Description
Book SynopsisIn the 1870s, facing cultural extinction and the death of their language, several San men and women told their stories to two pioneering colonial scholars in Cape Town, Wilhelm Bleek and Lucy Lloyd. The narratives of these San—or Bushmen—were of the land, the rain, the history of the first people, and the origin of the moon and stars.
Trade Review“At $65, this remarkable book and accompanying DVD is a treasure well worth its surprisingly modest price. Highly recommended.” * CHOICE *
“It is quite possible, while turning page after wonderful page of this amazing book, to begin, almost trancelike, to feel as if one is actually holding in one's hands the original notebooks, illustrations, drawings, photos, essays, letters and other materials that make up the Lucy Lloyd and Wilhelm Bleek |Xam and !Kun (Cape San, or Bushmen) archive.” * International Journal of African Historical Studies *
“To say that this book of text and images has a highly tactile quality would be a gross understatement. Better would be that it is a visual hymn to tactility itself…Its gorgeously reproduced paper fragments…testify not only to the disappearance of the /Xam San people of South Africa and their cognitive universe, but to nearly 150 pre-digital years of attempts to honour and communicate that universe by scholarly ‘faithful workers’.” * Azania: Archaeological Research in Africa *
“A remarkable achievement.... This book is truly a major scholarly contribution.... The overall graphic design and presentation of this volume is a work of art in itself.... The essays by the contributors are uniformly outstanding....” * Journal of Archival Organization *
“A dazzling work of archival reproduction and interpretation.... Highly recommended for all academic and large public libraries.” * Library Journal *
