Hello everyone, I just wanted to say sorry because I promised to have the pictures up but unfortunately wont be able to keep that promise. The internet has been too slow to upload any pictures, and I will be leaving for mid-service training soon. Ill try to get them up when I am back at the end of June. Thanks and all the best.
Wednesday, June 19, 2013
Tuesday, June 18, 2013
Where and How I Live: My Village, Gumare
Hey everyone, sorry that this is a week late. I have been in and out
of my village and lost track of time, but to make up for it I promise
to post pictures by the end of this week. That is that for
apologies, so let us now move on the theme of Where and How I Live and talk about my village, Gumare
(pronounced Goo-mar-eh).
I have mentioned a bit about Gumare in earlier posts saying how it is very much a rural cowboy village in the north of Botswana but instead of elaborating on this and subjecting you to my best efforts at literary competency as I try to describe what Gumare looks like in words I will just show you in pictures. What this means is that this post will be less about what Gumare looks like and more about the people who make up Gumare.
Really it is the people who I will most likely remember more than the actual village of Gumare itself. This is even true with the reality that I am surrounded by wildlife (i.e. just yesterday I saw an elephant standing on the side of the road) and is because the people of Gumare represent a wide range of ethnic and class diversity that is packed into this small village of roughly 8,000 people.
Before I get into what I mean by the diversity of classes in Gumare, lets start with something that is more straightforward and easier for me to write about thanks to Wikipedia and local history books, Gumare's ethnic diversity. Now, you may be saying why does Jeff need Wikipedia to write about the ethnic diversity in a village he has lived in for a year? Doesn't he talk to anybody?
The answer to those questions is representative of the ethnic diversity in and of itself. For instance, if I were to question those most knowledgeable about Gumare's history, which is the older generations, I would most likely get five different answers in five different languages corresponding to the five different ethnic tribes who live in Gumare. These ethnic groups are in no specific order the Bayei (Ba-yea-e), Bahereo (Bah-her-rare-o), Batswana , Koi (Coy) San, and Bambukushu (Bam-boo-koo-shoo).
So for those who know me and know it is not for my lack of the willingness to ask questions, I need outside assistance because I lack the language capability to fully investigate Gumare's ethnic diversity. For example, I learned from Wikipedia and a quick Google search the Bambukushu actually originate from Angola, but have migrated down to Gumare during the civil strife that took place in Angola during the late 21st century. From the Bayei's tribes written history I know that the Bayei, the largest ethnic group in Gumare, for the last decade tried to legally establish Gumare as its cultural and traditional capital.
With this said, I still have been my inquisitive self (or annoying depending on who you ask) peppering locals with questions about their tribe and history. And it is from these conversations that I have learned that all these tribes livelihoods are primarily linked to the surrounding delta. For instance, the Bayei are known for fishing and the Bambukushu are know for using the delta's reeds to make beautiful handmade baskets. Moreover, I have learned that Koi San are actually one of the oldest tribes in the world (some say they are the initial cradle of civilization tribe) and for years have been roaming Botswana's delta bush hunting and gathering to survive. Unfortunately, these traditional ways of living are all under threat, if not extinct, because of Botswana's designation of national parks and protected areas.
Finally, I have learned from talking with people that the Bahereo woman's huge colorful dresses and horn shaped hats represent two unique aspects of their culture. First, the colorful patterned dresses come from the fact the Bahereo originate from Namibia, which was colonized by Germany, and thus are actually traditional German style prints. Secondly, the Bahereo are primarily known for their cattle and to represent how important cattle is to their livelihoods the woman wear hats that look like horns you would see on a bull. Ill try to get a shot of one these woman but if for some reason I cant and you are really interested just Google images "Bahereo tribe of Namibia" and a picture should come up.
That pretty much wraps up what I meant by ethnic diversity, so lets move on to the class diversity. I know inequality exists everywhere and in Botswana more than most places, but I was not expecting to see such a clear distinction in my small rural village. Yet, when I got here it was immediately clear that their was a class distinction. Pretty much all of this has to do with Gumare being the seat of the sub-district's government, which as a result has flooded Gumare with a minority population of well-educated and relatively well-paid bureaucrats. So what you see in terms of class distinction is generally a gap between the well-paid bureaucrats and those who are from Gumare living on subsistence farming. Those government employers generally have cars, nice clothes, nice government housing, and talk the best English whereas those living in Gumare might only living in mud huts and barely and drive around town in a donkey cart or on a horse.
At this point, I should make it clear that this is just a generalization and really not a cut in stone rule. For example, I know many business owners who are from Gumare, earn a good living, drive cars, and have large houses. In addition, I should also make it clear that his generalization is not meant to judge either class, because as I will mention below everyone here is very friendly and welcoming. Rather, I make the latter observation so you can getting a better picture of my village.
Like I mentioned, regardless what class or ethnic tribe someone is the people in Gumare have been, for the most part, extremely friendly. Not a day goes by when someone doesn't stop me with a big smile on their face and say Hello (or in their language "Dumela"). Nor is it uncommon for me to be laughing like I am best friends with a person I just met. So all in all, I cannot complain about the people in Gumare and am fortunate that I got placed here.
I think that is a pretty good place to stop. Next time I will either talk about Gumare's growth in the last decades or move on to discussing the Okavango Sub-District on whole. Thanks for reading this post and as always I hope everyone is doing well!
I have mentioned a bit about Gumare in earlier posts saying how it is very much a rural cowboy village in the north of Botswana but instead of elaborating on this and subjecting you to my best efforts at literary competency as I try to describe what Gumare looks like in words I will just show you in pictures. What this means is that this post will be less about what Gumare looks like and more about the people who make up Gumare.
Really it is the people who I will most likely remember more than the actual village of Gumare itself. This is even true with the reality that I am surrounded by wildlife (i.e. just yesterday I saw an elephant standing on the side of the road) and is because the people of Gumare represent a wide range of ethnic and class diversity that is packed into this small village of roughly 8,000 people.
Before I get into what I mean by the diversity of classes in Gumare, lets start with something that is more straightforward and easier for me to write about thanks to Wikipedia and local history books, Gumare's ethnic diversity. Now, you may be saying why does Jeff need Wikipedia to write about the ethnic diversity in a village he has lived in for a year? Doesn't he talk to anybody?
The answer to those questions is representative of the ethnic diversity in and of itself. For instance, if I were to question those most knowledgeable about Gumare's history, which is the older generations, I would most likely get five different answers in five different languages corresponding to the five different ethnic tribes who live in Gumare. These ethnic groups are in no specific order the Bayei (Ba-yea-e), Bahereo (Bah-her-rare-o), Batswana , Koi (Coy) San, and Bambukushu (Bam-boo-koo-shoo).
So for those who know me and know it is not for my lack of the willingness to ask questions, I need outside assistance because I lack the language capability to fully investigate Gumare's ethnic diversity. For example, I learned from Wikipedia and a quick Google search the Bambukushu actually originate from Angola, but have migrated down to Gumare during the civil strife that took place in Angola during the late 21st century. From the Bayei's tribes written history I know that the Bayei, the largest ethnic group in Gumare, for the last decade tried to legally establish Gumare as its cultural and traditional capital.
With this said, I still have been my inquisitive self (or annoying depending on who you ask) peppering locals with questions about their tribe and history. And it is from these conversations that I have learned that all these tribes livelihoods are primarily linked to the surrounding delta. For instance, the Bayei are known for fishing and the Bambukushu are know for using the delta's reeds to make beautiful handmade baskets. Moreover, I have learned that Koi San are actually one of the oldest tribes in the world (some say they are the initial cradle of civilization tribe) and for years have been roaming Botswana's delta bush hunting and gathering to survive. Unfortunately, these traditional ways of living are all under threat, if not extinct, because of Botswana's designation of national parks and protected areas.
Finally, I have learned from talking with people that the Bahereo woman's huge colorful dresses and horn shaped hats represent two unique aspects of their culture. First, the colorful patterned dresses come from the fact the Bahereo originate from Namibia, which was colonized by Germany, and thus are actually traditional German style prints. Secondly, the Bahereo are primarily known for their cattle and to represent how important cattle is to their livelihoods the woman wear hats that look like horns you would see on a bull. Ill try to get a shot of one these woman but if for some reason I cant and you are really interested just Google images "Bahereo tribe of Namibia" and a picture should come up.
That pretty much wraps up what I meant by ethnic diversity, so lets move on to the class diversity. I know inequality exists everywhere and in Botswana more than most places, but I was not expecting to see such a clear distinction in my small rural village. Yet, when I got here it was immediately clear that their was a class distinction. Pretty much all of this has to do with Gumare being the seat of the sub-district's government, which as a result has flooded Gumare with a minority population of well-educated and relatively well-paid bureaucrats. So what you see in terms of class distinction is generally a gap between the well-paid bureaucrats and those who are from Gumare living on subsistence farming. Those government employers generally have cars, nice clothes, nice government housing, and talk the best English whereas those living in Gumare might only living in mud huts and barely and drive around town in a donkey cart or on a horse.
At this point, I should make it clear that this is just a generalization and really not a cut in stone rule. For example, I know many business owners who are from Gumare, earn a good living, drive cars, and have large houses. In addition, I should also make it clear that his generalization is not meant to judge either class, because as I will mention below everyone here is very friendly and welcoming. Rather, I make the latter observation so you can getting a better picture of my village.
Like I mentioned, regardless what class or ethnic tribe someone is the people in Gumare have been, for the most part, extremely friendly. Not a day goes by when someone doesn't stop me with a big smile on their face and say Hello (or in their language "Dumela"). Nor is it uncommon for me to be laughing like I am best friends with a person I just met. So all in all, I cannot complain about the people in Gumare and am fortunate that I got placed here.
I think that is a pretty good place to stop. Next time I will either talk about Gumare's growth in the last decades or move on to discussing the Okavango Sub-District on whole. Thanks for reading this post and as always I hope everyone is doing well!
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