We drive south on sand tracks to a San settlement in order to take the tourist “walk with the bushmen” which does NOT turn out to be a cliche.
(The shoot-out begins: Canon vs. Nikon in a San village south of Tsumkwe, Namibia)
(We are all happy with the results: portraits in a San village, south of Tsumkwe, Namibia)
(Later these photos were printed and we mailed them to Leon to take back to the village.)
(We gather and then set out to hunt for food for several hours: some hunters (all male) wore traditional clothing and others did not, south of Tsumkwe, Namibia)
(All hunting must be done with traditional weapons and methods: game is very scarce and the hunt is for real; our guide Leon is in the red shirt in the photo on the left; the long poles are not spears but have a sharpened steel hook on them for dragging spring hares -- or in this case porcupines -- out of their underground lairs)
(Believe Jared Diamond when he explains how difficult hunting is under these conditions: we give up hunting spring hares and porcupines after coming up empty-handed after several hours; this was not for lack of skill, knowledge or perseverance south of Tsumkwe, Namibia)
(After spotting the spoor of onganga (helmeted guinea fowl) it is decided to build a snare in the shade of the baobab tree: these ground-dwelling birds are drawn to the baobab's nut-like fruit; meanwhile Leon checks an old bee hive for activity)
(Aloe leaves are gathered and flailed yielding their fiber: the fiber is then woven into twine which will be combined with a green stick to form the bird snare)
(A baobab nut becomes the bait: the bush ax in the foreground is one of the most ubiquitous tools in southern Africa -- it combines a wooden handle and a metal blade which can be carried separately and then wedged or set in the handle with a piece of leather)
(The snare is carefully set: the trigger baited by the baobab nut and the noose spread around small pegs set around the trigger -- a demonstration by hand as the onganga approaches and pecks at the bait)
(And snap! the snare works: a smoke break is indicated after the snare is completed; tobacco is very prized by the San as it is all over Africa)
(Will is invited to try his hand at setting the snare: the San are extremely friendly and he has very much enjoyed teaching San children in Otjituuo -- later we go on the game drive to end all game drives with six San hunters on our roof rack hitching a ride back some 20 km to Tsumkwe; above right -- approaching the Pans, the hunters having just spotted a leopard running off to the left out of the image)
(The Pan with flamingos feeding: as we drove back the hunters on the roof had a continuing conversation with Leon in the cab -- here in the last image Leon is convinced to stop the truck so that the hunters can capture a warthog fleeing just ahead of them -- and they almost got it)
Labels: Tsumkwe
¶ 2:37 PM
