Jose Manuel de Prada-Samper
University of Cape Town, Archaeology, Department Member
- Mythology And Folklore, South Africa, Textual Criticism and Editing, San People of South Africa, Karoo basin, Oral Tradition, and 16 moreGenocide Studies, Archive (in particular the Bleek-Lloyd Archive), public culture and the writing of history in a postcolonial South Africa, African Studies, San Studies, Folklore Studies, AFRICAN FOLKTALES, Bleek family and "bushman" research, South Africa (History), Landscape Archaeology, Rock Art, Hunter-Gatherer Archaeology, Petroglyphs and Pictographs, South Africa (Archaeology), Southern African rock art archaeology, Folklore, and David Lewis-Williamsedit
Research Interests:
This is an obituary of Professor Michael Wessels (1958-2018), author of Bushman Letters (2010) and other important studies of historical Bushman (San) oral literature. His work is excepcional in that, among other things, he used the tools... more
This is an obituary of Professor Michael Wessels (1958-2018), author of Bushman Letters (2010) and other important studies of historical Bushman (San) oral literature. His work is excepcional in that, among other things, he used the tools of literary criticism no analyze narratives that belong to an oral tradition. Bushman Letters focuses on the /xam narratives in the Bleek-Lloyd Collection, held at the University of Cape Town
Research Interests:
In 2007, in order to facilitate the building and operations of the Square Kilometre Array (SKA), the Astronomy Geographic Advantage Act proclaimed a large 'astronomy reserve' in the central Upper Karoo, a roughly rhombic space covering... more
In 2007, in order to facilitate the building and operations of the Square Kilometre Array (SKA), the Astronomy Geographic Advantage Act proclaimed a large 'astronomy reserve' in the central Upper Karoo, a roughly rhombic space covering some 120,000 square kilometres. As it happens, this geographic reserve coincides almost exactly with a region described by |Xam prisoners of the mid 19th century as |Xam-ka !au, their homeland. We show how archival records indicate that jXam descendants are still living in the space now reserved for astronomy and how the claims of the Kalahari communities represented in the South African San Council of having once lived in the area lack substance. We compare the |Xam and the SKA notions of landscape, describe the historic evolution from the one to the other and suggest that benefit for local communities can only be in the form of bottom-up discussions about the planning of future developments and the distribution of tangible benefits.
Research Interests: Cosmology (Anthropology), Cultural Landscapes, Southern Africa, South African history, Astronomy, and 10 moreCultural Landscape, Southern African History, Bushmen, Archive (in particular the Bleek-Lloyd Archive), public culture and the writing of history in a postcolonial South Africa, Karoo, Colonial Genocide, San People of South Africa, Square Kilometre Array, Northern Cape (South Africa), and South Africa San Council
The 19th |xam Bushmen of the Upper Karoo, South Africa, told stories about a protean being called !khwa: (“water”), one of whose many shapes was that of a bovine they called “the water bull”, which ritual specialists captured in order... more
The 19th |xam Bushmen of the Upper Karoo, South Africa, told stories about a protean being called !khwa: (“water”), one of whose many shapes was that of a bovine they called “the water bull”, which ritual specialists captured in order to cause rain over the land. This water-creature has been variously interpreted by scholars as a metaphor, a symbol of the dangers of water or a death-wielding divinity. This
article seeks to demonstrate that for the |xam and their contemporary descendants the water-creature was, and still is, water itself, considered to be a living being when present in large concentrations, such as dams, rivers or permanent waterholes, or certain accumulations of clouds. Because of this the water-creature is a tangible entity connected with a vital substance, but whose dealings with human beings are always
fraught with danger.
article seeks to demonstrate that for the |xam and their contemporary descendants the water-creature was, and still is, water itself, considered to be a living being when present in large concentrations, such as dams, rivers or permanent waterholes, or certain accumulations of clouds. Because of this the water-creature is a tangible entity connected with a vital substance, but whose dealings with human beings are always
fraught with danger.
Research Interests: Water, Rock Art (Archaeology), Storytelling, Oral Traditions, Folk legends, and 18 moreSouth African Literature, Rock art research, Archive (in particular the Bleek-Lloyd Archive), public culture and the writing of history in a postcolonial South Africa, Southern African rock art archaeology, South African rock art, Bushman orality, Karoo, African indigenous folklore, Rock Engravings, San People of South Africa, AFRICAN FOLKTALES, Bushman Archaeology, African Legends, San People of Southern Africa, African Folklore Studies, Olifants River, Bleek family and "bushman" research, and Cederberg Mountains
This article presents for the first time an almost unknown map drawn by //kabbo, a /xam Bushman (San) around 1872–1873. Some additional information is given in connection with the context in which the maps in the Bleek-Lloyd Collection... more
This article presents for the first time an almost unknown map drawn by //kabbo, a /xam Bushman (San) around 1872–1873. Some additional information is given in connection with the context in which the maps in the Bleek-Lloyd Collection were drawn. Since the map shows what appears to be the core of //kabbo's !xoe ('place'), this crucial concept is discussed in detail.
Research Interests: Landscape Archaeology, Rock Art (Archaeology), South Africa (Archaeology), Rock art studies, Later Stone Age archaeology, Khoisan ethnography, ethnohistory, and history, and archaeological materials analysis, South Africa, and 10 moreSouthern African History, Bushmen, Rock art research, Archive (in particular the Bleek-Lloyd Archive), public culture and the writing of history in a postcolonial South Africa, Landscape and Rock Art, Khoisan studies, San People of South Africa, San People of Southern Africa, African Folklore Studies, and Lucy C. Lloyd
We present previously unpublished comments made early in 1875 by Dia!kwain, a |xam man, on George William Stow's copies of San rock paintings and engravings. The comments are contained in two overlooked documents that are part of the... more
We present previously unpublished comments made early in 1875 by Dia!kwain, a |xam man, on George William Stow's copies of San rock paintings and engravings. The comments are contained in two overlooked documents that are part of the Bleek and Lloyd Collection housed at the University of Cape Town, South Africa. These two documents provide comments on rock paintings from South Africa's Eastern Cape Province, and on rock engravings from the well-known site of Driekopseiland in the Northern Cape Province. We describe how Wilhelm Bleek and Lucy Lloyd, who elicited testimony from |xam San interlocutors in the 1870s and 1880s, became interested in soliciting comments on rock art. We provide a chronology of these explanatory remarks and discuss the acquisition by Lucy Lloyd of Stow's copies. The contents of the two overlooked manuscripts—one catalogued as E1.1.8, the other a loose sheet of paper that we call the 'Driekopseiland manuscript' included within notebook L.V.3—are given in full together with the Stow copies on which the comments were based. We recognize that the comments themselves are data that require explanation and that Stow's copies are not facsimiles of the rock art. We therefore provide annotations for each of the 14 Stow copies about which the comments were made and comment on the relevance of Dia!kwain's remarks to rock art research.
Research Interests: African Studies, Prehistoric Archaeology, Narrative, Rock Art (Archaeology), Southern Africa, and 11 morePrehistoric Rock Art, Rock Art, South Africa, African Oral Literature, Rock art research, Archive (in particular the Bleek-Lloyd Archive), public culture and the writing of history in a postcolonial South Africa, Wilhelm Bleek, Dorothea Bleek, African Folklore Studies, /Xam Bushmen, and Stow, G. W.
This paper, based in textual analysis and in unpublished manuscript sources, reconstructs the process of creation of J. M. Orpen's landmark 1874 article "A Glimpse into the Mythology of the Maluti Bushmen", from his conversations with... more
This paper, based in textual analysis and in unpublished manuscript sources, reconstructs the process of creation of J. M. Orpen's landmark 1874 article "A Glimpse into the Mythology of the Maluti Bushmen", from his conversations with Qing in December 1873 to the publication of the article in the Cape Monthly Magazine in June 1874. It also throws light on the relationship between J. M. Orpen and George Stow, of whose work Orpen did not have a high opinion. The paper also shows that Orpen, whose interests were mainly focused onthe history and culture of the Basotho, did not give a special importance to his 1874 article.
Research Interests: South Africa (History), History of Southern Africa, Lesotho, South African history, Rock Art, and 11 moreSouthern African archaeology, Southern African History, Cape Colony, Archive (in particular the Bleek-Lloyd Archive), public culture and the writing of history in a postcolonial South Africa, Southern African rock art archaeology, Rock art recording, San People of South Africa, JOseph Orpen, African Mythology, Bleek family and "bushman" research, and History of rock art research in southern Africa
Flywhisks are a common motif in southern African rock art, both in paintings and engravings. This brief article gathers most of the data on flywhisks in the Bleek-Lloyd Collection of /xam San (Bushman) ethnography and suggests connections... more
Flywhisks are a common motif in southern African rock art, both in paintings and engravings. This brief article gathers most of the data on flywhisks in the Bleek-Lloyd Collection of /xam San (Bushman) ethnography and suggests connections between certain /xam narratives featuring segis (elephant shrews) and a panel featuring sengis and human figures with flywhisks in Springbokoog's main site.
Research Interests: Mythology And Folklore, Folklore, Rock Art (Archaeology), South Africa (History), South African history, and 11 moreBushman, African Rock Art, Archive (in particular the Bleek-Lloyd Archive), public culture and the writing of history in a postcolonial South Africa, South African rock art, Bushman beliefs, San People of South Africa, AFRICAN FOLKTALES, San People of Southern Africa, African Folklore Studies, Lucy C. Lloyd, and Northern Cape (South Africa)
An excerpt from one of my contributions to the yet unpublished book "Karoo Cosmos". This narrative is of great ethnographic value among other things because is one of the few indigenous accounts of the use and function of rock gongs in an... more
An excerpt from one of my contributions to the yet unpublished book "Karoo Cosmos". This narrative is of great ethnographic value among other things because is one of the few indigenous accounts of the use and function of rock gongs in an area laden with rock engravings. The narrative was told in November 1879 by /xam storyteller /han=kass'o, who had heard the story from his wife, who was present during the cataclismic flood that almost wiped out the Karoo town of Victoria West in the night of 27-28 February 1871.
Research Interests: Folklore, Rock Art (Archaeology), South Africa (History), Southern African History, Bushmen, and 12 moreArchive (in particular the Bleek-Lloyd Archive), public culture and the writing of history in a postcolonial South Africa, Southern African rock art archaeology, Karoo, Wilhelm Bleek, Gongs, Rain-making, Rock Engravings, San People of South Africa, AFRICAN FOLKTALES, Lucy C. Lloyd, /Xam Bushmen, and rock gongs
This article explores the unique perspectives and uses of a traditional Upper Karoo Bushman tale retold in a cultural setting by a traditional teller. The role of the folklorist is dedicated to preserving and studying Bushman oral... more
This article explores the unique perspectives and uses of a traditional Upper Karoo Bushman tale retold in a cultural setting by a traditional teller. The role of the folklorist is dedicated to preserving and studying Bushman oral tradition (past and present) and the use of story for a violence prevention project by a contemporary nontraditional storyteller .
Research Interests: Mythology And Folklore, Storytelling, Violence Prevention, Afrikaans (Language and Literature), Rock art studies, Later Stone Age archaeology, Khoisan ethnography, ethnohistory, and history, and archaeological materials analysis, and 14 moreSouth Africa, Bushmen, African Lions, Archive (in particular the Bleek-Lloyd Archive), public culture and the writing of history in a postcolonial South Africa, Storytelling and Narrative, Folklore Studies, African Stories, San People of South Africa, Khoesan Studies, African Mythology, Upper Karoo, Northern Cape (South Africa), /Xam Bushmen, and Karoo traditional culture
Serena Renier (67 years), now living in Beaufort West, Western Cape (South Africa) was born and raised in a farm in the Nieuweveld mountains of the Great Karoo. As an example of her exceptional storytelling gifts one of her stories is... more
Serena Renier (67 years), now living in Beaufort West, Western Cape (South Africa) was born and raised in a farm in the Nieuweveld mountains of the Great Karoo. As an example of her exceptional storytelling gifts one of her stories is included here. It tells of an experience of her mother with the waterslang (watersnake), a being considered real by most of the area’s native inhabitants and the represents the ambiguity of water as bringer of life and death in a very dry region. The story is widespread in southern Africa, and it is often told in connection with the initiation ritual of traditional healers.
Research Interests: Mythology And Folklore, Folklore, South African Literature, Afrikaans (Language and Literature), Afrikaans, and 10 moreRock art studies, Later Stone Age archaeology, Khoisan ethnography, ethnohistory, and history, and archaeological materials analysis, African Oral Literature, Archive (in particular the Bleek-Lloyd Archive), public culture and the writing of history in a postcolonial South Africa, History of the Khoisan, Histories of labourers and the poor in southern Africa, and their social and political connections to the world- slaves, sailors, soldiers, and KhoiSan servants in the eighteenth century Cape, maritime communities and resistance, Trade Unions in the 1970s, Western Cape, San People of South Africa, AFRICAN FOLKTALES, African Mythology, and Karoo traditional culture
The Square Kilometre Array (SKA) will be the largest radio telescope facility in Africa when it is completed which is estimated to be a decade into the future. The |Xam group of the San people of South Africa lived in the region of the... more
The Square Kilometre Array (SKA) will be the largest radio telescope facility in Africa when it is completed which is estimated to be a decade into the future. The |Xam group of the San people of South Africa lived in the region of the Karoo Desert where the Square Kilometre Array is being built. Several European countries are part of the SKA collaboration (Spain, , Sweden, Italy, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, Portugal,
Malta, France), Asian countries (China, India, Japan, and South Korea), the Americas (Brazil, USA, and Canada), Russia, Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa, making up 20 major partners (SKA Communication and Outreach Team, 2015). In the 1870s the folklore, cultural practices and way of life of the |Xam were documented through interviews with a handful of |Xam individuals, mostly men that were serving prison
sentences in Cape Town. Considered extinct since the early 1900s, in 2011 de Prada-Samper discovered that |Xam folklore, although transformed, is alive in the Afrikaans-speaking "Coloured" population in that region of the Karoo. In 2014, the SKA created the “Shared Sky” art exhibit to highlight the celestial art of the indigenous people of South Africa along with those of Australia where the second part of the telescope is
being built. It offered the authors an opportunity to collect interviews with storytellers in the Karoo focused on local astronomy and skylore. Among the information the storytellers gave, they included details of the Milky Way, the Pleiades, and how to predict weather by the moon, but no mythological narratives about these heavenly bodies were recorded. An analysis of the information recorded points to the connections still present with the 19th century lore, though the original language has been lost and contemporary elements have been incorporated.
Malta, France), Asian countries (China, India, Japan, and South Korea), the Americas (Brazil, USA, and Canada), Russia, Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa, making up 20 major partners (SKA Communication and Outreach Team, 2015). In the 1870s the folklore, cultural practices and way of life of the |Xam were documented through interviews with a handful of |Xam individuals, mostly men that were serving prison
sentences in Cape Town. Considered extinct since the early 1900s, in 2011 de Prada-Samper discovered that |Xam folklore, although transformed, is alive in the Afrikaans-speaking "Coloured" population in that region of the Karoo. In 2014, the SKA created the “Shared Sky” art exhibit to highlight the celestial art of the indigenous people of South Africa along with those of Australia where the second part of the telescope is
being built. It offered the authors an opportunity to collect interviews with storytellers in the Karoo focused on local astronomy and skylore. Among the information the storytellers gave, they included details of the Milky Way, the Pleiades, and how to predict weather by the moon, but no mythological narratives about these heavenly bodies were recorded. An analysis of the information recorded points to the connections still present with the 19th century lore, though the original language has been lost and contemporary elements have been incorporated.
Research Interests:
In 1929 D. F. Bleek wrote that |xam people she encountered in the Upper Karoo two decades before were unable to tell her a single story, and that their folklore `was dead’ and so was, by extension, their culture and sense of community,... more
In 1929 D. F. Bleek wrote that |xam people she encountered in the Upper Karoo two decades before were unable to tell her a single story, and that their folklore `was dead’ and so was, by extension, their culture and sense of community, thus encouraging the notion that the |xam people had become extinct. Archival research and fieldwork in the area by the author in 2011-2014 shows that no such extinction took place and that a rich oral tradition, with strong connections with that documented by Bleek and Lloyd in the 19th century, is still very much alive in the area.
Research Interests: African History, Oral Traditions, South Africa (History), Southern Africa, South African Literature, and 21 moreTrickster, Bushmen, Coloured Identity South Africa, Archive (in particular the Bleek-Lloyd Archive), public culture and the writing of history in a postcolonial South Africa, Bushman orality, Tricksters, History of the Khoisan, Karoo, Wilhelm Bleek, /Xam San Bushmen Oral Folklore, Dorothea Bleek, Trickster Mythology, African Stories, San People of South Africa, AFRICAN FOLKTALES, Khoisan ethnography, ethnohistory, and history, Bleek family and "bushman" research, Bushmanland, Northern Cape (South Africa), Dirk Ligter, and Boerneef (Izak van der Merwe)
This paper, written in collaboration with Katriena Swartz and Marlene Winberg, includes the translation into English of a story told by Katriena Swartz in 2011, which is a contemporary version of a story already documented in the 19th... more
This paper, written in collaboration with Katriena Swartz and Marlene Winberg, includes the translation into English of a story told by Katriena Swartz in 2011, which is a contemporary version of a story already documented in the 19th century by Wilhelm Bleek and Lucy C. Lloyd. It provides also an introduction that places the narrative in context and tries to explain why in the early 20th century, Dorothea Bleek failed to realize that the inmediate descendants of her father's and aunt's informants were still carrying a rich oral tradition.
Research Interests:
Research Interests: Mythology And Folklore, Folklore, Genocide Studies, South Africa (History), Acculturation, and 20 moreAfrikaans (Language and Literature), Bushmen, Bushman, Bushman orality, Bushman beliefs, Karoo, Wilhelm Bleek, African indigenous folklore, /Xam San Bushmen Oral Folklore, Dorothea Bleek, San People of South Africa, AFRICAN FOLKTALES, San People of Southern Africa, Bleek family and "bushman" research, Brandvlei, Upper Karoo, Bushmanland, Boesmanland, Lions in Folklore, and Geriatricide
Research Interests: Mythology And Folklore, Landscape Archaeology, South Africa (Archaeology), Petroglyphs and Pictographs, Hunter-Gatherer Archaeology, and 31 moreRock Art, Lions in art, South Africa, Textual Criticism and Editing, Southern African archaeology, Bushmen, Petroglifos, South Africa, rock art, African Rock Art, Archive (in particular the Bleek-Lloyd Archive), public culture and the writing of history in a postcolonial South Africa, Southern African rock art archaeology, South African rock art, Bushman orality, Karoo basin, South Africa Archaeology, Petrogliphs, Wilhelm Bleek, Archeology South Africa, /Xam San Bushmen Oral Folklore, Rock Engravings, Hunter Gatherer, Petroglifi, San Hunter Gatherers, San People of South Africa, AFRICAN FOLKTALES, Bleek family and "bushman" research, Upper Karoo, Bushmanland, Lucy C. Lloyd, Springbokoog, and Northern Cape (South Africa)
This paper discusses the possible connections between two hills in the farm Arbeidsvreug in the Northern Cape and a testimony dictated by //Kabbo, a /Xam Bushman (San) man in Cape Town in 1873 which deals mostly with "presentiments" or... more
This paper discusses the possible connections between two hills in the farm Arbeidsvreug in the Northern Cape and a testimony dictated by //Kabbo, a /Xam Bushman (San) man in Cape Town in 1873 which deals mostly with "presentiments" or signals felt by people in their bodies warning them of the proximity of game, or of other people. As argued by the author, the beggining of the testimony mentions explicitly the rock engravings that abound in the former territory of the /Xam, and which are present in the above-mentioned hills, and which could have been seen by the late 19th century /Xam as vehicles channel the "presentiments/signals and bring the game closer to the hunters.
Research Interests: Landscape Archaeology, African Literature, Storytelling, Petroglyphs and Pictographs, Hunter-Gatherer Archaeology, and 12 moreSouth Africa, Petroglifos, Archive (in particular the Bleek-Lloyd Archive), public culture and the writing of history in a postcolonial South Africa, Southern African rock art archaeology, Karoo Supergroup South Africa, /Xam San Bushmen Oral Folklore, African Oral Philosophies, San Hunter Gatherers, Bleek family and "bushman" research, Upper Karoo, //Kabbo, and Northern Cape (South Africa)
This paper presents for the first time two texts that deal with the ethnobotany of the /Xam, a now extinct San (Bushman) group. The discussion of the texts is focused on the concept of So-/õä, a term which, as it is proved in the paper,... more
This paper presents for the first time two texts that deal with the ethnobotany of the /Xam, a now
extinct San (Bushman) group. The discussion of the texts is focused on the concept of So-/õä, a
term which, as it is proved in the paper, was generic and meant "medicine" The plant known until
now as So-/õä was really called //kurraken//kurraken, and was used mainly in scarification
rituals.
extinct San (Bushman) group. The discussion of the texts is focused on the concept of So-/õä, a
term which, as it is proved in the paper, was generic and meant "medicine" The plant known until
now as So-/õä was really called //kurraken//kurraken, and was used mainly in scarification
rituals.
Research Interests: Ethnobotany, Psicoactive Plants, Archive (in particular the Bleek-Lloyd Archive), public culture and the writing of history in a postcolonial South Africa, Bushman beliefs, Wilhelm Bleek, and 9 moreDorothea Bleek, San People of South Africa, San People of Southern Africa, Bleek family and "bushman" research, Upper Karoo, Lucy C. Lloyd, //Kabbo, Northern Cape (South Africa), and Ethnobotany in southern Africa
Transcription of a /xam narrative dictated by /han=kass'o in October 1879 that was not listed by L. Lloyd in her 1889 report, as it was written in one of Wilhelm Bleek's notebook. The story is a beautiful rendering of the final episode in... more
Transcription of a /xam narrative dictated by /han=kass'o in October 1879 that was not listed by L. Lloyd in her 1889 report, as it was written in one of Wilhelm Bleek's notebook. The story is a beautiful rendering of the final episode in the eland creation myth, in which Mantis (/kaggen) creates the Moon by throwing an ostrich feather to the sky.
Research Interests:
South Africa is a country rich in oral traditions, some of which began to be recorded in the mid-nineteenth century, very often with the intent of documenting the language rather than the culture that produced the stories. This is why... more
South Africa is a country rich in oral traditions, some of which began to be recorded in the mid-nineteenth century, very often with the intent of documenting the language rather than the culture that produced the stories. This is why many of these trasures still await their full recognition as literature, and either lay forgotten in manuscript form and scholarly publications, or circulate in texts that do n ot allow the non-academic reader to appreciate them as verbal creations. In this paper I propose ways of making these early samples of indigenous traditions better known to the general public.
Research Interests:
This paper summarizes the known data about Louis Anthing, the man who, as Civil Comissioner and Resident Magistrate of Springbokfontein (modern Springbok) investigated in 1862 the reports of atrocities perpetrated by European and Baster... more
This paper summarizes the known data about Louis Anthing, the man who, as Civil Comissioner and Resident Magistrate of Springbokfontein (modern Springbok) investigated in 1862 the reports of atrocities perpetrated by European and Baster farmers against the /Xam hunter-gatherers of the Upper Karoo.
Research Interests: Genocide Studies, South African Politics and Society, South African history, Afrikaner history, Bushmen, and 8 moreArchive (in particular the Bleek-Lloyd Archive), public culture and the writing of history in a postcolonial South Africa, Karoo, /Xam San Bushmen Oral Folklore, San People of South Africa, Lucy C. Lloyd, Louis Anthing, Northern Cape (South Africa), and Kenhardt (South Africa)
Louis Anthing (1829-1902) is almost unknown to contemporary South African historiography, yet the published and manuscript documents derived from the investigation he conducted in Bushmanland in 1862 about the reports of massacres of... more
Louis Anthing (1829-1902) is almost unknown to contemporary South African historiography, yet the published and manuscript documents derived from the investigation he conducted in Bushmanland in 1862 about the reports of massacres of Bushmen by white and coloured farmers make of the extermination of the |xam possibly the first officially documented genocide. The archival reports also suggest that the genocidal campaign against the |xam was planned before hand by the perpetrators. This paper also tries to piece together the few facts known so far about Anthing’s life, and proposes that the massacre sites mentioned in his reports should be protected as “sites of conscience”, thus using the landscape as a memorial and as a means to educate present and future generations about the horror of genocide.
Research Interests: Genocide Studies, Cultural Landscapes, Landscape History, South Africa (History), Landscape, and 24 moreSouth Africa (Archaeology), Genocide, Cape Colonial History, Bushmen, Cape Colony, Memorialisation, Bushman, Archive (in particular the Bleek-Lloyd Archive), public culture and the writing of history in a postcolonial South Africa, History of South African Tribe Before 1800, South Africa history, Genocide Memorials, Sites of Conscience, San-speaking Peoples, San People of South Africa, Genocide Memory, San People of Southern Africa, Upper Karoo, Bushmanland, Louis Anthing, William Porter, Northern Cape (South Africa), Norther Cape (South Africa), /Xam Bushmen, and Kenhardt (South Africa)
ohamed Adhikari’s book The Anatomy of a South African Genocide is a synthesis of the research on the extermination of the San peoples of South Africa and aims to establish that such extermination must be considered genocide.... more
ohamed Adhikari’s book The Anatomy of a South African Genocide is a synthesis of the research on the extermination of the San peoples of South Africa and aims to establish that
such extermination must be considered genocide. Unfortunately, the book is based exclusively on published sources, and especially with regard to the nineteenth century, fails to consider archival and other sources that throw much light on the fate of the San, most notably the corpus of documents on the mission that the resident magistrate and civil commissioner of Namaqualand, Louis Anthing, undertook in 1862 to investigate reports of
massacres of San bands in Bushmanland. Adhikari’s book also suffers from the fact that he refers to “the San”, while it is methodologically more correct to distinguish clearly between the different San populations and to address the history of specific groups in specific areas of southern Africa. Another major weakness is his placement of almost exclusive blame for the extermination of the San on “Dutch-speaking pastoralists”, downplaying sources that point to the heavy involvement of Baster, Griqua and Khoi groups in the destruction of the hunter-gatherer bands. The case study of Louis Anthing’s mission to Bushmanland, which proves that there was indeed genocide in Bushmanland in the second half of the nineteenth century, is presented in detail to show that an engagement with archival sources is essential to grasp the tragedy of the San in all its complexity.
such extermination must be considered genocide. Unfortunately, the book is based exclusively on published sources, and especially with regard to the nineteenth century, fails to consider archival and other sources that throw much light on the fate of the San, most notably the corpus of documents on the mission that the resident magistrate and civil commissioner of Namaqualand, Louis Anthing, undertook in 1862 to investigate reports of
massacres of San bands in Bushmanland. Adhikari’s book also suffers from the fact that he refers to “the San”, while it is methodologically more correct to distinguish clearly between the different San populations and to address the history of specific groups in specific areas of southern Africa. Another major weakness is his placement of almost exclusive blame for the extermination of the San on “Dutch-speaking pastoralists”, downplaying sources that point to the heavy involvement of Baster, Griqua and Khoi groups in the destruction of the hunter-gatherer bands. The case study of Louis Anthing’s mission to Bushmanland, which proves that there was indeed genocide in Bushmanland in the second half of the nineteenth century, is presented in detail to show that an engagement with archival sources is essential to grasp the tragedy of the San in all its complexity.
Research Interests: Genocide Studies, South Africa (History), Hunter-Gatherers (Anthropology), Afrikaner history, Genocide, and 11 moreBushmen, Archive (in particular the Bleek-Lloyd Archive), public culture and the writing of history in a postcolonial South Africa, Afrikaner identity, Afrikaners, Boers, Bleek family and "bushman" research, Upper Karoo, Bushmanland, Louis Anthing, Mohamed Adhikari, and Voortrekers
En este artículo el auge de la narración escénica en Occidente se pone en relación con la necesidad humana de escuchar historias, trayendo a colación las reflexiones Henri Bergson sobre la "función fabuladora" y un caso clínico descrito... more
En este artículo el auge de la narración escénica en Occidente se pone en relación con la necesidad humana de escuchar historias, trayendo a colación las reflexiones Henri Bergson sobre la "función fabuladora" y un caso clínico descrito por el neurólogo Oliver Sacks, además de un relato medieval irlandés sobre el laudo de San Columba que permitió la continuidad de los bardos profesionales en Irlanda.
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Este artículo aborda la narración oral como una forma de memoría que ha contribuído a la supervivencia y continuidad de las sociedades humanas. This paper discusses oral narratives as a form of memory with an adaptive role contributing... more
Este artículo aborda la narración oral como una forma de memoría que ha contribuído a la supervivencia y continuidad de las sociedades humanas.
This paper discusses oral narratives as a form of memory with an adaptive role contributing to the survival and continuity of our species.
This paper discusses oral narratives as a form of memory with an adaptive role contributing to the survival and continuity of our species.
Research Interests:
Este artículo explora los vínculos entre narración, salvación y supervivencia y especula sobre el papel que la narración de historias ha podido desempeñar en la continuidad de la especie humana.
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Este artículo esboza la importancia del narrador oral como maestro, transmisor de valores y artista de la palabra en las sociedades tradicionales.
Research Interests:
Las leyendas modernas (o leyendas urbanas) reflejan los miedos y preocupaciones de la sociedad contemporánea. Aunque algunas puedan llegar a suscitar episodios violentos de histeria colectiva otras, como cualquier relato, transmiten... more
Las leyendas modernas (o leyendas urbanas) reflejan los miedos y preocupaciones de la sociedad contemporánea. Aunque algunas puedan llegar a suscitar episodios violentos de histeria colectiva otras, como cualquier relato, transmiten valores y conocimientos fundamentales
Research Interests: Folklore, Storytelling, Oral Traditions, Folk legends, Oral Tradition, and 13 moreMyth, Folk Studies, Legends, Urban Legend, Urban Legends, Lendas Urbanas; Contemporary Legends; Urban Legends, Folkloristics, Digital Story Telling, Modern myths, Rumour, gossip, urban legends & Complo theories, Desinhibir el alma de prejuicios y tabúes, y leyendas urbanas, Folklore Studies, Knowledge Transmission, Ethics and Storytelling, and Context-Based Study of Folklore
Este artículo se centra en la vida de la narradora tradicional de Castilla y León Azcaria Prieto de Castro (1883-1970) en especial sobre su relación con la lectura en el contexto de la sociedad rural de su tiempo, en la que predominaba el... more
Este artículo se centra en la vida de la narradora tradicional de Castilla y León Azcaria Prieto de Castro (1883-1970) en especial sobre su relación con la lectura en el contexto de la sociedad rural de su tiempo, en la que predominaba el analfabetismo.
Research Interests: Folklore, Orality-Literacy Studies, Oralidad, Lectura, History of Folklore Studies, and 10 moreCastilla y León, History of Folklore, ORALIDAD Y ESCRITURA, Palencia, Azcaria Prieto de Castro (1883-1970), Morgovejo (Castilla y León), Saldaña (Castilla y León), Aurelio M. Espinosa Jr, Aurelio M. Espinosa, and Historia de los estudios de folklore en España
Este artículo aborda la relación entre el tipo folklórico ATU 313 y el mito clásico de Jasón y Medea.
Research Interests: Mythology And Folklore, Native American Studies, Folklore, Storytelling, Oral Traditions, and 19 moreFolklore (Literature), Oral Tradition, Oral Traditions (Culture), Orality, Mitologia, Oral narrative, Medea and women in mythology, Euripides Medea, Swan Maiden, MITOLOGÍA COMPARADA, Tradición oral, Apollodorus, Euripides' Medea, Mitología, Literatura De Tradición Oral Y Popular, Mitologia griega, Mitologia Grega, Native American Mythology, and ATU 313
Este artículo explora algunos aspectos de la fascinación de Elias Canetti por los relatos mitológicos
Research Interests:
A long time ago, lions ambushed Springbok Maiden when she travelled with her baby. In more recent times, but still blue years ago, Jan Van Riebeeck stole land from the Khoisan by measuring it with a prodigious ox-hide. Long after, a... more
A long time ago, lions ambushed Springbok Maiden when she travelled
with her baby. In more recent times, but still blue years ago, Jan Van
Riebeeck stole land from the Khoisan by measuring it with a
prodigious ox-hide. Long after, a sheep-thief escaped from the police
by turning into an anthill. Closer still to the present, a man committed
suicide after a ghost whispered something in his ear, and a stargazer,
one with no schooling, astonished the neighbouring farmers by
accurately predicting the weather.
A subtle web of stories floats above the Olifants River Valley and the
Cederberg region, connecting places and people, the present and the
past. This landscape, imbued with meaning, is populated by dangerous
old women and shape-shifting tricksters, ghosts and sorcerers, living
waterholes and talking animals. While some of these stories are
relatively new arrivals to southern Africa, others convey ideas and
images that have been present in the region for a very long time.
In 2015, and again in 2019, José M de Prada-Samper made video
recordings of the narratives included in this book as told by some of
the best storytellers to be found in the valleys and mountains. These
form but a small sample of the Archive of Traditional Narrative in
Afrikaans. A collection of Karoo stories from this archive, The man who
cursed the wind/Die man wat die wind vervloek het, was published in
2016 and is available from the African Sun Press.
There is an Afrikaans edition of this book with the title Adam en die Waternooi: Tradisionele vertellings uit die Olifantsriviervalley en die Sederberge
with her baby. In more recent times, but still blue years ago, Jan Van
Riebeeck stole land from the Khoisan by measuring it with a
prodigious ox-hide. Long after, a sheep-thief escaped from the police
by turning into an anthill. Closer still to the present, a man committed
suicide after a ghost whispered something in his ear, and a stargazer,
one with no schooling, astonished the neighbouring farmers by
accurately predicting the weather.
A subtle web of stories floats above the Olifants River Valley and the
Cederberg region, connecting places and people, the present and the
past. This landscape, imbued with meaning, is populated by dangerous
old women and shape-shifting tricksters, ghosts and sorcerers, living
waterholes and talking animals. While some of these stories are
relatively new arrivals to southern Africa, others convey ideas and
images that have been present in the region for a very long time.
In 2015, and again in 2019, José M de Prada-Samper made video
recordings of the narratives included in this book as told by some of
the best storytellers to be found in the valleys and mountains. These
form but a small sample of the Archive of Traditional Narrative in
Afrikaans. A collection of Karoo stories from this archive, The man who
cursed the wind/Die man wat die wind vervloek het, was published in
2016 and is available from the African Sun Press.
There is an Afrikaans edition of this book with the title Adam en die Waternooi: Tradisionele vertellings uit die Olifantsriviervalley en die Sederberge
Research Interests: Landscape Archaeology, Storytelling, Afrikaans (Language and Literature), Afrikaans, Oral literature, and 13 moreAfrican oral literature in contemporary contexts, Southern African archaeology, Anthropology Southern Africa, Landscape and Rock Art, Bushman beliefs, Rock art; Bushmen art, Khoisan studies, Trickster Narratives, AFRICAN FOLKTALES, San People of Southern Africa, African Folklore Studies, Olifants River, and Cederberg Mountains
A collection of sixty-one oral narratives recorded in different areas of the Karoo from Afrikaans-speakers of Khoisan descent. Many of them are contermporary versions of narratives otherwise only recorded in the 19th century by Bleek and... more
A collection of sixty-one oral narratives recorded in different areas of the Karoo from Afrikaans-speakers of Khoisan descent. Many of them are contermporary versions of narratives otherwise only recorded in the 19th century by Bleek and Lloyd from their /xam teachers.
Research Interests: Mythology And Folklore, South African Literature, Afrikaans (Language and Literature), Afrikaans, Southern African History, and 8 moreSouth African social and cultural history, Archive (in particular the Bleek-Lloyd Archive), public culture and the writing of history in a postcolonial South Africa, Karoo, San People of South Africa, AFRICAN FOLKTALES, African Folklore Studies, Northern Cape (South Africa), and /Xam Bushmen
Published in 2016 (Johannesburg: Standard Bank), this book is an annotated critical edition, based on the original manuscript, of J. M. Orpen's crucial article "A Glimpse into the Mythology of the Maluti Bushmen" (1874). In addition to... more
Published in 2016 (Johannesburg: Standard Bank), this book is an annotated critical edition, based on the original manuscript, of J. M. Orpen's crucial article "A Glimpse into the Mythology of the Maluti Bushmen" (1874). In addition to the annotated text, it contains contributions by John Wright, Jeremy Hollmann, Jill Weintrobut, Menán du Plessis and Justine Wintjes on different aspects of the text and its context.
Research Interests: African Studies, Rock Art (Archaeology), African History, Southern Africa, Shamanic Art (Anthropology), and 17 moreHistory of Southern Africa, Prehistoric Rock Art, Sotho, African Oral Literature, religion, African cosmologies, Archive (in particular the Bleek-Lloyd Archive), public culture and the writing of history in a postcolonial South Africa, Southern African rock art archaeology, Landscape and Rock Art, Leo Frobenius, Folklore Studies, Andrew Lang, AFRICAN FOLKTALES, JOseph Orpen, African Folklore Studies, Lesotho Highlands, /Xam Bushmen, and THE BUSHMEN OF THE DRAKENSBERG
This is chapter One of the book "On the Trail of Qing and Orpen" (Johannesburg: Standard Bank, 2016). It is co-authored with John Wright, Jill Weintroub, Jeremy Hollman, Menán du Plessis and Justine Wintjes. The chapter gives the... more
This is chapter One of the book "On the Trail of Qing and Orpen" (Johannesburg: Standard Bank, 2016). It is co-authored with John Wright, Jill Weintroub, Jeremy Hollman, Menán du Plessis and Justine Wintjes. The chapter gives the background to the project, summarizes the different contributions to the book and explains the general principles followed by the team of contributors during their work in the project.
Research Interests: Rock Art (Archaeology), African History, Archives, Khoisan languages, South African history, and 21 moreRock Art, Rock art studies, Later Stone Age archaeology, Khoisan ethnography, ethnohistory, and history, and archaeological materials analysis, Southern African History, Bushmen, Rock art research, Archive (in particular the Bleek-Lloyd Archive), public culture and the writing of history in a postcolonial South Africa, Rock art; Bushmen art, Leo Frobenius, Rock art recording, Wilhelm Bleek, Folklore Studies, Andrew Lang, AFRICAN FOLKTALES, Khoisan ethnography, ethnohistory, and history, JOseph Orpen, African Mythology, African Folklore Studies, Lesotho Highlands, Bleek family and "bushman" research, /Xam Bushmen, and THE BUSHMEN OF THE DRAKENSBERG
Published in 2016 (Johannesburg: Standard Bank), this book is an annotated critical edition, based on the original manuscript, of J. M. Orpen's crucial article "A Glimpse into the Mythology of the Maluti Bushmen" (1874). In addition to... more
Published in 2016 (Johannesburg: Standard Bank), this book is an annotated critical edition, based on the original manuscript, of J. M. Orpen's crucial article "A Glimpse into the Mythology of the Maluti Bushmen" (1874). In addition to the annotated text, it contains contributions by John Wright, Jeremy Hollmann, Jill Weintrobut, Menán du Plessis and Justine Wintjes on different aspects of the text and its context.
Research Interests: Prehistoric Rock Art, Rock Art, Rock art studies, Later Stone Age archaeology, Khoisan ethnography, ethnohistory, and history, and archaeological materials analysis, Rock art research, Archive (in particular the Bleek-Lloyd Archive), public culture and the writing of history in a postcolonial South Africa, and 9 moreLandscape and Rock Art, Rock art recording, Wilhelm Bleek, /Xam San Bushmen Oral Folklore, AFRICAN FOLKTALES, JOseph Orpen, African Mythology, Lesotho Highlands, and Basotho
G. R. von Wielligh's Boesman-stories (1919-1921) are considered by some as an indepedent, if faulty, collection of genuine /xam Bushman narratives. I argue that most of Von Willieghs narratives are based on texts and information found in... more
G. R. von Wielligh's Boesman-stories (1919-1921) are considered by some as an indepedent, if faulty, collection of genuine /xam Bushman narratives. I argue that most of Von Willieghs narratives are based on texts and information found in Bleek and Lloyd's 1911 classic Specimens of Bushman Folklore. Yet even then, Von Wielligh's stories are of great literary value and show his remarkable mythopoeic imagination.