WHEN I first visited my in-laws-to-be at their trading station at Quthing in southern Basutholand, I was introduced to the wonders of one of those hubs of local commerce in countries like that.
It was, quite literally, a trading station, where Dad traded with the Basuthos who brought him their sheeps’ wool and mohair and exchanged the proceeds for goods in the general store.
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And it was very general: there were stacks of those glorious Basutho blankets, saddles and other horsey stuff (the Basuthos were a mounted nation), hardware, gumboots and other shoes and clothing, tinned food (in fact everything in tins), but also maize meal, lots of maize meal, sweeties, patent medicines, bags of ochre, and last but by no means least, bolts of that wonderful African fabric, isiShweshwe.
The broad stoep was always full of Basuthos, their ponies tethered outside, in from the mountains and catching up on the gossip.
But back to that isiShweshwe or blueprint as it is also commonly known. The cloth has its origins in indigo dye, and those origins are lost in the mists of time.
It was thought to have originated in India, but the oldest established record of it is from Peru 6,000 years ago. It was known and used by the Ancient Egyptians, the Greeks and the Romans.
Think of the blue-painted Picts and Celts, think of the Tuaregs of the Sahara, think of denim jeans, think of indigo.
The South African version of the dye has been around since the early Portuguese and Dutch explorers when it was a valued commodity in trade.
It has been used through the ages and the cloth has become a hallmark of Africa, first for those of humble origins, but these days for all peoples regardless of background.
IsiShweshwe will be found in the backwoods of the Transkei and in the upmarket boutiques of Durban, for men and women, for everyone.
All this comes from a book given to me by a friend, it’s isiShweshwe: A History of the Indigenisation of Blueprint in Southern Africa – beautifully illustrated and so well researched by Juliette Leeb-du Toit and published by the University of KZN Press.
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It’s a great story and as you know I love my history, but sadly the book is not generally available.
That’s a pity, it’s also a pity that you will probably never experience the extraordinary sensual riches of my father-in-law’s trading station: the sights, the sounds, and that glorious montage of smells.
And from one mountainous country to another.
The Cairngorm Mountains in the Scottish Highlands are considered a stronghold for Scotland’s surviving wildlife and it is here that the Highland Wildlife Park has been established to protect that wildlife and endangered species from elsewhere.
The park is home to about 30 representatives of species that are critically endangered, including golden eagles, pine martens and Scottish wild cats, but there are also grey wolves, musk oxen, snowy owls, Arctic foxes, polar bears, European bison, wolverines and even snow leopards.*
It sounds like something for my bucket list.
*The Week: The Best of the British and Foreign Media.
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