Hot stuff in the veld

October 23, 2008 Edition 1

Stuart Rothgiesser

Now in its second year, Afrika Burns - the baby of the Burning Man Festival held annually in the Arizona desert - is an unusual event. For one, it is non-commercial. With the exception of ice, no product or service is for sale in the entire area. Festival-goers or "participants" (organisers want them to think of the gathering as an "invent" rather than an "event") - are encouraged to bring "gifts" to share with others.

At the festival that took place at the weekend in the remote Tankwa in the Karoo, the gifts ranged from the wacky to the wild. A Buddha, sitting in lone repose in the sparse landscape, presented sweets to passers-by. The Check Your Ego installation gave participants the opportunity to leave their egos at their booths. Digitally recorded people's life stories were posted on a website for sharing with their loved ones, reminiscent of a time before the internet and cars, when travellers would be welcomed into people's tents and refreshed by their hosts in return for news.

Full service installations included the Desert Rose, a Western saloon complete with bar and stage. MASHED played on the mixed notions of "smashed" and M.A.S.H, the US TV comedy series about US Army doctors in the Korean War, with nurses and GIs offering tequila injections to all those suffering from afflictions.

And Burning Mail, housed in an 11-metre post box, sent postcards both within the festival and beyond.

These installations were even the more astounding in their complexity - and the effort required - given the harsh conditions of Afrika Burns. Tankwa is situated about 170km outside Ceres on the road to Calvinia. It is dry and sparse and the wind can pick up at a moment's notice. Along with imagination, organisers stress radical self-reliance as one of the themes of the festival. Participants must be self-sufficient and pack out all litter. Motorised transport is not allowed.

Music played a large role, with installations, bands and individuals DJ-ing, rapping and drumming in numerous locations - all at the same time. Generators provided the power. And, of course, controlled burns of installations - including the four-storey Burning Man - took place in the evenings.

Leaving the art, dancing and music aside, what makes Afrika Burns unique is the sense of community that exists after such a short space of time.


Participants fell into three main categories: older (50 plus) hippies, many of whom were musicians; 30-something creatives (artists, musicians, designers), many of whom are spiritually active; and young families.

One set of parents told the Cape Argus that they were happy their five-year-old was learning to be more confident in speaking to people. (The little girl proudly showed me the stuffed horse she had been given.)

With its many ways to participate in creativity, room to roam and specific socio-demographic, Afrika Burns is in a great environment for a child-friendly holiday.

Afrika Burns leaves participants with a sense of what is possible: a world where we turn our parents' warnings about stranger danger on their heads, in which we look forward to meeting people, and visit their homes confident in the knowledge that we will be welcomed.

The third Afrika Burns will take place around this time next year. Afrika Burns is volunteer-driven and is in the process of registering as a non-profit organisation.


Visit www.afrikaburns.com for more