Today we are in Durban. We took a tour
of the city. First we visited a cultural village with artifacts and
huts from Zulu history. We were entertained by a number of dancers
and singers. They showed a few skits. In one the young women go to
fetch water, and the young men “fight” with others to impress the
girls. One young man talks with a young woman about his intentions to
wed her. She asks how many cows he will give for her. When she hears
11, she confirms her interest. Later they showed a skit of the father
talking to the young man about the 11 cows and giving his blessing.
Then they showed a skit of the two young people getting married. We
then went through some huts to better understand some customs of the
Zulus. The women always sat on the left and the men on the right so
they could protect
the women and children. If a young boy
favored his left hand he would be taught to change. The warriors had
to hold their shields with their left hand and spear or other weapon
with the right.
The women again had different coverings
to wear depending on their status – pre-puberty, after puberty,
when circumcised, when engaged, when married. The most interesting
thing to me was that the married woman had a marriage hat, which she
never took off. It was woven into the hair of the woman, and was
never removed. Therefore the married woman had to sleep with her neck
on a stand so that the hat did not touch the floor. This custom
exists in many different communities. I remember seeing the same
thing in Egypt. Zulu men could have as many wives as they wanted. Our
speaker said his grandfather had 11 wives, his father had 3 and he
had only one. Times are changing.
Later we went to a museum which had the
best curator. She danced, sang, strutted, etc. to portray the
artifacts and how they were used. The museum had many costumes of
different tribes to explain the different customs. Again, the woman's
cover or lack thereof, indicated her status. We have been told that
the custom of female circumcision is now rare.
We also visited an Indian spice market.
Like the markets in many countries, bartering is very common. The
spices were enticing. The market had many more things. We arrived
just before noon and many shopkeepers closed up to go to the mosque.
Many of the people in South Africa are Muslim.
At lunch, we ate with the fishes –
literally. They swam past in a huge tank. On the other side of the
tank, people were tubing down this channel. I kept waving, but I
don't think they could see us. Or they were ignoring me. They could
see the fish, indicated by pointing and watching. It was a close
encounter. Some of the fish were very close. In South Africa they
serve line fish on many menus. The line fish is the catch of the day.
We kept watching the tank. We wanted to see which fish disappeared
when someone ordered line fish. The restaurant was a previously
sunken ship – probably a cargo ship. A delightful place for lunch.
Tomorrow we're on our own. Barb and I
are going to take it easy, completing a number of mundane tasks, like
laundry. We are going to walk the boardwalk to the little town for
breakfast and take advantage of their wi-fi. Barbara always awakes
very early, but I'll probably sleep late. A restful day! The
boardwalk reminds me of the Marginal Way in Ogunquit. 
Saturday
I was up at 6:00.
There is a little bird here - called the weaver, I think - which makes a nest and then invites a female into the nest. If she likes it, they become a pair. If not, she either boots him out or leaves. I can't remember, but I think she just leaves.
One little bird where we camped must have had terrible trouble finding a mate because there are many nests around our campsites. I don't blame the females since many of these nests fall down to the ground - obviously not safe for a number of kids.
Tomorrow we drive to another national park and a town which has 1/3 of the world's hippos. Excited? Yes!!!!!!
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