In
February, 2004, Susan, Charleen, and Sarah
Mackie traveled to the Kalahari with Belinda
Kruiper, who was visiting Cape Town, to
Welkom/Hartbees where we met up with Vetkat, and
we spent a wonderful few days on Blinkwater,
languishing, reading and painting under the
witgat tree in 100 degree weather. As soon as
the sun reached the late afternoon sky, and it
was beginning to cool down enough to move, we
all activated to get the camp ready for
the night, light a fire and prepare the evening
meal. At the end of the evening, we sat around
the campfire taking turns drumming and strumming
on Vetkat's guitar. Then I got up and danced. It
was full moon.
Moon Dance
Under the full moon,
I dance on the red
dune,
Feed on stars,
Whole and humble.
Feet caressed in soft
sand,
Stamping a groove, a
pathway
Where my spirit soars,
Reach the brightness
out there.
Sparks tingle my
heart,
Breath pumping, heart
pounding,
Lifebeat, heartpulse,
Magical moon moment.
Later that night, Vetkat and Hansie, the
goatherd, got out the chess board and played a
few rounds by firelight.
In May, 2004, the3rd. session of The
Indigenous People's Forum took place at the
United Nations in N.Y.C. I.H. arranged for three
of Vetkat's paintings to be shown at the art
exhibit that accompanies the Forum. Susan
met Joram Useb from Namibia and Leandra from
South Africa, and learned something of the daily
lives of these two Bushmen, their frustrations
and aspirations. Joram had brought a statement
to read before the Forum, but, sadly, he never
got the opportunity to present it, and had to be
content with
the hope that someone would read it to the
presiding panel. Now, he is looking for
sponsorship to continue
his studies.
Leandra & Susan outside the U.N.
Following a request from activist Rupert
Isaacson,(www.healingland.com)
Susan connected with
John Scott, from Australia, the coordinator of
the Indigenous People's Forum, to set a date for
an interview with the Forum when the Bushmen
stop in New York on their journey through the
U.S. and Britain, to once again bring the
attention of the international community to the
plight of the Bushmen in Botswana,
who have been forcibly evicted from their
ancestral territory within the Central Kalahari
Game Reserve.
Five years ago, Roy Sesana (who subsequently won
the alternate Nobel Prize for Right Livelihood,
in 2006) journeyed to Geneva to appeal to the
Commissioner of Human Rights, but nothing has
been done by the U.N. so far, and this second
journey, conceived by Rupert Issaacson and
assisted by Megan Beisle of the Kalahari
People's Fund, became a reality.
On September 8th. Susan traveled to
California's Big Bear State Park to attend the
Gathering of the Elders, where she met Vetkat
and Belinda and the rest of the Bushmen
entourage. As she drove up into the mountains,
she was greeted by a heavy downpour of rain.
When she got to the campsite,
she found out the story behind that downfall.
The Bushmen delegation had been welcomed with
great
enthusiasm by many of the participants. The
humility, simplicity and peaceful way they
conducted themselves at this large gathering of
indigenous healers, shamans and western medical,
complimentary and alternative healers from
around the world, was widely commented on, and
greatly appreciated by all who communicated
public ally and spoke to me privately. It was a
gathering at which, by the very nature of
bringing together elders from different
traditions and practices, albeit with an
indigenous commonality, was
fraught with conflict over procedure and
protocol. We all have deep reason to be proud of
the way the
Bushman delegation conducted themselves in what
proved to be a difficult environment. At one
point, after a long council where a few
dominated the allotted time, it was time for the
Bushmen to speak. Vetkat Regopstaan Kruiper
invited all participants to stand, and he danced
the whole group around the circle, which was
being held outdoors, at which thunder rolled and
a heavy down pouring of rain ensued that, on
further inquiry, was limited to the region where
the conference was taking place. Vetkat danced
the whole
group of several hundred people into the main
hall of the conference centre. Perhaps this was
mere coincidence, but the synchronicity of the
event was not lost on anyone attending a
gathering such as this.
It merely confirmed, as was commented on by many
of the participants, the Bushmen reputation for
rainmaking, that the ancestors are alive and
well, and only too willing to demonstrate their
presence and
support!
Early in the morning on the final day of
the event Vetkat, Belinda and Isaac Kruiper were
asked to
host the morning ceremony. They lit a fire and
Belinda translated a few very simple words from
Vetkat basically saying that the bushmen do not
wait on ceremony. Everything is done with
respect and deep listening to all when making a
decision that effects all of us. (Animals and
plants are included, as in all
indigenous cultures.) They then called on Susan
to tell one of the Bushmen creation stories,
which she
happily did. What an honor to be acknowledged
for the years spent in telling and writing her
versions of
these wonderful stories.
From left to right:
Megan
Biesle of the Kalahari Peoples Fund, Belinda
Kruiper, Vanessa, Izak Kruiper, Kim Langbecker
of the Indigenous Land Fund, gathering to meet
with John Scott, who took the
delegation to the meeting at the Office for
Indigenous Peoples.
The group led by Pauline Tangiora, the
Maori Elder activist from new Zealand,
who flew in especially for the meeting.
Elsa
Stamatopoulu, Chairperson of the
Indigenous People's Forum, John Scott and Susan
Bailey at the conference table.
From Left to Right:
Vetkat, Belinda, Jumanda the
translator, Roy Sesana (in headdress), a
jounalist
from Botswana and Pauline Tangiora.
Click here for
Bushman Stories
