South Africa - Lesedi

Thursday, August 15th, We would arise early and carry our suitcases down to breakfast. These would be put on the bus by hotel employees. After breakfast we boarded the bus. We were introduced to Adele, our South African guide, and Beatrice, our bus driver. These two ladies were excellent in their roles and worked very well together and with Alan. 

Our first destination was to Lesedi Cultural Village. Lesedi means 'light'. This Village has four ethnic homesteads - Zulu, Sothos, Xhosa and Pedi. We would visit the first three of the homesteads. One can actually rent rooms in their homes and stay overnight.When we arrived they were lined up at the entrance singing to us. Their song reminded me of one of my favorite movies, "Out of Africa". 

Inside the entry the vendors had lots of things you could purchase as souvenirs. This area is known for their bead work. We purchased a set of earrings out of beads that are the flag of Africa to be used as Christmas ornaments on our tree. Please note Claude playing their version of the xylophone in the second picture. The bright colors were amazing.

We all met in the theater for a video about Lesedi. Then we went to another theater where dances were performed for us. Such energy. I thought they were going to ask us to try it out but they did not. I loved dancing in Alaska and would have tried it in Lesedi.

Our guide walked us to our first homestead, the Zulu's.

Outside this entrance was a circle of rocks. The belief was you were to pick up a stone and throw it on top in the middle and it would bring you good fortune. Claude did this while I tried to get a picture.

At the entrance to the homestead on a raise platform stood an amazing Zulu warrior. He stood like the guards at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at Arlington Cemetery in Washington, DC. 

At the entrance to each homestead, our guide had us repeat after her the words to request entrance into the homestead. We would call out that request and then the people in the homestead would reply that we could enter. However, at the Zulu homestead the chief actually came to the entrance. 

Inside we were shown how the Zulu community lived. A large building would have been the building for meetings. A woman was weaving rugs. Two women displayed how the married and unmarried women would have dressed. The unmarried girl is in green. The married woman had a red headdress. This headdress was actually sewn to her head. Yike!! On a mat was a display of items the Zulu used. To the left is a wooden 'pillow'. The married women with the hat sewn to her head would have been given one of these to be able to sleep. Then her hubby would have used it as a seat during the day. Next to the wooden pillow was another of the red hats. A beaded belt was used by a woman after having a baby to help her stomach return to its original flatness. And the skirt made out of leather would have been worn by a woman. We saw several versions of pipes as we went through the homesteads. These people loved to smoke. A small hut on stilts was used to store food and things. The Zulu were a warring people. They originally used a long spear as shown by our guide. Since it was thrown, if you missed your target, it would be picked up and used to throw at you. Because of this a new shorter spear was created for close contact warfare. It is displayed by a warrior.

Time to walk to the next homestead, the Sothos. These people are known for their cone-shaped hats and boots. Watching the woman grind grain was exhausting. So happy we purchase flour in bags already ground. Yeah!! This grain would be used to make a beer-like beverage. Another real interesting feature was the fire pit. It had several sides. The purpose was so a fire could built on the side where it was protected from the wind. This was a clever thing to me.

We would next visit the Xhosa homestead. These people use two different sizes of pipes. The longer pipe is for the woman. That way she can smoke and it not touch her baby. This leaves the shorter pipe for the man. In that bowl are roasted worms. Yes, they eat roasted worms and invited us to try them. Claude and I did. They were very salty and very chewy. 

Now we would exit the homestead areas and go back to the entry to catch our bus. These four pictures are just things that caught my attention.

Now pictures of our drive to Hazy View. Hazy View is just outside of Kruger National Park and is about a six hour drive. We will spend two nights at Hippo Hollow Resort in Hazy View.

We would enjoy this room and the quiet of Hippo Hollow. The restaurant was excellent. Just a really good place to stay.