Bleek, Bushman Poetry, and Race in Southern Africa
This paper examines two scholarly works — Andrew Bank's "Evolution and Racial Theory: The Hidden Side of Wilhelm Bleek" and Antjie Krog's "The Stars Say 'Tsau'" — to build a fuller portrait of the nineteenth-century linguist Wilhelm Bleek and the /Xam Bushman culture he documented. The paper argues that while Bleek is often romanticized for his preservation of San rock art and language, his contributions to racial theory and his comparison of Bushmen to higher primates represent an equally important, if troubling, dimension of his work. Drawing on the poetry collected by Bleek and analyzed by Krog, the paper also highlights how Bushman expressive culture reflected a deep connection to nature and a society threatened by colonial displacement.
- Introduction: Rethinking Bleek's Legacy: Challenging romanticized portrayals of Wilhelm Bleek
- Bleek on San Rock Art and Language: Bleek's respect for Bushman art and expression
- Racial Theory and the Hierarchy of Development: Bleek's troubling comparisons of Bushmen to primates
- Linguistic Origins and the Breakwater Prison: Bleek's fieldwork on click languages and apes
- Krog and Bushman Poetry: Krog's anthology revealing /Xam expressive culture
- Colonial Displacement and Cultural Preservation: White settlement and the loss of Bushman culture
- Conclusion: The Value of Every Culture and Language: Bleek's legacy and the importance of preservation
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What makes this paper effective
- It synthesizes two distinct scholarly sources — a historical journal article and a poetry collection — to construct a unified argument about Bleek's significance, demonstrating comparative reading skills.
- The paper acknowledges complexity and contradiction, noting that Bleek both honored Bushman culture and compared its people to higher primates, which gives the analysis nuance rather than presenting a one-sided view.
- Direct quotations from both Bank and Krog are used purposefully to support specific claims, and the paper explains the significance of each quotation rather than letting it stand alone.
Key academic technique demonstrated
The paper demonstrates source synthesis: rather than summarizing each text separately, it draws thematic connections between Bank's scholarly critique and Krog's poetic anthology to show how both illuminate Bleek's importance and the broader cultural stakes of preserving /Xam language and expression. This technique is especially visible in the section linking Krog's three poets to Bleek's Breakwater prison research.
Structure breakdown
The paper opens by framing Bank's critique of the romanticized Bleek, then moves through his views on San art and language, his racial theory, and his linguistic fieldwork. It pivots to Krog's poetry collection, using a sample poem to illustrate Bushman expressiveness, before addressing colonial displacement and concluding with a reflection on cultural value. The argument builds logically from critique to analysis to broader humanistic significance.
Introduction: Rethinking Bleek's Legacy
Andrew Bank's "Evolution and Racial Theory: The Hidden Side of Wilhelm Bleek" challenges the way Bleek has been romanticized in recent years by scholars of Southern African studies. While his research into San mythology was very important during what is known as his Bushman period, it was not the only aspect of his life worthy of note. Because so many scholars focus on his San research, they fail to address that Bleek also contributed to racial theory and other intellectual debates in the region over a twenty-five-year period. That contribution is equally significant, as it paints a picture of Bleek as something more than an anthropologist. With his focus on the importance of San rock art and his equally important engagement with questions of race in Southern Africa, he became a polarizing and consequential figure for a number of reasons.
This essay addresses those dimensions of Bleek's work alongside another important element of the Bushman period — the poetry — and the story it tells of what was happening to the country at the time. These poems can be found in Antjie Krog's The Stars Say 'Tsau'. Both Bank's and Krog's works are explored here in order to show the similarities between what Bleek and the Bushman poets brought to Southern Africa and to the wider world. Although the two texts may not appear to have much in common, they share a great deal of information that together provides a clearer picture of what was taking place in the Southern African region during that era. There is a rich history there that has too long been ignored.
Works Cited
Bank, Andrew. "Evolution and Racial Theory: The Hidden Side of Wilhelm Bleek." South African Historical Journal, 43(1): 163–178. 2000. Print.
Krog, Antjie. The Stars Say 'Tsau': /Xam Poetry of Dia!Kwain. Roggebaai, South Africa: Kwela Books. 2004. Print.
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