The indigenous population of this area are pre-dominantly the Xhosa Tribe. The language is very distinct with lots of clicks made with the tongue on the roof of the mouth which form words – very hard to master but have got some basics, which seems to please some of the elders.
Coffee Bay is on the Wild Coast in the Transkei, which used to be a separate state during Apartheid. From what I understand, the apartheid government were aiming at keeping all the black people in one contained area – it is no longer like that, but many people are wary of coming here, although I never had any warnings before I arrived.
The locals are mostly friendly and generally live in Rondavels (round mud huts) over the hills – some of which are quite basic and some are rather sophisticated. The living is earned almost hand to mouth from the land and from tourism in the area which is slowly growing.
Their society is very paternalistic – women are defined stereotypically and do the cleaning, cooking and childcare. However they do have the most amazing ability to balance all sorts of things on their heads including huge branches of firewood and 25 litre drums of water, and then walk up and down the hills for several kilometers back home. The villages in the Transkei are controlled by a Village Headman (always a man) which can clash occasionally with the government controlled law enforcement, but it always pays to meet him and build a rapport so that the communities continue to work in harmony together.
A lot of work in this area is based around education and training so that the younger members of the community can grow up to use their initiative and support themselves in perhaps less traditional ways than their parents.
Much of what I have written here is my understanding of what I have learnt while staying here; apologies if I have not taken this all in correctly.
