Lesedi Cultural Village: South Africa’s Tribal Experience

Lesedi Cultural Village

Africa is known as the cradle of humankind. The first man was known as a hunting people; bushman who believed in the spirit world of animals and used paintings to signify their beliefs and traditions. Lesedi Cultural Village, located an hour away from Johannesburg, gave the class a glimpse in to the cultures and traditions of four main tribes of South Africa, the Zulu, the Basatho, the Xhosa, and the Pedi tribes. Upon entering Lesedi, the class was greeted with a tribal warrior dance. This Zulu dance (click here to view Zulu Tribal Dance) signifies war time for the Zulus, where the stomping was meant to ward off enemies and the fall is emulating the fallen enemy soldiers. We learned that the women play a big role in the war effort; for when the wives see their men losing, they will run out to the battlefield and protect their men (it is not right to hit or injure a woman). After several class members joined in on the dancing, we got to “dine with the chief” and go on a walking tour of Lesedi’s four tribal villages.

Class With Stone Pile

On the tour, we learned about the traditions and stories of the Zulu, Basatho, Xhosa, and Pedi tribes. The Zulus are known as the warrior people, and were some of the main aggressors against colonial invasion. The most famous of the Zulus was Shaka Zulu. Shaka Zulu created an empire for his people, conquering other tribal lands (known as the scattering of the people) and leading battles of resistance against the British. The Zulu people are known for keeping a pile of stones outside their village. If a member of the tribe needs to go on a journey, they will pick a stone to spit on and throw in the pile for good luck. Other distinguishing Zulu features that we learned included the identifiable garb for women, where married women wore long skirts and hats and unmarried women beaded tops and short skirts.

The Basatho people are known as the mountain people, and wear hats and blankets because of the icy cold weather in the mountains during the winter. When fighting with the Zulu warriors during the Basatho war, the Basatho people would retreat to the mountains during the night to save their people. They called the mountains tabobasuro, meaning table by night. Lesedi means “light saved them”, because the mountains were dark at night, and the light brought them back to their homes.

The Xhosa people are known for their face painting and “click language”. Located in the Eastern Cape, the Xhosa (pronounced click-NOSA) were a pipe smoking people. Women using the long pipes to keep the smoke away from their child’s face (who would be strapped to their backs) and men would use the shorter pipes so that the tobacco reached them quicker. A typical Xhosa village would have a meeting place in the middle, where men would convene to discuss important village topics. As common with a patriarchal society, women were not allowed in the meeting place.

The forth group, the Pedi people, are known for their drums and unique architecture. Also, the Pedi men are known for wearing Scottish kilts. The men wear these kilts because, during the Pedi War against the Scottish, the Pedi men were confused about the warriors approaching in kilts. They thought the warriors might be women, and since Pedi men cannot injure women, they did not fight back against the Scottish. The Pedi were defeated by the Scottish, and wear the kilts as a reminder of the trickery.

Lesedi

What the class has seen from the experience in South Africa is the convergence between tribal traditions and modern culture. Many tribal traditions have been preserved, while others have been adapted to with society. The class was also able to read about the adaptation through Mark Mathabane’s autobiography, Kaffir Boy. The changes can be seen specifically with regards to religion and gender.

Today, one can see a convergence between Christianity and tribal religion. Kaffir Boy explained how missionaries came into townships to convert blacks. Many blacks converted to Christianity, but held on to tribal religious traditions out of doubt. The class was able to experience the convergence first hand when we attended Langa Methodist Church (mainly Xhosa people). Tribal traditions blended with Christian worship to create a unique service. The service was very active, with singing, dancing and praise to God.

Tribal traditions have been preserved with gender roles as well. Many black cultures utilize the lobola tradition, or payment for women. Traditionally, men would have to pay for women by giving cows to her family (11 cows for the Zulu and 30 cows for the Xhosa, ect.). Since many people do not have cows anymore, cows have been given a monetary value. The men will have to pay money to woman’s family to marry her. As seen in Kaffir Boy with Mark’s mom and dad, the woman is now technically the man’s property and lives under his rule. Many men also adopt the tribal tradition of polygamy. South Africa’s president, Jacob Zuma, even has five wives (a fact that many international people are unaware of). Tribal culture is a patriarchal one, and this patriarchal society still exists today in the townships. However, suffrage is quickly taking hold in South African black culture, with role models like Winnie Mandela showing women that they are equals.

The class had a lot of fun participating in tribal culture at Lesedi Cultural Village, and learning how culture traditions have combined with modern norms to create a new culture.