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www.thevillagenews.co.za
FROM THE EDITOR
17 March 2021
A house built on a rock
In a time of unprecedented uncertainty, when nothing is guaranteed, especially longevity, many of us are searching for an anchor, a sense of stability and continuity. Instead of trying to peer into a murky future, maybe we should hang our faith on the past. It’s said that history is written by the victor, but there is a much more powerful personal and social history that binds us strongly together, one that has been handed down by word of mouth from one generation to the other. Like a safety net, it links seem-
ingly disparate individuals together in an understanding of what it takes to survive, physically, emotionally and spiritually. As most South Africans celebrate the Cradle of Humankind, we in the Overberg take pride in the presence along this coastline of pre-historic ancestors. If any people lived lives of uncertainty and danger, it was they, and almost certainly, if they had not sustained strong interpersonal and inter-generational bonds, they would not have survived and we wouldn’t be here today, worrying
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Which brings us to the concept of legacy – not once-in-a-lifetime achievements by individual game-changers, but the ordinary day-to-day legacy of ordinary individuals, passed on from one generation to the next in stories.
In the Overstrand we are lucky to have had the history of our area well documented by insightful historians, its wealth guarded by museums for posterity. One of our most successful recent initiatives, however, has been the living tapestry project which attempted to chronicle the various communities’ journeys within the wider context of this region.
They tell of the small achievements, failures and victories of our forefathers and mothers, the moments of joy and sorrow and most important of all, the values by which they lived. Their ability to survive the perils
It demonstrated more than anything else how, together, our individual histories, our struggles, conflicts and victories have given this community the strength and confidence to overcome its present trials. After all, we have been built on tried and tested foundations and in the linking of our diverse stories, we become a new community with new stories to tell.
Its success lay in the platform it provided for individuals to share their
This is the good NEWS
One man’s poison… another man’s passion?
THE VILLAGE
PUBLISHING EDITOR T: 083 700 3319
family memories with one another and to catch a glimpse of the pattern formed by intertwining stories.
of their world, is our hope for the future.
about our future.
By Murray Stewart murray.stewart49@gmail.com
P
urple haze all in my brain… acting funny, but I don’t know why… Excuse me while I kiss the sky. - Jimi Hendrix
Well, Jimi wasn’t the only musician who may have experienced the effects of assorted ‘mind-benders’ during their lifetimes. From presidents and empresses to hunter-gatherers and pole-dancers, people from all walks of life have been influenced by various forms of mind alteration over thousands of years. The ancient Greek for ‘herbs’ was pharmakon, usually with a prefix or suffix indicating which healed and which killed. We can only wonder what the Oracle of Delphi was inhaling because it obviously worked but, sadly, the ingredients have never been revealed. Perhaps Ozzy Osbourne knows. Happy plants, deadly berries and laughing weeds are how the ancient world referred to various herbs, roots and pips. Some, taken in the right dosage, would relieve pain or give you an upper, while others could create a serious downer – like six feet down. Opium was a big hit for two reasons. Firstly, you were unlikely to croak because you’d usually pass out before overdosing – unlike its deadly derivative, heroin. Secondly, as a hallucinogenic, your Ground Control to Major Tom could transport you anywhere – through a purple haze perhaps, to play with Lucy in the Sky with Diapers, or maybe even see God.
Other plants were more deadly, more of a poison than an uplifter – like henbane, hemlock, mandrake and belladonna. They were easy to overdose on, so a swift meeting with the Good Lord was usually guaranteed.
Apart from the poppy and its various derivatives like morphine, heroin and codeine, other indigenous plants have featured as stimulants and mood-enhancers around the world since the Flintoffs.
Together with a few animal organs and dollops of disgusting gruel, some of these herbs were apparently sprinkled into the witches’ brew in Macbeth, because ever since that Shakespeare bloke drank some, he never quite mastered the art of spelling again, and retired penniless to a hamlet in Denmark. (Unverified)
Hoodia – a succulent fleshy cactus – was munched by Khoi-San hunters as a potent appetite suppressant and energy booster – like Coke. They’d chase a gemsbok tirelessly for days through the bush, but quite what they did once they’d killed it – seeing they weren’t at all hungry – remains perplexing.
In 1659, Giulia Tofana gained notoriety throughout Naples and Rome as a Mafia-style assassin and part-time wedding planner. She was handsomely paid – under the table of course – by disgruntled, socialite wives to ‘remove’ unwanted hubbies without suspicious fingers being pointed at them.
Cocoa leaves, as we all know, are what they make Peruvian Dancing Powder from. But indigenous jungle dwellers and their kids happily chew these leaves constantly – have done for centuries – and from an early age they all develop into accomplished line dancers.
Jolly Giulia would concoct her own deadly potion which was odourless, colourless and tasteless, and during a banquet or garden party, it was slipped surreptitiously into the wine/juice/beer of the soon-to-be late husband.
Apart from chemically created concoctions, the most common drug after nicotine is cannabis – medicinal or recreational – and I hear there are a few plants growing here in South Africa. Skandaal!
It became known as Aqua Tofana (contact Ed for recipe), and nobody knew exactly who the next widow-in-waiting would be, but it must have curtailed some philandering husbands from indulging in any extra-marital leg-overing.
Magic mushrooms – an hallucinogenic apparently – also pop up now and again, and folks with garden gnomes claim they often come to life. Keep the gate closed. But has anyone heard of malpitte – mad pips? Popular in the ‘70s among troepies on the border to avoid going bosbef*k (battle fatigue). What the heck is it? Please contact the editor with useful information – for medical research purposes only, of course.
Now, kissing your darling under mistletoe is all well and good but don’t let them munch any of those pretty little berries. It could be the last time they get kissed. By you or anyone else for that matter.
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