Time with the Kalahari Bushmen

One of the places we really want to visit is the Kuru Art Center near Ghanzi where the bushmen artists of the Kalahari paint and display their artwork. Adele has been following this incredible project for many years and this will be the first time to actually be there in person, a dream come true.

We arrive in the hot and dusty outpost of Dekhar and who should we see just outside the entrance to the Kuru Art Center. It is our Bushman friend from the Kalahari whom we met last year and he invites us to visit his family and stay the night.

We are over the moon and spend an hour or two observing the artists as they paint and talk in their
musical click language to each other and looking over the many brilliant colorful paintings depicting stories of the surrounding Kalahari landscapes together with the animals, plants and natural elements that the Bushman call home. Their paintings hold a special light filled energy and we feel happy and uplifted after our time here as we drive with our Bushman friend to his home.

There we are greeted by the whole extended family with such warmth and love that our hearts are filled and our eyes emotional with tears.

We spend the rest of the afternoon learning the art of craftsmanship from the women sitting in a circle on the ground grinding and making ostrich shell beads together with lots of smiles and applause for our small successes. It’s amazing how much attention to detail and time it takes to make one bead to thread onto a bracelet !

We are rewarded after our concentrated work with some light hearted fun and games as the women show us how they play “throw the gemsquash” whilst dancing to each other and we join in a simplified version with them with lots of laughter. Then the men play a “throw the stick/ spear “ game testing their strength and accuracy for times when they will be out hunting.

As the day draws to a close and the sun sets the light of the fire draws us all together and we have the great privilege to witness a healing trance dance dating back in time to when Man and Nature were in complete harmony together.

We all sleep really well feeling the benefits of the dance and the next morning are up bright and early for a walk through the bushveld to learn about the medicinal, practical and edible properties of the surrounding plants. Each and every plant here can be used in several ways from a strong rope for tying something or setting a trap to brushing teeth and healing a sore stomach. How about a cup of coffee or some roasted nuts or a drink of fresh water ? It’s all there provided for by Nature and the age old wisdom of its First People, the Bushmen. Honestly a treasure trove of wisdom we as modern Man need to learn from and reconnect to in order to restore balance to ourselves and the Earth.

We end our morning by tasting 2 types of underground juicy raw tubers and then the highlight for the boys learning the age old art of fire making from the elders ( their ages ranging somewhere between 70-90 years ).

We then return to our camp and after prolonged singing hugs and dancing wave our goodbyes for now as we promise our friends we will be back again in the future. Our experience here has been of profound transformation and we hope that others may also support the Bushman and learn from them as we have done in the future.Read more