TRAVEL

 

 

Khwa ttu

 

 

 

“The San, the first people to inhabit southern Africa, represent a 100,000-year-old culture which should be considered one of the world’s treasures.”

— Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu

 

 

We recently stayed at a unique place. Some of our most memorable stays have been here in South Africa, where every landscape is present; epic mountain ranges, semi arid deserts, salt pans, highveld, bushveld and wine country. This was no exception.

Travelling up South Africa’s west coast, we arrived at Khwa ttu; not just a museum, or an education centre, a restaurant, or a venue offering accommodation. It is all of that.

For four days we learned about our roots. As Khwa ttu reminded us “the story of the San, is your story too. It is the story of humankind”.

We arrived after the short drive from Cape Town. We had booked a tent. Days of crawling on all fours into a tent were relegated to history a decade ago, after living in Kenya, where accommodation like this is done so well. ‘Glamping’. Now we look for a bed in a tent and a simple outdoor shower.

This had both; a spacious tent with a comfortable bed, a private en suite bathroom, with plenty of hot running water and a deck to watch the sunset. Who needs more than that?

 

 

Each night we would walk, welcoming the chance as always to escape in nature, with the added excitement of the possibility of seeing zebra, eland, springbok, ostrich or a bat-eared fox en route. We went to sleep to the soothing sounds of night noises in the bush, and showered under the stars.

We learned so much, on our visits to the San heritage centre. And we were thankful that we were not just passing through on a day trip. Staying a few nights meant that we could take time to look at all the exhibits in the different spaces. We were in no rush.

Khwa ttu has two rooms where they present so many stories and original San art pieces, as well as information about the archaeological and genetic findings about human origins. Remember, we all came from Africa, the cradle of humankind.

In the colonial farm building, a different story is told, one of colonisation. Some of what we saw was upsetting. But it’s so important that this history is preserved and lessons learned.

“We cannot undo history…We can work on making more justice in our lifetime” – Irene M Staehelin (Curator)

In addition to the exhibition spaces, there were various experiences on offer, like the ‘Tea tasting’. I probably drank a bucket load of buchu tea during our stay. It has many health benefits. We booked a tracking tour, going out on a tractor, looking for animal prints in the sand. We found evidence of eland, ostrich and springbok. We learned a bit more about the San people, who had knowledge of the power of plants around them. And we were reminded that 12,000 years ago, we were all hunter-gatherers.

We learned that the San are probably the most recorded indigenous group in existence. Khwa ttu is creating a digital archive of material and working to create further awareness of the San people and their culture. Many times we were reminded of similar stories of Aborginals in Australia, and the importance of these stories being afforded a platform to be heard, preserved and shared.

Throughout our visit, you couldn’t fail to be impressed at the skills of the San people to adapt, survive and thrive. And this is what we all must do now, as we consider the climate and our environment.

How can we live closer to nature? How can we live differently?

 

 

 

© Maggie M / Mother City Time

 

 

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