Craig and Damon Foster "the legend was true" "What had originally attracted us to the central Kalahari in Southern Africa was the incredible idea that there were a few master hunters amongst the San who, in the heat of the day, were able to run down healthy animals to the point of exhaustion. This seemed an impossibility to us. We imagined a race between a horse and a man. Yet there was some evidence in anthropological and historical records that pointed to this being a reality, at least in times gone by. In speaking with !Nqate, Xlhoase and Karoha, to our amazement, they seemed reasonably confident that they could run down an animal, but in questioning them it was very difficult to ascertain when this had last occurred, or if we would ever get a chance to witness such an event. This conversation was carried on through the translator, Xamaha. What they did tell us is that it needed to be very hot, probably over 40°C (120°F) by our estimation. They say: "...If there is no more poison to be found, like in the dry season, we hunters will have a problem, so we must do the chasing hunt." This was an explanation mainly to keep us quiet. As we were later to discover there are many more aspects to this extraordinary practice. With hindsight, our preconceptions were so naïve that it is amazing that the hunters weren't irritated by us. And so, with specially adapted 4x4 vehicles, Xamaha, and our great friend from the USA Teo Bielefeld, we set out with Karoha, Xlhoase and !Nqate into the central Kalahari. We held the vague hope of the chasing hunt in our imaginations. Teo was an Olympic athlete, who can carry three times what we can carry, and still walk faster. He is also a competent sound recordist and photographer. The idea was to follow the San hunters on foot, but if we ever had the chance of filming a chasing hunt, we would then follow them in the vehicles. If the vehicles failed us due to punctures or for any other reason, we would then let Teo follow the runners with a miniature camera and a camelback of water, linked to his mouth by a pipe. One of the vehicles didn't have the right tyres and we had 3 punctures in the first day. We were then down to one vehicle and Teo. At this stage it had been two weeks (which felt like two months) in the central Kalahari - each day being a marathon in itself, following the hunters through heavy sand across miles and miles of terrain in extreme heat, but heat apparently still not hot enough for the famed 'hunt by running'. By this stage everyone had shed about ten pounds, and we were beginning to appreciate the power of the landscape and the extraordinary knowledge of the hunters. Suddenly the heat rose two notches and our thermometer read 42°C at 9 in the morning. We strapped ourselves onto the top of the 4x4, while the hunters checked the wrappings on their spears and sipped a little water. We agreed with them that the vehicle was not to provide them with any water during the hunt, as we wished to capture their full ability and skill, just as they would normally perform the hunt on their own, without us there. They thought this was a strange idea, that we would be there but not help them, but they agreed to the conditions - to them it was about getting the animal and the importance of feeding their children. They welcomed a little help, as there was a good chance of dehydration; we wanted them to express their true skill and power. !Nqate saw fresh gemsbok tracks in the early morning, and this was the herd that they were going to attempt to run down. It wasn't long before they tracked the animals to within eyesight. Instead of the usual stalk, the hunters ran into the open shouting, and the animals bolted out of sight. We will never forget the feeling of sitting on top of the vehicle as we began to follow the lithe bodies of the hunters as they ran amongst the thorns. The chasing hunt had begun. We felt as if we were in a time warp, forgetting to film. Emotions of fear, excitement and pride for the hunters rushed together all at once, and always in the back of our minds was the thought - surely they can't run those huge antelope down? For two hours a steady pace was maintained. Our bodies were washed in our own blood from being lacerated by passing thorn trees, but the worst things were the heat and the jolting. It was not possible to imagine running in these conditions with only one litre of water. The vehicle got stuck, and Teo jumped off. We felt fear for him - if for some reason he was separated from us and the hunters - the Kalahari is a cruel place to those who do not understand it. It didn't take us long to get the vehicle out, and in half an hour we caught up with the runners, relying on Xamaha to track them down. Teo hopped back onto the vehicle, bristling from the excitement of the run, his whole body drenched in sweat. He'd already drunk more water than any of the hunters had on them for their entire run. After four hours, !Nqate was visibly tiring, his body a little bent and he kept wiping his head with leaves to try to cool down. The gemsbok was out of sight for most of the time - only every twenty minutes did the runners catch up and chase them again. We could see no sign of them tiring. Then !Nqate gave in and joined us on the vehicle, complaining that his "engine" was not working properly. At five hours, Xlhoase gave in. The temperature was now at 45°C. We were hanging onto the top of the vehicle, our bones bruised. The effort of keeping the cameras safe from the ripping thorns and branches was seizing up our backs, but the sight of Karoha, his thin body swaying slightly from side to side as he glided across the deep sand, kept our spirits going. We knew we were witnessing something incredible - an ancient relationship between man and antelope, at the most extreme level. To track an animal at walking pace is difficult enough, but to track at high speed in these conditions is a feat that far outweighs even the pure physical enormity of the task. There are very few people on earth who have the skill to even attempt such a feat. Every so often Karoha caught up to the animals. There were about ten of them. We could now see they were tiring, but were still managing to run fairly well. It was nearly six hours since the first sighting. We'd had no idea that the run could be so long - the temperature was still well over 40°C, and !Nqate told us on the vehicle that it wouldn't be much longer. It was still difficult to believe. He also said that the animals have split up, and Karoha was following the weaker ones. He could see that they were dragging their hooves in the sand. Suddenly Karoha stopped, a bitter disappointment on his face. We could see he still had strength to run. He took some green leaves and stuffed them into his mouth before telling us why he had stopped. The animals had crossed over into a wildlife reserve area, and to follow them would have meant a possible jail sentence. He said to us: "Our fathers used to lay down their hunting sets and run like this, and before them their fathers - now we are told we don't own our land, our animals - but these people don't hunt like we hunt - they have spoiled conservation." Every one of us felt huge disappointment and sadness, but we knew then that the legend was true. We could see on the hunters' faces that this was indeed what they did. What we didn't yet know was that in the weeks to follow, we would in fact be the first to film the full ritual of this most dramatic hunt, where Karoha "entered the mind of a kudu". We would witness first-hand that intangible concept of 'the hunter becoming the hunted".

The Film Makers

 

	The Great Dance is proudly sponsored in South Africa by Coca-Cola		Web Design: Copyright © L. Blaine Content Copyright © Sense Africa Email: greatdance@senseafrica.com		Top of Page	Sense Africa	Home	The Movie	Images	Sales