Sheridan Griswold
15 August 2008
book review
Waves of bitterness and cries of shame swept the land Gasebalwe Seretse (2008)
Gasebalwe Seretse's new novella has been published as one of the five best books as a result of a writing competition held by the British Council and Books Botswana in Gaborone this year. The entrants had their submissions considered in a workshop in Botswana over a few days by novelists. William Sutcliffe, Livi Michael and the poet, Jacob Sam[enn]La Rose. The judges remain anonymous. The novel competition attracted 30 entrants. The organisers feel they achieved their objective of promoting writing in Botswana. The other purpose, to develop a reading culture, depends on people buying and enjoying these five books.
Seretse's novella is presented in 10 short, unnamed chapters. They might have been called: Xhai and Tshepo; Masame Hill; Hunted Twice Over; A Senseless War; Milk and Honey; Green Crisp Herb; Through Mahalapye; Gontse's End; Dream of the Dead; and, A Shadow of Death. These headings serve as benchmarks that might help the reader move through the story.
The Pursuit of Xhai is about the reactions of a conservative and traditional father to his discovery that his adolescent daughter is having a love affair with someone who is not acceptable to his family, clan and tribe. This is as old as the Old Testament and Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet. The tale begins with Xhanadu, the father of Xhai, the lad who has violated boundaries his so-called superiors forbid him to cross.
"Xhanadu was an ageing Mosarwa servant to one of the most prosperous cattle barons in Ngwato country, Sebeso, a very ruthless Mongwato royal. Sebeso did not hide the fact that he held Basarwa, otherwise known as the San, in contempt. According to him they were just good for nothing hewers of wood and drawers of water, mere servants of Bechuanaland's principle tribe, the Bangwato. Xhanadu had nothing to show for years of servitude in Sebeso's household except scars left by his master's whip" (page 1).
Other characters that intrude in the story are: Sebeso's wife Marea, who is more humane than her husband; the arm of Colonial authority in Serowe, Mr Sykes, who likes his drink and naked girls; Gontse, another lad belonging to the outcasts and Xhai's cousin; Xhai's mother, Mma Xhanadu, who after the family's hut is destroyed, plays a key role in the story; Salefoma and his wife given the task to transport the offending girl, Tshepo, to Shoshong where she can be cared for safely by her great Uncle Leyabaneg; a number of his friends join Sebeso in the posse chasing Xhai including Sephekolo, Kgori and Maleke - one does not survive the chase.
A man with some sense is Kgokong with whom Sebeso's party pauses for a night. With prescience he cautions Sebeso: "Be careful that vengeance does not destroy you." Kgokong adds later, "My nephew, haven't you noticed that we are living in a changing world? Can I tell you that in the future our children will marry each other regardless of ethnicity" (page 58).
A number of deaths occur as Sebeso and his posse pursue Xhai. One is caused by a "the fat snake that slithers though the sand", another dies of a "strange disease" and in revenge Sebeso tortures a servant who dies. Sebeso justifies his actions by saying, "There is no humiliation like the humiliation of a man stealing your daughter and eloping with her without paying bogadi. The humiliation would be worse if the person who stole your daughter was a Mosarwa" (page 77).
When the posse returns to Serowe, the Kgosi pronounces after a long debate on what has been happening- "My people of Gammangwato. For sometime now I have been seeing an element of madness among you, the kind of madness I want to associate with the Ndebele people ... Somebody has wronged Sebeso by defiling his child ... but I do not understand how the whole village can be up in arms against innocent Basarwa people" (page 66).
Changes in the unfolding story, from what should have belonged to Tshepo's and Xhai's tale are lost as the loving couple flee, we know not where. Instead, the story shifts to focus on the pursuer, Sebeso. In the end we have no idea what ever happens to Tshepo and Xhai, though for a time these two excite the reader's interest. The author said at the award ceremony that he planned to write a sequel about the couple, so his purpose was to leave this open. He might also write a prequel about Xhanadu and Mma Xhanadu.
It is always difficult in fiction to achieve the reader's identification with and concern for a tyrant, yet in making Sebeso central to his tale, the author is asking more of his readers than he perhaps has a right to expect. Why should we be concerned about an evil man like Sebeso, except to learn that he gets his comeuppance? The author has generated more interest in Xhanadu, his wife and their son, compared to the villain he portrays in the cattle baron.
The historical aspects of the novel are not entirely clear - it is as if it were set in 1885, 1965 and in the present? The basic theme of racism and discrimination, treating a group of humans as non-humans, or nonentities, or as a people to exploit, whip, beat and kill at will, belongs in 1885; though it is true that the discriminatory attitudes still exist today among the overlords in Botswana. How often have you heard elders say, "The Basarwa don't need to be educated; all they are fit for is to work for us". The other aspects of the novella that perhaps belong more to the present are those where women are asserting their independence, though I could be wrong here as some of the demonstrations in Serowe 50 years ago were led by women.
Unfortunately, events in Botswana of 1965 are not adequately captured. Old Matente's attitude to cross-cultural marriage might have been influenced by Ruth and Seretse Khama's marriage, but it is never mentioned in the novella (see page 79). Botswana was already moving towards self-government and independence. Is it really possible that in Serowe, the home of Seretse Khama, there were cattle barons who led lives aloof, distant and separate from the rest of the community, and that they would attempt to kill people with impunity?
The old royal "highway" from Serowe to Shoshong was still a route to be travelled through the sand directly south from Serowe to Shoshong. In heading there I am not sure why Tshepo and Xhai went first east to Palapye and then south to Mahalapye before going back up northwest to Shoshong (like going around three sides of a square rather than the direct route south).
The writing is not always consistent - at times it is poetic and challenging, and other times repetitions and trivial expressions are used ("beaten to a pulp", "eye at the back of his head", "made passionate love", "rubbery face", and so on). The author though aware of various stereotypes about other peoples that exist in Botswana, has treated the "Basarwa" or "San" as homogenous. He knows about the multiplicity of languages and cultures from covering the Kuru Dance Festival (on again this weekend), but he has not mentioned which of the 16 San groups in Botswana his characters belong to (probably they speak Tshua or Tyua).
This is, perhaps, like calling the Ngwato only "Bantu" - something that would not be acceptable.
It is usually difficult for an author to write about another group that he or she does not belong. Bessie Head in "Maru" succeeded, perhaps because she too was an outcast. The pitfall is to fall into stereotypical descriptions of the other ethnic group.
The Pursuit of Xhai is a good story that needs to be read as widely as possible, but still it might have benefited from additional work to make it even more balanced.
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