like gebruik te m aak van die beskik- bare w ater en weiding. U it die aard van die om standighede kan tuin b o u slegs op die rivieroewers beoefen w ord; vir die res is die Dama aangewese op hul vee, hoofsaaklik bokke en skape. Die wisselvalligheid van die reenval noodsaak soms ’n Dama-boer om met sy vee rond te trek . Dit is dan ook te verstane dat die Dama nie in gekonsen- treerde groepe bly nie. Terselfdertyd is hul wonings eenvoudig; d it gaan nie om uiterlike vertoon nie, m aar om die funksionaliteit van die huise.
Die volkekundige gegewens aangaande die D am a, is nie net van akadem iese w aarde nie, m aar speel ook ’n baie be- sliste rol in die polltieke sfeer. Dit is ew eneens waar van die lewensgewoon- tes van al die ander bevolkingsgroepe. En w anneer ’n verskeidenheid volke m et uiteenlopende gew oontes ’n land m et uiterstes b ew oon, word die situa- sie inderdaad kom pleks!
Bo: Kaart van Suidw es-A frika m e t ’n aanduiding van die tuisgebiede.
L inks: 'n R in g van klippe naby die kus, m o o n tlik die oorblyfsels van V? Dama-hut.
B la c k S c h o o l g r o u p s a t t h e M u s e u m
Last year 200 Black schoolgroups, a total num ber o f 17 000 pupils, visited the N ational M useum. This figure represents an increase o f 55 / over the previous year, w hen 11 000 Black pupils came to view the displays. The increase is m ost probably due to the fact th at provision has now been m ade for conducted tours o f Black groups through the Museum St Jo h n Prim ary School in Maseru have shown their g ratitude by the do n atio n o f beautiful earthenw are cups and saucers to the Museum.
We would like to express ou r appreciation to the group leaders, m ostly teachers, for their good co n tro l o f the pupils. As a re sult, these groups will always be welcome visitors at the M useum, while a well-dis ciplined group also gets m ore o u t o f the display than a disorganized one.
The N ational M useum w ould also like to use this o p p o rtu n ity to thank the D e partm en t o f Plural Affairs for placing a Bantu guide lectu rer at o ur disposal, as well as all their help in drafting the p ro gramm es for schoolgroups to visit us.
“ MA, HULLE SKIET OP O N S!”
M r E dw in M ohatlane, B antu guide lecturer a t the N ational M useum , with traditional hats d o n a te d b y R a tjo m o so B antu School, Maseru.
In 1950 was daar in ’n uitstalkas in die Museum ’n g ro o t, ronde spoelklip afkom stig u it ’n maalgat m et die volgende onderskrif:
“ A Cannon-ball fallen from Mars”
Why is research being done on wild animals and o f w hat im portance is it to man or the econom y? These are b u t a few questions asked by the laym an who frequently and som etim es unknow ingly utilizes and benefits from the results o b tained.
There are several diverse reasons for studying wild anim als; how ever, the goal, th a t m an can ben efit, rem ains the same. All organism s, m icroscopic or m acroscopic - m an, m onkey, m ushroom or micro-organism - are com posed o f the same elem ental m aterials, grow in the same w ay, live and die b y the same biochem ical m echanism s and react to their environm ent in ways th a t are simi lar.
Some o f the reasons for studying wild anim als are:
R hesus ape in a m edical research laboratory.
Callie L yn ch , M useum M ammalogist, a u th o r o f this article.
Yellow m ongoose (an albino specim en fo u n d in th e O.F.S.
In the veterinary field one need only re fer to the yellow m ongoose, one o f seve ral carriers o f the fatal viral disease, rabies, to illustrate a reason for studying wild animals.
In the psychological field, studies m ade on wild animals have greatly c o n trib u ted to solving social problem s such as stress (a m ajor cause o f heart failure), aggression and m any m ore. In the U ni ted States alone, some 20 m illion rats and wild animals are used annually in medical and psychological studies. E conom ic: In agriculture certain an i
mals account for large crop losses. It is estim ated th a t rats alone destroy approxim ately a fifth, o f all food crops in the w orld. In India their d ep redation has deprived the inhabitants o f enough grain to fill a freight train stretching m ore than 4 000 km .
The rat, a p e st in m ore than o n e sense.
On the positive side, wild animals can, as a source o f p ro tein , bring in large revenues. In 1967 it was estim ated that 2,5 I o f the national income o f B otsw a na was provided for by wild anim als and th a t 60 I o f all protein consum ed was derived from wild animals.
Yet in laboratories wild animals have co n trib u ted vastly to th e cure o f hum an illness. Few people have n o t benefited in some way - even been kept alive - by studies m ade on wild animals.
In South Africa at least 14 species o f wild rodents are used in medical research on bacterial, rickettsial, viral, fungal and parasitic infections and in diabetes and cancer research.
N on-hum an prim ates are also extensive ly used in m edical research. Were it not for these animals, heart and kidney transplants, to m ention only a few, would not have been possible.
Southern A frica, w ith p o te n tia l Plague areas in black. N o te that a large part o f the Orange Free State is also a p o te n tia l plague area.
B I O L O G I C A L R E S E A R C H —
A W A S T E OF T I ME A N D M O N E Y ?
Medical: In the medical field wild animals play a very im p o rtan t role. His to r y ’s m ost calam itous plague, the Black D eath (a disease transm itted by fleas harbored by rats), killed an estim a ted 25 m illion people.
