The Anthropologist, the Waterfall and the Very Worried Sangoma

This fantasy adventure is set in the dramatic and moody landscapes of the Drakensberg and rolling hills of the KwaZulu-Natal Midlands, littered with cliffs and mountains, waterfalls, rivers, storms and tornados. The local Zulu-speaker's myth of the giant snake that rides the storm weaves its way throughout the novel, acting as the main driving mechanism throughout the story. The novel is peopled with creatures and individuals from African legend and history, lending a paranormal element which provides an ethereal backdrop to this tale.

The novel is also a commentary on South African society during the years just after the 1994 elections, when the nation was filled with hope for the future. It focuses upon the interplay of interaction between various ethnic and cultural groups that make-up South African Society. The novel observes this intermingling of beliefs, and world-views set against the southern African façade.

Through the myth of the giant snake, the dual worlds of the mundane and supernatural, modern and traditional, merge and blend, collide and clash. Worlds superimpose one upon the other to blur into a rich tapestry of human experience.

Presented through the eyes of anthropologist, Jeremy Mansfield, and Zulu sangoma, Dr. Baba Zuma, the reader is able to experience this unique world through the eyes of two professionals, worlds apart, who are both professionally trained to understand the intricacies of traditional South African society.
Vaguely reminiscent of the "Ladies Detective Agency" novels by Alexander McCall-Smith, "The Waterfall", the first in "The Worried Sangoma Series", is filled with an endearing and gentle humour, which South Africans characteristically employ to laugh at themselves. This national idiosyncrasy is often what binds South African society, and helps us to find common ground within our diversity. This concept of the "Joking Relationship", is an important cultural tool which facilitates finding a common humanity and national identity, despite South Africans' often marked cultural differences.

Dettagli