A Kalahari Family
Duration: 06:00:00 Encapsulating 50 years of Namibian history and edited from 2 million feet of 16mm film, A Kalahari Family represents a lifetime of documentation, research, and personal contact with the Ju/'hoansi of Nyae Nyae by filmmaker John Marshall. Through the voices of Oma Tsamkxao and...
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| Institution: | Open Society Archives at Central European University |
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Kalfam Productions ; Marshall, John ; Marshall, Lorna
2002
United States |
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| Online Access: | http://hdl.handle.net/10891/osa:e7947229-e69d-4142-8a6d-e14b9ba69fa9 |
| Summary: | Duration: 06:00:00
Encapsulating 50 years of Namibian history and edited from 2 million feet of 16mm film, A Kalahari Family represents a lifetime of documentation, research, and personal contact with the Ju/'hoansi of Nyae Nyae by filmmaker John Marshall. Through the voices of Oma Tsamkxao and his extended family, viewers learn the extraordinary story of the Ju/'hoansi, beginning with their experiences as independent, self-sufficient hunter-gatherers, continuing through the wrenching changes of dispossession and militarization, and culminating with their attempts to establish viable farming settlements. Part 1: A FAR COUNTRY (90 Min.) In 1951, the Marshall family set out to document the life of the Bushmen of the Kalahari. After a week of hard travel in desert-adapted vehicles, they met Toma Tsamkxao and his Ju/'hoan band in Nyae Nyae. In their own words, Toma's extended family describes how they survive by gathering bush foods and hunting game. Part 2: END OF THE ROAD (60 Min.) John Marshall is reunited with Toma's family in 1978. Like a majority of Ju/'hoansi, they have settled at Tjum!kui, an administrative post run by the South African government. They came looking for water, jobs and an easier life, but found poverty, malnutrition and violence. Desperate for a more stable existence, the family heads back to their traditional water hole, /Aotcha, with shovels, cattle, and plans to start farming. Part 3: REAL WATER (60 Min.) Ju/’hoan farming communities multiply during the 1980s only to face a new threat. The Department of Nature Conservation wants to create a game reserve on Ju/’hoan territory. People will be forbidden to raise livestock or crops. Instead, Ju/’hoansi will be encouraged to act like "Bushmen" and hunt for the amusement of tourists. Urgent grass roots organizing ensues as the people seek to control their traditional lands. Part 4: STANDING TALL (60 Min.) After twelve decades of colonial rule, South West Africa is about to become the independent nation of Namibia and people are looking forward to democratic rule. Members of the newly formed, Ju/’hoan Farmers' Co-op travel throughout white ranching districts and black ethnic homelands to find long-lost relatives. Following Namibia’s first national elections, United Nations troops help relocate these families to traditional Ju/’hoan territory. Part 5: DEATH BY MYTH (90 Min.) Namibian independence attracts vast amounts of international aid, but development programs no longer benefit Ju/’hoan farms. We witness the power of the Bushman myth, belief that Ju/’hoansi live uniquely in harmony with nature and are born to hunt. |
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| Published: | 2002 |