THE SINGING VILLAGE

The road down a gorge and up the other side to St James

IN JULIA'S WORDS

6 April, Saturday

Black mountain ring bottoming out the smear of the milky way and its attendant freckles in the galaxy boasting of mysteries above, this valley we’re in tonight rings with music. St James Church, its rectangular windows alone alit against the mountain’s black, sings. It’s Saturday night in a village in Lesotho.

Rehana, who hunted down our accommodation in Lesotho+, has done so well. It’s not a misuse of the word magic to describe how the firmament reflects off BRC’s dusty windows, and canopies the songs ringing in the valley below us.

St James is all about christianity and education. There are the tell-tale visual signs – yup, a church and be-sashed dignitaries, school buildings and youngsters in maroon uniforms – but how you really know it is by ear.  The singing explodes through the thick stone walls, and just as one musical gathering disperses, the next assembles. Wow.

About the people I decline to make national generalisations. But I must say that, when cloaked in a blanket and balaclava atop a horse, it’s like slipping through a notch in time and landing in antiquity. And realising, yet again, there’s just so much I can never know.

Lunch on its way at St James Lodge

IN REHANA'S WORDS

Saturday April 6, 2013

Arrriving at Karmel Guest Farm yesterday, we received our first Toyota Landcruiser welcome.  A small child at the side of the road, hand outstretched, shouted “sweets” as we drove past. We got that greeting all the way to our next destination, St James in Lesotho.

Six hours of driving on poor to bad roads, passing children with hands outstretched, shouting “sweets”. We returned their greetings, stretching our hands out in their direction, palm up.

St James Lodge says on their website that we mustn’t “throw” sweets at the children. It sparks jealousy and fighting when you don’t throw enough for all of them. Toyota also warned us not to throw sweets out of our windows. What kind of people are we emulating as we set off on our Landcruiser adventure?
The oke at the second-hand Toyota dealer in Pretoria told us that "a bullbar is a good thing to have, cause there in Africa the people soemaar walk in the streets and you can use the bullbar to move them out of the way. I'm always going to Mozambique, all the time, and there you really got to use the bullbar." Did he really think we were going to drive through several countries in Africa and nudge all the people we meet out of our way with a bullbar? 

St James Lodge is smack bang in the middle of the village of St James. On a Saturday night, the church choir practices. There’s an energetic enjoyment in the voices that fill the valley. The church hall must be filled with the warmth of human harmony. I think we should go to church tomorrow, it is Sunday. We have a dog, maybe we will have to sit outside and listen.

The Milky Way is hanging like a crocheted blanket above us. I’m going to stop writing now. I’m sitting in a rondavel updating a bladdy blog while there’s glorious sights and sounds outside.

A small slice of St James