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In Perspective, Planet: " I have been a witness and these
- Thread starter fahim mohammed
- Start date
Asher Kelman
OPF Owner/Editor-in-Chief
Fahim,
Most of the pictures depict horrors of human conflict. The Xhosa lad is not at war. So why do you think it was included in this collection?
Are we asked to simply find respect other cultures even though they may appear so obviously "backward", "primitive", quaint, unfounded in logic or idiotic?
Or what, that the picture is stunningly handsome?
Asher
fahim mohammed
Well-known member
I am just guessing here as to James's reason for the inclusion of the picture here..
1. Xhosa people ( Bantu ancestry) fought prolonged wars against invaders from abroad?
2. The policy of Apartheid ( followed by the South African govt of that era ) planned and executed a forced repatriation of the indigenous ( primarily ' black ') population ( mostly of the Bantu tribes ) into lands set aside for this purpose called ' Batustans '. The then pristine government of South Africa
was aided and abetted in this dogma for centuries by very well known organizations abroad. Is there a lesson that it could not happen somewhere else?
3. The Xhosa people and their tribal customs of the rituals of ' entering manhood '. Whether ' you '
respect their customs or not is not asked of you. Do what you want.
4. Of course, these people are handsome, tall, and fiercely proud of their ancestry and their independence. That they are not at war now and hence somewhat incongruous to include them in this set of pictures..neither is AIDS and Heroin addiction. But I guess asking James would clarify the situation.
Just an uneducated response.
Asher Kelman
OPF Owner/Editor-in-Chief
I have not personally had the privilege of seeing young men in this ritual. I have, however two ways of connecting through my personal experiences. First, driving my Ford Cortina South, from Zimbabwe, (then Rhodesia), to South Africa, we travelled through Botswana and came across a Xhosa warrior with a spear and a red blanket as his robe. He stopped us and we gave him a friendly toll, waved goodbye and that was that.
These are the Xhosa!
"For generations the Xhosa people have been referred to as the “Red Blanket People”. This was because of their custom of wearing red blankets dyed with red ochre, the intensity of the colour varying from tribe to tribe. The different ways in which clothes and other accessories were worn signalled the status of the wearer. Unmarried women wore wraps tied around their shoulders, leaving their breasts exposed. Engaged women reddened their plaited hair, letting it screen their eyes, as a sign of respect for their fiancés." Source
The second point of my interest in the Xhosa is the most wonderful song, (called the "click song by the Colonial British, as they couldn't pronounce the Xhosa title, LOL!), made famous by Miriam Makeba. It's a wedding song, perhaps, the most well known in Africa! Please don't miss out! Listen to it here, (with Africaans i.e. colonial Dutch, subtitles] or this older version here!
Asher
Asher Kelman
OPF Owner/Editor-in-Chief
Fahim,
Most of the pictures depict horrors of human conflict. The Xhosa lad is not at war. So why do you think it was included in this collection?
Are we asked to simply find respect other cultures even though they may appear so obviously "backward", "primitive", quaint, unfounded in logic or idiotic?
Or what, that the picture is stunningly handsome?
Now I understand! "Every summer boys are circumcised, painted white and isolated in huts while they heal." (See National Geographic video, after the warning, below). The operation is in the hands of a traditional doctor with an ad-hoc cleaned knife and so the procedure and risk of death must have shocked the photographer as being pointlessly cruel beyond imagination! Being British, he's not be prepared to face the subject. After all, the British peoples, except for minorities, have no valued traditions of circumcision themselves, so it likely was a surprise to discover the facts of the matter. No way he could summon much positive feeling for the ages old tradition, still treasured as essential by the Xhosa tribes, even when urbanized! Not having modern surgical instruments or training makes the risks higher. The video might be upsetting but there's no sexual parts seen or actual cutting shown. If you want to have a look at what upsets the photographer, it's in this video, just the description of the social value of the custom. Video National Geographic.
Asher
fahim mohammed
Well-known member
You mentioned Rhodesia!!
You must know the history. The person and persons involved.
Blood diamonds..an appropriate named film. But I am a student of history.
Maybe you don't want to go near this one. There are too many skeletons in the cupboards of the gentry.
What is that they say? ' Diamonds are a girl's best friend '. The names from history glitter and sparkle!
Guess where the world's best uncut raw diamonds come from? Know the history of that place?
You must know the history. The person and persons involved.
Blood diamonds..an appropriate named film. But I am a student of history.
Maybe you don't want to go near this one. There are too many skeletons in the cupboards of the gentry.
What is that they say? ' Diamonds are a girl's best friend '. The names from history glitter and sparkle!
Guess where the world's best uncut raw diamonds come from? Know the history of that place?
Asher Kelman
OPF Owner/Editor-in-Chief
Fahim,
Diamonds? They're just carbon, LOL! I refused to buy my wife an engagement ring as it's just a wish created by the marketing geniuses at De Beers in S. Africa! The Samurai being abolished with the creation of a National Army, those diamonds were not needed to decorate samurai swords, LOL and the royals of Europe no longer buying them for their crowns, the damn things just were piling up and they needed a new market. Voila, the engagement ring! I cannot fathom how folks fall for this and waster so much hard earned cash to "invest" in a fabulous ring. What a sheer silliness, when it's better use could be figured out by a child!
I have no time for diamonds unless they're used for drills or grinders, then it makes sense!
Asher
fahim mohammed
Well-known member
Well then here is a ' gem '...
" I don't care about ' niggers ', I came for diamonds ". Ring a bell? Maybe conveniently forgotten.
Let me not get into this any further...individual members of OPF might otherwise think I am holding them to account. At least most of the active participants.
Or some might label me as a ' whiny zealot ' protesting about mining...no, no not diamonds or gold..about oil!!
Asher Kelman
OPF Owner/Editor-in-Chief
Well, we ought not to be using oil! We should be using wind or tide power and getting off fossil fuel! But that's so off topic and beyond pictures!
Asher
fahim mohammed
Well-known member
Yes it is so off topic and beyond pictures; Lets get back to the good life!!
Before someone mentions I should not be using Oud or Film!!
How gross! No class! Ostentatious!!
Well then, how about we talk flowers..
Happy? No?..got it!
No? Well let me try this. So peaceful and serene.
And we shall all live happily ever after. See pictures. To make you happy.