BOTSWANA: ART AND LITERATURE

Most of the art in Botswana comes from two different peoples. The first being the !Kung peoples, or sometimes called the San or Bushmen. And no, that exclamation point is not a typo. The language of the !Kung people is otherwise known as the “click language,” thought to be one of the oldest and most complex languages in the world. The explanation point signifies where the click is.  Since the !Kung peoples mainly lived in the Kalahari Desert in the areas of Botswana and Namibia, their art tends to be made from objects found in the Kalahari Desert, such as ostrich shells, bones, clay pots, beaded jewelry, and wooden carving (including that of animals). There was evidence of ancient cave drawings that still appear today as vibrant etchings depicting important aspects of life at that time: hunts, animals, ceremonies and recording the stepping stones of life.

The other style of art in Botswana is tied to the Nguni peoples, a style that is similar to many tribes of the southeast regions of Africa. The Nguni peoples created more intricate carvings out of stone, wood, or clay/ceramics. They also specialize in what’s called township art – that is, art that is made from discarded items like bottle caps, cans, pieces of wood, animal skins, etc. They use these materials to make objects that are used in everyday life, like musical instruments, walking sticks, blankets, baskets, etc. While there are many areas between the two types of art in Botswana that are different, there are large commonalities between the two as well, as evident in many aspects of their cultures and societies.

This is made from beaded wire. Pretty cool, huh? Check out more here: www.wow-imports.com .

Bessie Head is often considered one of Botswana’s most revered authors. Originally born in South Africa to a wealthy white woman and a black servant, racial discord in that country led her to eventually leave and move to Botswana. The novel that she is most well-known for is When Rain Clouds Gather, some of which seems was inspired by her own life story in some ways, in my opinion.  The subjects of her novels tend to be about African life, especially about humble beginnings and the struggle of life, as well as religion (raised as a Catholic, she later converted to Hinduism). Although she died in 1986 at the age of 48 from hepatitis, the Bessie Head Heritage Trust and the Bessie Head Literature Awards were established in 2007 in honor of her.

Another writer that I think should not be left out is Unity Dow. She is probably better known as not only as a judge, but the first female judge in Botswana’s High Court. She has long fought for women’s rights and human rights in general.  One of the key cases she was involved in was making the change that the children of a women are legally Batswana. (Tradition holds that nationality comes from the father.)  She has written five books that often deal with the dichotomy of Western life versus traditional life, including relevant topics like AIDS and poverty.

One of the major independent newspapers publishing daily is the Mmegi.  (Another newspaper read in Botswana is Botswana Guardian, but for some reason, I couldn't get the site to come up.) It literally means “The Reporter” in Setswana. It’s an English-language newspaper based out of Gaborone, and they do have an online edition at www.mmegi.bw. What gets me when I was browsing their site are the differences in English-language journalistic writing. In the US, unless it’s an op-ed column or a high school paper, the wording is very cut and dry. Theirs use a little more casual words and phrases, making it sound more like a conversation you would hear (well, maybe a little more professionally written than that), rather than a non-emotional dry “just-the-facts-ma’am” style of writing. Barring everything I’ve been taught about journalistic writing, I like it though. But you know me, I tend to gravitate toward less formalities any day. 

Up next: music and dance

BOTSWANA: THE LAND AND THE PEOPLE

Botswana is far more than the nature parks and game reserves that spread across most of the northern part of the country, although that is a large part of it. The flat landscape of the Kalahari Desert takes up around 70% of the land in Botswana. In fact, the nickname and symbol for Botswana is the zebra. Because of this, Botswana is one of the most sparsely populated countries in the world: it’s almost like taking all of the people out of the state of Texas, except for the residents of the city of Houston.  The country borders South Africa (using the Limpopo River as a border for some of the way), Namibia, and Zimbabwe (sharing a border with the Zambezi River part of the way), and a really tiny technical border with Zambia (from what I can tell on Google Maps). It's the only place in the world where four countries come together.

The area was originally inhabited by the Tswana peoples, and tensions arose when other tribes started making their ways in the northern sections of the country. On top of all that, Dutch Boers also started making their way inland from the Transvaal into Botswana as well. Finally after a number of appeals, the British put the area under their protection in 1885 and called it the Bechuanaland Protectorate (which is why English is one of the official languages, along with Setswana). The northern part eventually became what we know as Botswana today, and the southern area where many of the Setswana speakers lived became part of South Africa. Botswana later gained independence from Britain in 1966, and started out as one of the poorest countries, but quickly changed that for the better.

The origin of the word Botswana is interesting to me. The name of the main ethnic group, Tswana, is the base word. The prefix bo- is added to it to indicate the “land of.” Following in that fashion, the prefix ba- means “the people (plural)” as in Batswana; mo- means “a person (singular)” as in Motswana; and se- means “the language or culture of” as in Setswana.  Even though in English language print, “Botswanan” is usually used to describe its people and things from the country. I found it interesting that their currency is called pula, which is also the Setswana word for "rain." It's also their motto.

Botswana makes a lot of their revenue in uncut diamonds. (Debswana is the largest diamond mining industry in Botswana, yet it’s half-owned by the government. That would never fly in the US.) They have also found large deposits of uranium as well as gold, copper, and oil.

Botswana and southern Africa is thought to be the origin of watermelons. It traveled north through trade, and 

Africans brought watermelons and watermelon seeds along with them to North and South America and the Caribbean via the slave trade. While it’s a terrible reason how it got here, I’m really glad they brought this with them.

One of the biggest problems facing Botswana today is the high prevalence of AIDS, which affects life expectancy and other economic factors. The estimated rate from 2006 was that nearly 24% of adults suffered from either AIDS or HIV.  However, Botswana also has a comprehensive plan to combat it by giving its citizens access to free or cheap generic anti-retroviral drugs that they need. Part of this program is to pass on information that is critical to stopping the spread of the disease, thanks in part to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the Merck Foundation and several other organizations for helping to fund this program to make this happen. I’m sure they will see increases in life expectancy and other economic improvements in the years to come.

It’s also the setting for the famous books by Scottish writer Alexander McCall Smith, The No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency. In the US, it was broadcast as a mini-series on HBO a couple of years ago starring Jill Scott (love her music!) and Anika Noni Rose (who did the voice of Tiara in The Princess and The Frog).  I just got disk 1 off of Netflix and watched the pilot episode last night. Since it was filmed entirely in Botswana and in its capital Gaborone, the opening shots showed wonderful views of the beauty of the land. I highly recommend it, even only after one episode.

My initial research on Botswana has intrigued me on many levels. I had some small pre-knowledge about this area, only in general, but I’m hoping that I can draw connections and fill in gaps on the culture of this country.

Up next: Holidays and Celebrations