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Jim Tan

Photograph by Jim Tan

TC

Johan Vaalbooi opens the gate to the Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park. The park sits on land where the San once freely roamed. The community has the rights to use 473,830 hectares of land in the park for traditional use, but very few in the community still have the ability to do so and the park bureaucracy is a challenge for the more traditional community members to navigate.

Petrus Vaalbooi, the current traditional leader of the San, stands for a portrait. In his elder years, a focus of Vaalbooi’s role is to pass on his knowledge of San culture to the next generation. His son, Ivan, assists in arranging youth conferences where Petrus can talk to the younger generation.

ǂKhomani San traditional leader Petrus Vaalbooi sits for a portrait. Prior to the land claim, Vaalbooi was a farmer and had largely left his San heritage behind.

A man and his donkey cart rest under the shade of a tree outside the largest Khomani settlement on the farm of Andriesvale. Donkey carts are an important form of transportation for many in the community.

Lydia Kruiper stands on the Wiitdraai Nature Reserve. The Kruiper family are among those considered the most traditional in the community.

Issac Kruiper on the Wiitdraai Reserve.

Sean Witbooi outside his roadside stall. Many stallholders wear traditional dress, changing into it specifically when they come to the stall.

Luce Steenkamp: “When I found out about being bushman, I felt really empowered. Like I’m someone, and I know where I come from.”