Nieu Bethesda. – What I learn as I walk through life, both in my hometown, own country and abroad, is that many of the best stories are locked up in people who are not given a voice or opportunity to tell them.
People like Izak ‘Vellies’ Kasper, who I met in Nieu Bethesda. A man of Khoisan descent who has lived here his whole live, who was taught the value of the plants by his herbalist mother, who has seen the ghosts that walk the village streets. A man who knew Helen Martins of the Owl House, as well as Koos Malgas her assistant. We met him where he had a stall amongst the curio sellers.
This is where video is powerful.
As he said to me, if I could write I would have written a book, but he can’t read or write. His stories remain in his charmed mind until he is given an opportunity to share them.
He sold me a wind-hanging made from bones and vertebrae that he had picked up in the veld. There was a selection of bones, small bottles, stones and mini fossils for sale too. A fascinating man, friends we could be.