Platfontein and SASI

My dad bought me a book on sale. It was only the second time that I saw my parents since this journey started. He knew that I was heading to Kimberley and felt inspired to get me this copy of “The stars say ‘tsau’: Xam poetry of Diä!kwain, Kweiten-ta-//ken, /A!k’unta, /Hankasso’ and //Kabbo”. It is a thin little book about San stories and songs that have been arranged into verse by Antjie Krog. I had no idea that a few weeks later a chance meeting with a man in Kimberley would lead to spending a day at the South African San Institute (SASI) or that this book would be exchanged for a book on traditional San medicine, in a token of sharing knowledge and learning together. I did not expect to meet the people of Platfontein or be interviewed on a radio station (X-K Fm) I could not pronounce. Less expected was the feeling of loss – what have we done?