We die when our stories die, says Khoekhoegowab activist
Carla Lever sits down with Denver Breda, Khoe language and cultural activist.
As a language and cultural activist, what issues do you feel most passionately about in South Africa today?
I’m most passionate about ending the Kakapasa or denial that pervades the South African consciousness, about the people who were found here in the 1600s.
You have campaigned for Khoekhoegowab to be taught in South African schools. Why do you think this is an important move?
It’s important to remind people that this land was not empty, that it indeed had many people who spoke the oldest languages and cultures that sadly were forced to adopt other names, create and speak other languages.
Most of all, to show that we are still here and that the country, as a whole, has a responsibility to restore what was so violently taken. Language is identity, it roots you, instills in you a set of values.
This has all but been lost, especially with coloured people who are often the majority Khoe people.
Language loss is actually found among first-nation communities all over the world, yet in South Africa it’s not researched enough.
Every language has its own 'flavour' or beauty. What are some of your favourite sayings or expressions in Khoekhoegowab? Some of my favourite words are Kawakawas, which in Khoekhoe means restoration, Kakapusa, which means to forget, Munanai (which is what I called my company), means to imagine.
Some of my favourite sayings are Ada Hoatsama gon, which means ‘together we move’; also lso Toa tama !khams ge which is ‘the struggle continues”.
But also to tell people the original name of Cape town Hui !Gaeb, which means ‘where the clouds gather’.
How can we make sure that indigenous languages – and the cultures related to them – don’t die out?
By first acknowledging we indeed all have a responsibility towards South Africa’s first-nations people and to learn at least one of the Khoe languages that remain, such as Khoekhoe.
We can also put pressure on government and society to support the cause. People can also become what I call Xambassadors – a combination of the word Xam, which means lion in the Khoekhoe language, and ambassadors.
You have written short story collections, produced a play, self-published a story inspired by your mother's journey from Graaff-Reinet to the Cape, and you have a podcast, Draadloos virrie Raadloos. What inspires you to be so prolific?
Anger and desperation inspire me to help be one of the few voices for our Khoe issues because we are seldom, if ever, spoken about – not on TV, not in newspapers. We can wait to be written about, or we can write about ourselves and that is what I do.
Why is it important for people to share their stories, whether written or spoken?
I believe as Khoe – as Africans – when our stories die, we die. For me, writing stories has been hugely therapeutic.
How can people learn more about indigenous languages like Khoekhoegowa? There are a lot of resources on the internet – Youtube particularly – though not as much as I would like to have available. For those in Cape Town, come to our public talks on 9 September at the Open Book Festival and hear what one of SA's oldest languages sound like. Nal’ibali’s annual multilingual storytelling competition is running this September during Literacy and Heritage Month. Aimed at reviving a love of storytelling and connecting South Africans to their rich heritage, the theme of this year’s contest is South African Heroes. Enter by telling the story of your favourite SA icon or hero, or a fictional hero in your language, and you could be crowned this year’s Story Bosso! To find out more visit www.nalibali.org,www.nalibli.mobi, or find them on Facebook and Twitter: @nalibaliSA.