Folks,
You remember Khekheke.
The camera-man for National Geographic, with the rest of the crew, spent that evening in the bar at the George Hotel, where we discussed the day’s events.
He said that he had been worried on occasion when snakes had been tossed at his feet - his field of vision was limited by the camera lens, and he hoped someone else was watching the snakes..
He also mentioned another Sangoma they had met in Johannesburg - who had defied his teachers and had published a book on what he had learned.
The book is :- “Indaba, my children, African Folk Tales”, by Vusamazulu Credo Mutwa. ISBN 0-8021-3604-4 http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0802136044
The sangoma claims this is nothing less than the oral history of (sub-saharan) Africa - from the creation story, through the (violent) co-existence of immortals and mortals, and the migration (of the peoples that call themselves ba- ) to places they occupy today. The title means “gather round, my children”, or, loosely, “Once upon a time”.
Our cameraman said that Vusamazulu Credo Mutwa was as easy to listen to as his book was to read - to be expected from a story-teller. I am thoroughly enjoying the book.
I also got to see a video of the South African musical “Ipi nTombi”, filmed performing at the Baxter theatre in Cape Town. Excellent.
Cheers, Andy!
–