Clicks in Khoekhoegwab

Different peoples have been living for thousands of years in Southern Africa, including the area we know as the Cape, such as |xam, Khoekhoe, AmaXhosa and others. ​ 
Findings in the Blombos cave, 300 km from Cape Town, that date from 100,000 years ago, confirm that the origins of the first advanced humans lie in Africa, rather than in Europe. Nonetheless, the frame of ‘empty land’, used by Europeans, served a colonial strategy. People from Asia were forcibly migrated to the Cape. Different peoples were all cast as ‘primitives’, thus setting the tone for the racial categorization of people during the apartheid era. 

The |xam and Khoekhoe people
Even though there are not many textual archival sources about life at the Cape before the Dutch settled there from 1652, |xam and Khoekhoe descendants who currently live in Cape Town still hold knowledge of this past. It is conveyed from generation to generation through oral histories and indigenous knowledge practices. Due to increased attention being paid to this history, more people are discovering their connection to it. These discoveries are a liberating experience, but there is very little understanding in broader South African society of just how deeply meaningful this knowledge and experience is for people who had been stripped of their African roots.

An indigenous language
There are four phonetic clicks in Khoekhoegowab. Below is an example of the use of these clicks. You will find more throughout this exhibition.

Goas |Gores
Translation: Morning salutation.

Gangans Tsi Abotse, nê tsuxub !nâts go, !Û da !khaes on !na.
Translation: Thank you Creator for guarding over us during the night.

Sâu da re.
Translation: Protect us also please during the day.

Listen to these examples in Khoekhoegwab: