Lesedi Cultural Village

Yesterday I got to spend the afternoon with Elsa and her daughter-in-law, Marionette, at the Lesedi Cultural Village. Elsa is so much fun to be with and she's a talented photographer. Again, if you haven't done so, please take a few minutes and have a look at her photos. All of the photos on her site are hers! She's just amazing with what she can do with a camera! http://www.elsasdesigns.com/photography.html

http://www.lesedi.com/video-tour.htm
I found this link on line for the Lesedi Cultural Village and the video there isn't great quality but it will give you a great overview of the village! They have built 5 tradition homesteads, representing the Pedi, Sotho, Xhosa, Zulu and Ndebele people, showing how each of the tribes lived. It was fascinating to see how the villages were constructed and why they were built as they were. For example, the doors are very short and the reason for that is an enemy would have to stoop very low to get in the door, giving the occupants of the hut time to stop him. A very simple explanation that makes a lot of sense! Women always sit on the right side of the hut because when the door is opened, it protects them from an enemy!

http://www.krugerpark.co.za/africa_pedi.html This is a very informative link for the Pedi people.

http://www.kruger2canyons.com/learningcentre/kruger_people_sotho.php A very good link for the Sotho people.

http://www.slrk.info/profiles/xhosa.html A link for the Xhosa people.

http://www.mthwakazifoundation.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=31&Itemid=50 I am not entirely happy with this link, but it is a place to start for further research.

http://africanadrenalin.co.za/IsibindiAfrica/zulu_history.htm A brief history of the Zulu people.

I found it interesting to see the evolutionary patterns between the African tribes and the Native American Indians. Just as the Native Americans drew resources from the land around them, so did the African tribes. There are striking similarities between the Native American artwork and that of the African tribes, with each using natural paints and colors and even into the intricate beading that they do. Each culture evolved with very unique traditions that they cherish and share even today. I really do want to do more research on the traditions and cultures when I return home.

And yes, even though the Lesedi Cultural Village is a tourist attraction, I did learn a lot about them while I was there. Most of the "employees" there were younger and seemed to be having a good time while at work! They were very open and friendly while inviting questions.

This was a marked contrast to the Shangaan Cultural Village that I saw a few weeks ago. I did reserve my comments there, but I still believe that the Shangaan people were "encouraged" to share their history and culture due to economic issues. So many of the younger ones are leaving for the cities and they will never return "home" after seeing what is outside of the village. Don't misunderstand, the Shangaan people were very wonderful people, but it wasn't like the Lesedi Cultural Village. There was never a doubt that the Lesedi Village was a tourist attraction, where for me, there will always be that question in my mind about the Shangaan Village...