A voice from the past

Sarah Bartman was born in 1789 into the Griqua tribe of the Eastern Cape, a subgroup of the Khoisan people who are now thought to be the first inhabitants of the tip of Southern African .  Her family moved to a shack near Cape Town and, while working as a 20-year-old servant to a local farmer, she attracted the attention of a visiting English ship's surgeon, William Dunlop. 

She agreed to go with Dunlop to England where, he promised her, she would become rich and famous as a subject of medical and anthropological research.  She was 21 when she left Cape Town for London.  

Slavery had been abolished in England a few years before Sarah arrived, as a result  Dunlop was accused of abusing Sarah's rights. This didn't stop Dunlop from exhibiting her for a fee . Also there were numerous examinations undertaken under the pretense of "medical research". Eventually public pressure  forced Dunlop to take Sarah to France where she was sold to a carnival man. Sarah was then subjected to even greater indignities by so called doctors and the wealthy. It was in Paris that she tradgically died .Even  after death the abuse continued, her body was dissected and organs removed.

5 years ago her remains were brought home to South Africa from France at a ceremony attended  by  the prime minister , dignitaries, and local Khoisan. The ceremony was broadcast live to all South Africans. She was buried on a small hill overlooking the town of Hankey in the Eastern Cape .

There is a story related in the film 'The life and Times of Sarah Bartman', where a portayal of Sarah talks to a Paris journalist  in 1814 about her capture.

Sarah relates about her childhood  and in particular the eve of her betrothal in the Houteniqua mountains which was brutally interrupted by white slave raiders , who were attracted by the smoking fires of the pre-nuptial feast. The slavers abducted Sarah

Whether this story is true or not, what  is certain is that Sarah  was taken away from her family . She was taken to Europe to be abused and exploited. She died in France 5 years later,  very much alone.

The memory of Sarah Bartman has become a contemporary voice for the Khoisan peoples today, who have, until recently, been the forgotten peoples in Southern Africa 

This contemporary dedication is a compilation of three  images of Sarah which were drawn in London and Paris.  Sarah like many Khoisan peoples before and after , have had their spirit, aspirations, and innocence taken away from them. It could be said that in many ways very little has changed spiritually, and materialistically for the vast majority of the Khoi and the San peoples in the 20th century. Let us hope the new millenium brings  the recognition the Khoisan deserve, and that their spirit, aspirations and innocence will be protected  for all time.

A dedication

A series of three sculptural masks of  Sarah Bartman depicting  Sarah as a young woman as she might have looked had she not been so cruelly taken away from her community. The first one depicts her inner  spirit. The second her  beautiful innocence. The third her  dreams and aspirations. 

Two out of the three sculptures was made from clay dug from Hankey