In many African cultures, the aardvark is viewed as a symbol of strength and resilience, and anyone fortunate enough to see one is said to be blessed. The Hausa healers in West Africa pound and grind the heart, skin, and nails with the roots of a specific tree to create a charm that supposedly makes the wearer invisible at night – no doubt a great concern for any father with beautiful daughters at home!
Rumex crispus is an invasive plant species found worldwide. In English, it is known as curley or curly dock, yellow dock, narrow-leaf dock, and sour dock. It is known as ubuhlunga in Xhosa and idolo lenkonyana in Zulu. In Afrikaans, it is known as krultongblaar and occasionally weeblaar.
When it comes to nutritional value, grasses are probably the world’s most important plant family. All our cereals, including maize, wheat, sorghum, rye, millet, rice, barley and sugarcane are grasses. Grasses also provide fodder for animals that supply us with meat, leather and milk. Within the South African agricultural sector, cereal accounted for about 30% of total gross agricultural production in the country in 2017, with total output of 18.6 million tonnes for wheat and maize in 2020-21 (Agriseta 2019; Lyddon 2021).
Learning through art: The Museum as classroom aims to serve as a platform for school learners, educators and art enthusiasts to appreciate and absorb artworks and important genres discussed in the Visual Arts Curriculum. Artworks were sourced from William Humphreys Art Gallery, ArtbankSA Contemporary Collection and Oliewenhuis Art Museum’s Permanent Collection, and artworks that are discussed in the textbooks.
Sharon Holt, Beryl Wilson, Daryl Codron and Liora Kolska Horwitz.
Abstract
Studies of leopard tortoise (Stigmochelys pardalis) deaths in South Africa’s central interior have revealed the devastating role played by electric fences. Data on tortoise mortality show that adult female tortoises are especially vulnerable to electrocution, which in turn negatively impacts on reproduction and growth of the population.