March 24th

 "That was when my father said he was going to beat me to death."

- Page 637, Life and Works of a Kung Woman


        Nisa was a member of one of the last surviving hunting and gathering groups in southern Africa. To her, culture was one of the most important things that many "outsiders" would not understand because her and her tribe were a part of something seemingly unconventional. However, the things that Nisa endured at a young age were things that no matter where you are or where you come from, you have heard of before. 

        Abuse ran ramped through her tribe and effected her very personally. Her parents were very abusive towards her and brought her,  many times, close to death. Her brother Dau seemed to be the only man who was willing to protect her, as he made his father stop beating her many times because she was "too skinny" and frail. On top of this abusive trauma, her mother wanted to kill her baby brother and bury him in the wilderness so Nisa could continue to nurse. Since this is a tribe based on tradition, I can only assume that this is generational trauma at its worst, creating lifelong damage. 

        I think it is important to note that even though Nisa was abused both emotionally and physically and went through many things that I would not wish on anyone, she survived. She mustered up enough strength to continue on and fight -- even just by living. Her situation is unconventional because of the logistics in which is came, but her strength is not. Her strength can be found in millions of women who go through similar things every day, month and year.  


        

Comments

  1. ParkerMarch 24, 2023 at 6:45 AM

    Nisa was very abused as we saw in the book and her brother Dau was the one who mostly stopped the beatings, but her mother also didn't want the father beating her as he would do it to hard. I find it hard to understand exactly why someone's parents would want to bring them so close to death as a punishment for crying or misbehaving some.

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