drink culture in the youth, with many spending their days idling and drinking to keep amused.
     
  
‘They don’t like us out in the town. We are different and feel different, for that we are shouted at and abused’
   
The Christian church groups have tried to convert the Bushmen to Christianity and promised donations and the construction of a church inside Platfontein. To date, this is still incomplete, however the church actively seeks new members.
  
An abandoned church project inside Platfontein.
     
  
Supporters pass the time on a Saturday afternoon watching the local teams play football during the World Cup.
   
Housing supplied by the government has been shoddily built, often lacking electricity and plumbing.As a result, many houses inside Platfontein are left abandoned.
   
Whilst the youth inside Platfontein are turning their back on the Bushman heritage, the elder generation are still practicing traditional ways of life and ensuring the tradition is kept alive.“Some of us, the young generation, are afraid to dress like the mamas.If we dress and go to town, the people laugh at us, look at the Bushman.”
     
  
Young kids emulate their footballing heroes using a football made out of a plastic bag and grass from the veld.
   
A man takes images of a car crash, which resulted from the driver being intoxicated and fleeing the scene.‘All they do is drink and race cars. This town isn’t safe at night, there are too many bad people after dark’
   
Young Khwe Bushman crowd round the accident scene. The driver fled knowing he would attract attention from the police, who frequently patrol the area after dark.
     
  
Teenagers showing how they still try and keep in touch with their past, with a painting done by a friend depicting a more traditional way of Bushman life.‘We can’t live the old way anymore but having images like this reminds us what our ancestors lived like’
   
“I want to work. I want to see outside of Platfontein but I can’t. I’ve tried to work away but feel the city is too big sometimes. I have my schooling but it is no use.”With very few job prospects for young Bushmen, being able to grow and provide for a family is proving harder than ever before.
   
An elder Bushman lady sits in her traditional dress inside her modest home.She currently acts in a play called ‘Son of the Wind’, which tells the story of the disaster that befell the tribes during the Angolan war for independence.
     
  
A mother and daughter, in traditional dress, perform a Bushman dance.
  
Elderley Bushman gentlemen playing a traditional Bushman musical instrument.
  
     
  
Because the climate in their area is dry, food is available and water is hard to get. Bushmen do no farming or herding, but hunt and gather wild plants.
   
A Kalahari San Bushman climbing a tree traditionally used for firewood. The Bushman makes use of a variety of natural resources for daily life, including a whole host of wood for different purposes.
   
     
  
Hunting is their most important activity, and thus they are nomadic, travelling on foot with few possessions. They use snares and bows and arrows in hunting, often tipping their arrows with poison in order to kill animals more quickly.
   
The Bushman are excellent trackers and were utilised during the Angolan war of independence (1961-1975).They were employed as known as soldiers and specialised in tracking, reconnaissance, and pseudo-terrorist operations and were rewarded with cash bounties for every guerilla caught.
   
Young Kalahari San playing with a digital camera.
     
  
The Bushman seasons are divided in two: a dry season and a rainy season. During the dry season, water is a scarce commodity and many families group together around water holes.
   
The rain dance is a celebration of a good hunt or usually performed for the pleasure of a get together of the family.
   
A young Kalahari San preparing food after a day spent creating gifts for tourists.
     
  
“We need to keep moving, it is our way and tradition.We aren’t meant to keep still.”
   
Crafts created by the community to be sold to passing tourists.
   
A young Kalahari San is taught the correct way to use the bow for hunting.