SA woman travels around the country in search of the Khoisan

A South African travel content creator is on a rather adventourous quest to find authentic Khoisan people in the region. Take a look…

Will Popi find the Khoisan? Image: canva

“Where are the Khoisan?”

Travel content creator Siphelele ‘Popi’ Sibiya is on a bit of an unusual adventure. The digital creator recently shared on her Instagram profile that she was looking for members of the Khoisan community.

As reported by Briefly, Popi, who hosts a digital series called The Popi Show on Instagram, is currently on a mission to find Africa’s first indigenous people – the Khoisan.

The Khoisan are indigenous peoples of southern Africa, made up of the Khoikhoi (pastoralists) and the San (hunter-gatherers).

They are known for their unique click languages and ancient genetic lineage, among the oldest in the world.

In search of just this, Popi recently travelled to South Africa’s Northern Cape in hopes of interacting with these authentic, indigenous community. While in South Africa’s northern-most province, she first went to Pella and announced her arrival to the chief.

Popi then left Pella quite disappointed, because the house they sent her to had brand new furniture. Not at all what she was looking for!

From SA to Botswana

Popi then hitchhiked her way to Pofadder and then Kakamas, where she was told to go to a village called Askham to find true members of the Khoisan community.

When she got to Ashkam, Popi saw some indigenous people but she still felt like she was in the wrong town as an indigenous man she met seemingly wore slippers and spoke English.

The man revealed to Popi that they didn’t actually speak their indigenous languages anymore, and he was only wearing his traditional attire to attract tourists to his stall.

And so, Popi, having found no Khoisan luck in South Africa, decided to head up to Botswana instead.

Take a look: