The perfect place to start our South African adventure was Lesedi, a cultural experience that took us through five villages that represented the five different tribes associated with South Africa. We learned a little about the Zulu, Xhosa, Pedi, Basotho, and Ndebele tribes, by walking around small villages and being introduced to some of the people and traditions that they have. Our tour guide, named "Slender," was great, and made us all feel involved in the tour. She had us repeat different tribal words and communicate with the people in each village.
We arrived a little early, and spent a bit of time browsing around a colorful market with loads of really cool African trinkets! Laleinia wanted her picture taken with a beautiful little South African girl, who modeled some of the beaded jewelry really well. Alastair had his eye on some African Football paintings and Lain had her eye on everything else!
As we walked around the villages, we were taught some of the history behind each tribe, and were able to learn some really interesting things about what has shaped the unique cultures of each group of people. At one point, the tour guide was showing us how spears were made and why they are called what they are called, and Alastair ended up with the tribesman right in front of him, using Alastair to demonstrate how to kill somebody. We were also able to sample some of their food, which included some bean-type dish, which wasn't too bad, but then Laleinia passed on the grub that was offered in one of the villages. Alastair plucked up the courage to eat it, and although it looked and felt gross, it wasn't all that bad. Hakuna Matata. YOLO.
After the tour, we were able to enjoy a dance show, which had special dances from all of the different tribes. It began with some smoke being traipsed through the auditorium before the fun began. There was a lot of drumming, shouting/singing, and kicking, but it was really enjoyable! Most of the dances were prefaced with a little introductory explanation, but there was one part where we were completely lost. It was great though, and Lain even got to show her moves on the dance floor before the show was over.
Possibly the highlight of a great day came at the very end, when Laleinia invited herself on the stage to do a little bit of drumming with the "band." She seemed to slip in there and fit right in, making music for fun with the tribesmen! Congratulations Lain, performing on the drums in three different continents, great job!