shoot him dead
skaapbos
bush usually eaten by sheep
skerm
Bushman shelter built with twigs and branches, in the shape of a beehive
Slams
derogatory term for ‘Muslim’
smous
trader
Sonqua
Bushman; today called San
teewater
tea water
trekboer
farmer who moves from one place to another to find grazing for his cattle; also refers to the Voortrekkers (Boer pioneers who moved from the Cape Colony to the Transvaal in 1834 and 1837)
trekgees
the urge to move; ‘trek spirit’
vaderlandse
fat-tailed sheep of the early Cape; ‘sheep from the fatherland’
vastrap
traditional and spirited folk dance
veldskoene
shoes or boots fashioned out of animal hide by the early farmers
voorkamer
front room of the house designated for visitors
voorloper
the leader of a team of oxen; usually a young boy of mixed race
vrijburgher
freeman or free burgher
vygie
succulent plant found in arid land
witblits
potent apricot or peach brandy brewed by the early farmers
About the Author
Rayda Jacobs is an award-winning author and filmmaker. She was born in Diep River, Cape Town in 1947 before moving to Toronto, Canada in 1968.
She published her first collection of short stories, The Middle Children, in 1994. Jacobs went on to receive the Herman Charles Bosman Prize for English fiction for her debut novel, Eyes of the Sky (1996) and the Sunday Times Fiction Prize for her 2003 novel, Confessions of a Gambler. She later co-adapted the latter into a feature film and has produced and directed numerous documentaries for television.
She is currently the author of ten novels and multiple short story collections.
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