Book Tour: Sacred Sites. More Contrasts, Durban and Cape Town

On Sunday Morning the next day, my publicist arrived to pick me up to begin the book tour. The book 29 Gifts. ( How a month of giving can change your life) by Cami Walker I entered into the world of media.
One of the travelers stayed with me for the tour whilst the other booked a different range hotel and met us later in Cape Town. First stop after checking in was the Rosebank Mall in Johannesburg to buy a stone that Credo Mutwa had suggested we have for protection. There is also a very good African Market close by with goods from all over Africa.

I returned to the hotel to rest and relax go over my schedule. On some level in order for me to focus and prepare for what would be an extreme pace from 4am wake ups to catch flights to late dinners in the evening, TV, Radio and Newspaper interviews and book signings all day long, I began a slowing down process. I was looking forward to my debut into media and thanks to my amazing publicist, who took care of every detail with ease, grace and a professionalism that looked like she did it in her sleep the tour went without a hitch. I enjoyed every moment of it, every person I met and every welcome I received. I felt like I was being welcomed home by every stranger, be it TV Host, or a woman suffering from MS in a bookstore who simply wanted to talk. There were many magic moments in what seemed to be a tour driven by a force that had little to do with me. I was simply the medicine woman, who gave the author an unusual prescription, “Give way 29 gifts in 29 days” But it caused a stir everywhere we went, book signings sold out, people showed up to the point of overflowing. Abundance abounded and I am still fascinated by the energy behind the 29 gifts movement.

The gifts were every where. I was extremely pleased with the diverse media interviews that had been set up from The Big Issue to a Literary lunch in the wine country and great progressive radio and TV slots.
I was really impressed by what I witnessed as the new South Africa’s emerging budding talent, the majority colored and blacks in TV and radio as well as well seasoned journalists and interviewers. Some of the Radio stations were out of the fifties, quaint wood paneled walls with the mike hanging in the center of the room. My spirits lifted, I did see progress, as my heart had sunk in what I still see as little or no change in many areas of the country with its squatter camps and continuing segregation.

My second cousin’s beautiful young daughter showed up in one of the book signings in Cape Town with her boyfriend, who bought her the book, day 1 of 29 the first gift. Little and big gifts came in, in various packages, a never ending abundance and flow. I was always aware of the still very glaring separation, eating in restaurants with maybe only one or two black people whilst driving to Sandtown a white wealthy area, edged onto one of the most impoverished and dangerous townships in South Africa. Alexandra, enter if you dare, they say, preferably with a guide to drive in, as you may be hit by stones that fly your way as you drive alongside children dressed in rags and barefoot who have been taught somewhere that we needed to be stoned. I can only think of this song at these times ....It was sung in the times of Apartheid especially at the funerals of Political activists and was part of the Vukani’s repertoire. Senzinina. Which means what have we done ...our only sin is our blackness. That line still cracks me open each time I sing it. What a deep and powerful statement- it says it all, when I see a child taught to throw stones at anyone who may be the oppressor. Will that child rise from the gravest poverty, caused only because she was born black? I pray so. What have we done, our only sin is that we are black. I am sure though that there are ways to enter Alexandra in peace, even though some of the locals will not even drive there. This is unusual and not the norm, please read on.

The contrasts here in South Africa are everywhere you go. I consider my self a cosmopolitan person, whatever that means. Colored, my self born in PE, raised in London and now living in the USA. I have a little of everything. Black, white European and mixed blood. Here in South Africa never white enough and never black enough, I have over the years had to work hard on my not enoughness, and have always managed to walk comfortably wherever I was. For those who do not know Colored existed here in South Africa as a race. With this label comes another history which has been written about in past posts.

I am still surprised in the glaring segregation whilst no longer imposed, still imposed, so to speak. Signs still say we reserve the right to refuse permission .......I somehow doubt they were talking about someone who was not wearing a tie.
I walk comfortably in Townships feel welcomed there like family. I watch observe and listen. Still new to my homeland I have seen an enormous amount in my four visits but feel that I have not yet gotten under its skin and felt its pulse. It’s heart has already touched me often in many ways, in the eyes of the motherless children, or the old mans shoes who walks in rags along the road, the Bushman’s creases around the eyes of the folds in their smooth dark leathery skin. I look forward with great relish to digging deep into the heart and psyche of the collective of my country, it is that, that will drive my book. I have been exposed to very little of Mama Africa until recently and now I can’t get enough of it.

Two days in Johannesburg. First stop 7am make up, for TV that made my fellow traveler’s face tell a story of shock as I emerged whiter than when I went in! But it was fun the make up girls were excited that it was me, lord knows why, but we laughed and talked about the book. Live TV followed by Radio and newspapers and more TV. There is a vibe of vibrant young and young at heart elders. I witnessed an exciting media talent. Diverse in every way, very uplifting. Thank You, Joburg! You are all a gift!

Up for a 4am flight to Durban, Bleary eyed and still sleepy I showered in the 4 Quarters Hotel opposite the African Arts Center. Several interviews later, I emerged. I had a radio interview with a charming gentleman who knew integrative Medicine and who’s mother married Gracia and Nelson Mandela, it made the end of a lovely day, followed by just one book launch and dinner in the charming Hotel. Dinner was served under a canopy, whilst stormy warm rain poured down, on a balmy evening. Durban is a laid back seaside town, with a smell of potential and possibility in the dusk’s balmy ocean breeze. Sexy, sultry and romantic. I love it, or is it Kwa Zulu Natal the region that it is in, that really lifts my heart?
It boasts a “Golden Mile” mostly women selling their wares along the sea front, brightly colored beaded jewelry sold at trade prices and where many traders come to buy. So if you like the jewelry there buy it as the next time you see the same wares, it will be marked up somewhat. An Art Deco piece of architecture beautifully and tastefully done is the Sun Coast casino creme and blue pastel walls enhance the skyline, a little walk to the beach. We all hitched up our skirts and dipped our feet in the ocean for a few minutes before heading to the Book launch in Kensington. Oh and did I mention the World Cup? Thousands of rand has been spent on the most beautiful football stands here in South Africa. Of all the cities, I liked Durban the best architecturally speaking (sorry Cape Town and Soweto, but it’s true.See photo above ) Oh and who knew I would be writing about football. Thank You Durban, you are all a gift!
Up at 4 am the next day up to catch the flight to Cape Town. I was thrilled as I always am when the mountain and the ocean came to meet me, as we landed. Male and female energy live very strongly side by side .... the mountain and the ocean, so I am told. Cape Town is quite a vortex of sacred sites. Some of which I was lucky enough to explore. I have a soft, very soft spot for Cape Town. It was there just 4 years ago that I looked down the street where we had lived and literally remembered in my bones some memory of a life on that street. I had never lived there to my knowledge, my first three years spent in Port Elizabeth. They say the cells of the body never forget and so it was. But I remembered, I could feel my father and my mother standing where I stood looking at the mountain. The little pink house they lived in is now a creche and a small church.

Mostly newspapers highly diverse in nature, surprised and pleased at the young talents in journalism and impressed with those more seasoned. The interviews were thoughtfully held where possible in the grounds of the Vineyard hotel, where I was staying, which boasted a rather lovely large turtle and somewhat luxurious grounds and services which I have to admit, I had to keep asking, what I had done to deserve this, but I must admit I did sing for my supper and I loved every moment of it especially the passion fruit juice mixed with sparkling water. It was all a gift.

A very moving and profound moment occurred for me when I was interviewed by a colored radio interviewer. Out of the window I could see table mountain to the left. “Jai is a P.E meisie” he greeted me in Afrikaans. Translated means “You are a PE Girl” What’s it like being home? I felt a lump rise in my throat. It is sort of surreal to be here on radio in Cape Town looking at the Mountain my parents camped on when they were courting. I feel such an honor! I was so grateful he asked the question and I had an opportunity to honor my parents on radio in Cape Town several years after they had passed. It felt like they were right there with me.

Where was I? Oh yes contrasts......
My last venue was the Cape Town Literary lunch held at the Buitenverwachting Wine Estate in Constantaia. Apparantly the event had sold out to 150 people quite quickly and had a waiting list. Go 29 gifts! It was quite an event. The next day I was walking the streets of Kyelisha township, holding babies who were orphaned mostly to HIV and AIds, in a pretty grim, grey impoverished concrete jungle. My friend’s husband, provides volunteers from all over the world to these establishments. His wife drove us into the township, while he, a white gentleman and he is gentle, greeted and waived at all those who recognized him. “it is very safe you know to come here, most people stay away because of fear, I feel very welcomed and safe” and he was welcomed wherever he went. We parked outside a home for children and I stopped to listen to a choir from the nearby church, four white people and me .......I have to go in and listen. They followed. No sooner had we been spotted, we were escorted to seats that people gave up so we could sit, huge smiles and handshakes welcomed us. The only white people in a strange town in a strange church. Music has always united the South African people in times of struggle and during apartheid. (also written in past posts) It was what my choir Vukani Mawethu sang about. Here many many years later, these people invited us into their community. I was overcome with emotion and tears just streamed. This is what it means to truly forgive, they teach me this every time I come here, and I am humbled each time I learn how to forgive. I remembered a line from Nelson Mandela’s speech when he was asked by a reporter in London if the thousands of people who had shown up to honor him scared him. “How can I be afraid, when all I feel is love?” Right here in the heart of strangers in a township where hunger and poverty is rife, where people were cast out of their homes and their land taken away because they were black, is where I felt loved and where I am comfortable. I remembered again that I have so much more to learn from those who forgave their oppressors.
Thank You Cape Town, my publicist and the awesome team of book sellers and promoters and all those I met along the way. You are all a gift.

Just when I thought I was done, my publicist asked if I would do one more live TV interview on the Monday morning. By now I had moved out of my exclusive hotel to the red light district in Cape Town called Green Point, right opposite the Brand new football stadium. Did I mention the world Cup? Its saving grace was that it was in walking distance of the Wharf. I happily agreed, and made it back in time to meet with a woman named Karen I had been in communication with about sacred sites in Cape Town. Previously she had told us we would need to have good shoes and be quite fit. I am not that fit right now and hoped the walk was not going to be too strenuous. Although older than me, a spring chicken indeed, a sprightly mountain goat who could traverse craggy areas and terrains in no time at all. Even the young travelers I was with had to keep up.

Well what a gem she turned out to be! We were taken to Table Mountain. I had been before on two occasions but had never been shown the Vortex of the third eye and incredible point of power. We meditated there and later we were driven to three more power areas. The first a very special rock that Credo had talked about, ‘The all seeing Eye”. It looked a little like a unicorn. In its point was a space the shape of an eye, where it is said that at the time of the solstices, (we have one coming) is the only time the sun shines directly through this eye. We were then taken to a Bushmen burial site ( this is where the elderly lady, shape shifted into a mountain goat (uhhh that would be her not me) and traversed the terrain at lightening speed. We were led to a cave that had been excavated by a man called Pitts who decided that to disturb the graves of 12 Bushmen and dig up their skeletons was a good idea. I sure as hell do not want his Karma or those that follow.

It was sad to look at the black stones, disheveled and disturbed and to know that the graves had been invaded and the bones dug up. We sat quietly and honored them and myself and one of the travelers decided to sing. I quietly sang a West African song that honored the ancestors and felt my heart lift a little. After that our guide took us to a cave of ascension where we sat at the edge overlooking a stunning valley. We drank a concoction of tea made by her and another traveler as they collected herbs along the way. We made offerings there. It was said that it was where those recently passed were brought to leave their body and for their spirit to ascend.
Just heavenly ..................I got Karen's info through Dean Liprini, www.sunpath.co.za .Karen’s number if you want to contact her is 072 321 9115, and it is okay to mention my name.
Back to the red light district, for an early dinner, before heading to Cape Town Bus station and an overnight 12 hour bus ride to Upington in the North, to begin our Journey into the kalahari Desert and our time with Belinda and the Bushmen.

Zulu Culture from the heart of Kwa Zulu -People from Heaven

Zululand s a place of unspoilt beauty, a pristine coastline, abundant forest brown muddy African Rivers and streams. Alongside a modern infrastructure off the highway nestled in the green hills can be found, rondavaals with thatched roofs set in the remnants of tradition- a ragged circle which symbolized the Zulu Tradition. Zulu people still alive and well living in these traditional huts. I have not yet seen a “township” here. The living being more brightly colored one storey structures maybe only two or three rooms tucked into the hillside.

The chief lived in the main hut, there was a hut for cooking and making the traditional sour beer. The other huts were for the wives and the children. A sub tropical climate with vivid thunder storms and heavy rains -a message from the Gods and the Ancestors reminding us they are still here! Yesterday I visited Valley of a Thousand Hills. I had lunch overlooking the hills. It has drawn me since I first visited South Africa.

I am drawn to the Zulu Beadwork, pots and incredible baskets. I feel called to Kwa Zulu each time I am in South Africa. My adopted grandmother lives close to a place called Mtunizi so I always have a reason to visit here when I come.

After leaving Durban we drove in a misty rainy morning, our destination Eshowe, the heart of Zulu land. The landscape became noticibly greener and more lush with and abundance of banana palms, indigenous trees and grasses. Rolling hills cascade into endless forests for timber production.

Here we found the Old George hotel, homemade chicken curry, Zulu Tea called Ntingwe one of the five top teas in the world (sold in Harrods we were told with pride!) and a forest lodge B and B.

We drove to the site of Shaka Zulu (Where the movie was made ) Not my normal scene, but was told it was run by Zulus and it was a traditional Zulu Village where people actually live. Geared for tourists overlooking a stunning lake, it created an Idylliic serene picture. Of course it is a tourist attraction, however it is run by Zulu people and carries with it more of an authenticity as they take great pride in their culture. It was informative and we did learn about Traditional Zulu culture and saw some beautiful, unusual beadwork, baskets, pots and woodcarvings. These objects were used in daily life, and also linked to rituals which called the ancestors (amadlozi) honoring them.

The work is still an integral part of the continuing cycle of life. Their use transmitted and still do cultural traditions carried through the centuries of Zulu culture. Until very recently indigenous southern African cultural expression was excluded from curricula in South African schools. In the contemporary free market system many crafters there are intrepreneurs, selling their own work as well as that of their community. Now the Zulu cultural tradition evolves, according to what needs are identified by those who make a living from it.

Beadwork has featured highly in courtship rituals for marriage and love letters are made from beads.

Cultural expression is very dynamic! Song, artwork, beadwork, and metal work is vibrant colorful, and soulful. With a constant assimilation of a variety of styles the Zulu’s are able to express their daily experience.

The scenery here is spectacular. It is lush, with banana Palms, grasses and indigenous trees. There was a real sense of “warrior “ energy reminiscent of the days of King Shaka Zulu who is buried in Stanger close to Shakazululand.

King Shaka changed the entire community of Zulu Land uniting it in their tradition and culture.

The women sit on grass mats on the ground to make the jewelry. Mostly they are made of glass but few are made of seeds. The work is colorful. Time is taken to thread together tiny beads in intricate mathematical patterns.

Traditionally it was the men who did the wood carving and metal work and women did beadwork and pottery, the grass weaving being shared by both genders.

Zulu women have been making clay pots for hundreds of years. They are used to store beer food and sour milk. I love them, simple designs, black and brown that come in mostly two shapes. Like the beadwork the pots serve in symbolic rites and social customs. The pots are fired in a shallow pit, using aloe and ash, their hues are earthy and when shone with fat they glisten. The smooth blackened surface of the pot is said to attract the “shades” the ancestors.

Baskets were woven with grass and strands of llala (palm leaves) In the past baskets were buried with the dead and also were included in a brides dowry. Now they are used to store food, medicine and beer. The baskets are exquisite, in design and color.

I saw plastic bottles fashioned into boxes exquisitely painted. We have much to learn from these peoples about recycling!

The history of telephone wire weaving, comes out of the migration of male workforce who moved from rural Kwa Zulu Natal to large cities. whilst living away from their families they wiled away the time as nightwatchmen by weaving off cuts of colored wire from electrical security systems.

Now these amazing baskets have become sought after and female weavers are emerging supported by such projects as the Siyanda Project, spoken about in the last post out of the African Arts Center in Durban where the women are being taught and coached to bring their flair individuality and genius to the work and not just turn out the same work that you can see along the golden mile waterfront in Durban, where many stalls are set up to sell brightly colored beaded jewelry and simple wooden carvings.

All of these beautiful cultural expressions has provided opportunities for the Zulu people to make a living.

More people are working with the communities to support the local people, by going into the villages and township and buying directly from the artists.

Eshowe is a sleepy town elevated to the top of a hillside, it is serene. It organically blends tradition and modern and it works in its own way. It boasts a mall the pride of the New South Africa -THE MALL and DENIM. It is said that four Zulu Kings have at some stage lived here.

It has a 250 hectare forest and a refreshing climate. A walk on the ariel boardwalk in the Dlinza Forest takes you close to the trees. This forest contains many rare birds such as the Spotted Thrush, their noise and chirping loud and vocal. But always in unison it seems.

To look down from the boardwalk into this beautiful vegetation calls the imagination to goblins and fairies and magic! On the ground we found species of trees with many medicinal purpose. Bush buck, tiny antelopes about 2 feet high peeked at us through the trees. Our own personal guide appeared from nowhere to track us to make sure we did not get lost or attacked by wild pigs. He gently wound spiders webs around his fingers to clear the way, so we would not get bitten. It was almost like watching a dance, as he bent and twined the web and laid it tenderly on a tree. The trees were wrapped in thick vines that twisted up to the sky and hung down to the ground only to re root and shoot up again. These our guide said were predator trees the vine eventually killing the tree they wrap around. The base of the tree are in segments, roots exposed, reminded me of a time many many years ago. Definately an Avatar forest, where one would not walk at night.