BEFORE
BEFORE
YOU
YOU GO
GO
EDITION 1
2015
2015
South African Greeting
Sawubona! (sawu ona) is a Zulu greeting that is used to say hello or good day.
It’s literal translation is “I see you.” Go ahead say it a couple times … Sawubona!
South African Languages
Zulu is the most spoken language in South Africa. Most South Africans speak English as their second language.
Currency
to write 100 Rand it would look like this R100.
The symbol for Rand is “R” … so if you wanted
Weather
Because South Africa is located below the equator, its seasons are opposite of ours in the United States.
While our summer begins in June, the South African summer begins in October and ends in February.
Geography
South Africa is slightly less than twice the size of Texas and ranks as the 25th largest country
in the world. South Africa is one of the few countries in the world that is bordered by two oceans, the
Atlantic Ocean on the west side, and the Indian Ocean on the east. Cape Agulhas is the southernmost
two countries are located entirely within the country of South Africa – Swaziland, and Lesotho. South
Africa has three capital cities, each with a different function. Pretoria is the administrative capital, as the
President is located here. Cape Town is the legislative capital, as the Parliament is located here. Bloemfontein is the judicial capital, as the Supreme Court is located here.
First Humans
The Taung (tong) Skull that was discovered in the mines of South Africa in 1924. Scientists
spinal cord is connected more to the bottom of the skull – freeing up the head so the Taung (tong) Child
could walk on two legs, like we do. This skull is believed to be evidence of human evolution.
Out of Africa Theory
This theory suggests that our ancestors, all around the world, actually came from
one place in the world – Africa. Scientists speculate that our ancestors were from southern, and perhaps, eastern Africa. They lived here for a while, and then over the course of time, groups of these early
humans walked out of Africa. Although their journey took many, many years, these early humans are
believed to have populated our entire world.
Native South Africans
Most scientists theorize that the San (sän) people lived 22,000 years ago. The San
(sän) lived in the area of the Drakensberg (dräk nz b r ) Mountains and were hunter gatherers. The
San (sän) left behind a huge number of cave drawings, referred to as rock art. Their drawings told a story
without words or letters. Do you think you can draw like the San…students will have an opportunity to
leave their mark, with their own cave art project.
Shaka Zulu
In the early 1800’s, Shaka Zulu became the chief of the Zulu clan and eventually one of the
greatest warriors in the history of South Africa. Shaka Zulu created the Buffalo Formation, which is a
three-part attack system - the best warriors were stationed at the “chest” of the buffalo - closest to the
enemy; less experienced warriors became the “horns” of the buffalo, and would circle around the sides of
the enemy, attacking from the sides; the youngest warriors would be the “loins” or hind end of the buffalo
and stand behind the “chest” warriors to further protect them from attack.
Next Week
Look for the second edition of
where you’ll learn how Nelson Mandela became a fashion icon and the only street in the world to house TWO Nobel Prize winners.