Basotho Chief

A visit to a Basotho Cultural village and the Eastern Free State

Our voyage back to Pretoria took us through the foothills of the Drakensberg and lovely evergreen Natal once again. This time the mountains were bathed in sunshine! I decided to make a slight detour to take us through the Eastern Free State on our way back to Pretoria.

The Eastern region of the Free State is quite different to the mostly flat and scenically monotonous prairie lands of the south and west of the province. In the east the land rises in a spectacular series of sculpted, sandstone rock formations. Many of them steep-sided and flat-topped glowing in shades of pink, purple and gold in the bright sunshine with farm lands and fruit orchards in between. The most spectacular possibly the massive, remarkably hued yellow-gold sandstone formations of the Golden Gate Highlands National Park. This park was South Africa's first scenic national park proclaimed in 1963.

The Golden Gate

Upon arriving at the Village I first enquired about accommodation for the night because we were following our noses and it was already past midday. The attendant in the Village office was very kind and understanding when I explained to him that I could not use a telephone and needed assistance. He phoned on our behalf and confirmed that there was accommodation available for the night at the Golden Gate Park. However, as I turned around a lady who stood next to me started talking to me and advised me that far cheaper and much more interesting accommodation could be found in Clarens. Well I knew that quite a number of South African artists "escaped" from the big cities and set up studios and craft shops in Clarens and decided that it was well worth a try to just drive there and find a guest house. It was somewhat difficult to decline the friendly assistant's offer to book us in at the Brandwag Camp at Golden Gate for the night.

Peter not really delighted to be
dressed up like a Basotho Chief

After the hearty welcome we proceeded to the Sangoma's (witch doctor) hut. His job was to "throw the bones" for us. The prospect of a glimpse into the future intrigued me and I was really interested in what the Sangoma would predict for our future. Well to my utter disappointment I then learned that it was just a demonstration and that the Sangoma would not dare to tell what the future held in store for my friend from the Northern hemisphere LOL!

Then it was time to see the rest of the village. We were first led to the main hut of the chief ducking low to enter through the small door into the semi-darkness of the hut. Before Peter knew where he was he was "dressed up" in a traditional Basotho outfit again! Complete with furry hat, animal tail fly swatter, spear and shield!! Even if I was NOT prompted by the guide to take a photo I would never have missed out on this because the expression on Peter's face was just too good not to capture!! Not to even mention how hilariously funny he looked sporting a Big Five T-shirt and shorts to round off the picture.

In the next hut we were treated on a drink of beer again and were told that this particular brew was more suitable for the women and children! The beer tasted sweeter than the few sips we had at the chief's abode.

After that we went on to the third wife's house where she demonstrated to us how she grinds Sorghum grain to a fine powder for the beer making. Peter promptly went down on his knees to find out exactly how it is done. The guide then also told us that this particular woman was the expert in decorating the huts and had been to the United States to demonstrate her painting skills! She confirmed this and told us about her trip to Washington DC in 2000!

Breakfast room at Rose Corner guesthouse, Clarens

A view towards the Maluti Mountains on the horizon near Fouriesburg

It was only after we returned from dinner that we were introduced to our host at Rose Corner guesthouse who happened to be a former South African radio announcer named Edward Segar. Mr. Segar being the perfect host and well informed about the surrounding countryside provided interesting information about the products of the region. I marveled at Mrs. Segar's most beautiful embroidery!

The Higher-lying areas of the Eastern Free State produces about 40% of the national potato crop and 90% of the country?herry harvest, most of which is grown around Ficksburg. The farmlands set against the majestic Maluti's, also yields soft fruit such as plums, peaches, apricots and apples. Wheat is the most important grain product of the region.

To me, traveling through this region was like re-discovering a wonderland that had slipped to the back of my mind since I have not been there for a long time. Natal, and particularly Zululand, was a fairly new experience for me but arriving back in the Eastern Free state was a homecoming. I vividly remembered those days when I was still working in the Free State and traveling along the hills that border the Little Caledon river. I always wangled things to be able to stay over near the Maluti?t a mountain resort called "Die Bergoord" (The mountain resort) near Harrismith. How well I remembered those cozy evenings in front of a fire, chatting with the friendly locals and drinking red wine till the wee hours of the morning.

Well the Eastern Free State put on its best show for me. I simply had to stop many times to take photos to make sure that I capture the subtle shades of reds, oranges, yellows and golden browns of the sometimes weirdly weathered rocks. The Mushroom Rocks are formed by erosion of the lower sandstone material, leaving the surrounding, harder quartzite cap intact.

Many years ago, and before the arrival of the 19th century white settlers the countryside between the Vaal and the Gariep rivers was home to nomadic San people as well as the Sotho and the Tswana peoples. I found a travel brochure in some tourist office on our way to Natal that mentioned a Basotho Cultural Village near Golden Gate and was curious about it and looking out for a signboard as we drove towards the Golden Gate Highland Park. Then a colourful entrance and signboard to the Village beckoned us to come and have a closer look at what was on offer.

The beer drinking ceremony

The Sangoma throwing the bones

The village consists of various houses built in traditional Sotho styles ranging from the first mud, clay and grass structures to the more "modern" houses that are nowadays found in some Townships. Our tour guide informed us that the tour included a visit to the Sangoma, and a beer drinking ceremony. Well I still think it is the prospect of the beer drinking that made Peter agree to do the guided tour since he usually shies away from "guided" activities like this.

We were not disappointed! The guide first took us to the village chief's hut where the chief welcomed us with the traditional offering of the local brew. However, before we could taste the beer the guide promptly took two Basotho hats, put it on our heads and insisted to capture the event by taking a photo with my camera. The chief's first wife then brought a calabash with beer and the chief offered it to Peter after taking the first sip. Delighted by Peter's positive comments the chief then passed on the beer calabash to me as well. I cannot say that I appreciated the taste as well as Peter did but I had to put up a show for the occasion. The mixture was definitely well fermented!!

Peter grinding sorghum

Traditional Basotho wall cupboard

Then we were led from one hut to another - there were about six or more huts altogether - to see how the interior decorating changed over the years. The interior decorating in the huts were all different and more "western-type" utensils were found on the cleverly made shelves against the walls as we progressed from the traditional to the present day abodes. To end the ceremony we were treated on some lively music! The third wife beat the drums and a man played a merry tune on an accordion.

It was already late afternoon when we went on our way to Golden Gate and Clarens but again I could not resist stopping ever so often to take photos. Arriving at Clarens we drove around the little town to check out the guesthouses. It was indeed an interesting place with quite a few craft shops and restaurants and we finally got nicely settled in at a guesthouse named Rose Corner.

We walked to the center of the town - one block away - where some of the locals were already yakking away merrily. We tucked into a very nice meal and Peter's favourite Windhoek beer. Well, at that stage of our travels we were still in the preliminary phase of his "beer research" project and did not know that he would eventually progress to a "favourite" favourite draft beer towards the end of our journey!!)

The Street cafe where we had dinner in Clarens

The bountiful supply of fresh fruit was then also well in evidence at breakfast the next morning. Mr. Segar proudly presented preserves that his wife made from fruit in their own garden and went out to pick some dew fresh figs for us. Mrs. Segar recommended that we make another small detour to going back and, much to our enjoyment we followed her instructions and returned home via Fouriesburg and Bethlehem.