SOUTH AFRICA 2006
On November 22nd 2006, our crew departed for Cape Town, South Africa.
The Mission: To interview Archbishop Tutu and Credo Mutwa
No peace for the busy!...After an eleven hour flight, our driver Garry who proved to be an 'absolute gem' met us at the airport in Cape Town. No pit stop at the hotel for us!....we headed straight for AFM & picked up our lighting gear and some camera gear and then headed off to the centre of town to pick up our 'filming permit'. Niambullah waded his way through the proverbial pile of paperwork necessary for us to film voxpox in the streets of Cape Town. Africa has a love affair with paperwork so whilst we waited patiently for the permit to be issued, I was astounded looking at the daily boards, at just how many film crews were filming at any one time in the capital....loads, as we were soon to find out. Everywhere we shot...we passed a film crew, set up alongside a crew or arrived where there had just been a crew!!
That afternoon we interviewed Stuart Gedrim and Audrey Spronk (www.in-spirit.co.za), who organise tours to sacred sites in SA. This couple believe that South Africa has a major role to play in the transformation of the collective consciousness of this planet. We inteviewed them about Table Mountain and her role as one of the powerful sacred sites in the world. We discussed the role of women in South Africa today and we discussed Credo Mutwa and their connection to this amazing Zulu Elder. We really were totally enamoured with Stuart and Audrey. They were welcoming, hospitable, visionary and vital individuals and it was a real pleasure meeting with them both.
We hired helicopters and did some aerial shots. We filmed whales. We shot in Green Market Square. We filmed gospel choirs and we filmed protest marches. We filmed drummers and we filmed tarot readers. We interviewed Grandmother Mamas and we interviewed shanti town kids. We interviewed tourists and we interviewed schoolkids. The craziest interview was with ' The Eggman ' (no, not the walrus) the eggman...from Benin. Everyone took him for a crazy guy - dressed up in a colourful costume with a metre high head dress adorned with voodoo skulls and trinkets and hundreds of eggshells. With a hideous laugh that resembled a laughing policemen with a stuck 'ON' button, he sang about Mama Africa!! But behind the mask, when I interviewed him - there was a sensitive, vibrant and intelligent young man whose life was about making people laugh and so bringing light to their lives. He knew exactly what he was doing and he had been travelling around the world to festivals, bringing light to peoples lives and he didn't care that all they saw was the crazy man.
A few days later, having picked up our lovely soundman Dave, we filmed our interview with Archbishop Desmond Tutu. What an amazing presence he had. When Desmond Tutu walks into a room, he commands a presence and holds a wonderful space. He started with a beautiful prayer...I'm not going to divulge the content of the interview because what he said was really stunning, but suffice to say we interviewed him about the Truth and Reconcilliation Courts held all over South Africa, we asked him about the nature of forgiveness and the possibilities in the world for peace. And finally we talked about the women of SA and their role in the world. Stunning!
Early the next morning Garry took us to the domestic airport and we caught a flight up to Kimberley where we were met by our next driver Matthews. He is the brother of Virginia, Credo's chief Sangoma, and he drove us a further three hours by jeep to their home in the northern province. He'd been advised we'd have a lot of luggage & equipment and that there would be three of us. I'm not small and Richard, our cameraman is 6ft 4''. The car was a short wheel base jeep and he had brought with him his wife and three children and all their luggage too. Hmmm... needless to say it was a pretty tight squeeze and Mandy's buttocks were under attack for the duration. Thankfully I had a little more padding!
We pulled up at a house in a compound of smaller round houses. Welcome to Credo Mutwa Clinic a sign boldly stated. Here Credo & Virginia (Head Sangoma/Healer) run a small AIDS clinic for the local community which also attracts visitors from as far away as Australia, America and Europe. More of that later. Credo Mutwa is world renowned for his wisdom of the indigenous peoples of the Earth. He is the Guardian of Umlando - Guardian of the ancient African knowledge, which is an oral tradition. A tradition that has been fiercely guarded throughout the ages and which remains intact within an elite band of initiates. To follow his shamanic calling was the first agonising decision of his life, a spiritual route he had resisted on pain of death. Following the tragic death of his first born son and intended successor in the secret traditions, the inhuman& insane treatment of fellow men during the aprtheid era, and the constant urging of his spiritual guide Amarava, came the second most agonizing decision of his life. It was the decision to break the sacred oath of silence he had taken on becoming a Sanusi ( a high shaman). He is the author of a brilliant book called 'Indaba My Children', written so that modern European and African consciousness alike might eventually gain an understanding of old Africa's heritage and it's inherent wisdom. this resulted in his being outcast by the shamanic priests themselves and branded a traitor by his own people for revealing Africa's secrets to the white opppressor.
As Guardian of Umlando, he was also entrusted with the Custodianship of some of the holiest artifacts on the African continent. It was these artifacts that Credo not only allowed us to film, but he explained their importance in the world today. This extraordinary man, Africa's greatest Lion Shaman is a prophet, artist, sculptor, astrologer, author, teacher, healer and the most wonderful storyteller I have ever had the good fortune to be in the presence of. For me, he exemplified what it was to be the keeper of an oral tradition. It has been my experience as I have interviewed tribal Elders from around the world, that when one asks a question, it does not mean you are going to receive an immediate or direct reply. What you receive is.... a story.... and some time later, maybe even half an hour later, Credo, totally lucid for his 85 years, will come back to the original question again, having answered it impeccably.
We spoke for many hours and finally we spent some time on our own with Virginia whilst Credo rested. Grandmother of many, Virgina is an awesome representation of the African woman in her power. Wow! Virgina shared with us her story of how she came to become Credo's High Sangoma. An awesome story and one to keep for the film....but suffice to say that she had a visitation on her death bed and was given the name and location of Credo who she was told would become her teacher. Virginia is a descendant of the Bushmen tribe and is a qualified nurse, and I cannot speak highly enough of her work with AIDS in Africa. Her pharmacy is an Aladdin's cave of hope & mother nature's herbal remedies. Credo discovered that the Sutherlandia Plant was an amazing immune booster and Virginia started running the clinic, which has improved the lives of hundreds of people, many now seemingly free of symptoms.
To close, I would like to add that it is the intention of the WorldWideWave production team, to support Virginia and Credo in their selfless work at their clinic in whichever small way we can. Credo - you are a wonderful man and it was an honour to be in your presence. Thank you for entrusting us with your sacred information and we will use it with integrity to tell your story. May abundance, peace and good health surround you always.