8. Fire

Although there are a whole bunch of glossy magazines out there suggesting we eat our vegetables raw, the mere fact the we, or our ancestors rather, were able to cook their food, changed the course of human evolution and we were well on our way to yuppies driving four wheel drive SUVs clutching cellular phones!

Huge plumes of smoke, painted with light
from the fire and the setting sun!

The ability to hold a root over the fire, provided Zog and family with an opportunity to detoxify the tubers and other plant materials, increased their palatability, so the toddlers would also eat roots and tubers otherwise filled with vile tannins, increasing its digestibility. To cook meat so it would last a little longer also contributed significantly to improve diets and reduce the body's strain against toxins and other strange chemicals… Cooking increased our culinary diversity and many great thinkers suggest therefore that fire lit up human evolution and put it into overdrive… some even suggest that the use of fire lead to the rapid increase in human brain size! So its clear that since our days as cave-dwellers, fire has played a clear and directing role in the evolution of humankind.

However, this is not a lesson in anthropology! And I am seriously digressing!! I am simply trying to justify my innate attraction to fire… I love fire, and as a scientist I need to have an hypothesis as to why it is such a demanding factor in my make-up as a modern man writing blogs!

Systematically consuming all dry vegetation
converting biomass into heat, ash and carbon dioxide  

My theory is that fire had such a profound impact on the collective human construct that our fascination and attraction to it remains to this day. Not only did it cook and preserve our food but it prevented us from freezing to death in our wintery caves, and crucially it kept the predators at bay. Fire therefore contributed in various ways to reduce mortality in the human line able to control it. That is not trivial and we will not forget that! Reinforcing the role of fire, it gave us the opportunity to invent graffiti, and the written language was born as our ancestral toddlers started playing noughts-and-crosses on the cave walls using charcoal left over from last night’s tuber and ostrich BBQ!

The other side of fire, the uncontrolled wild fire, is incredibly devastating! It destroys, it requires oxygen and fuel and creates heat and if that fuel is your grassland or house or car, then fire is an immense enemy! That side of me also hates fire. As a biologist I understand the role of fire, positive and negative on the environment. It can transform a golden waving grassland into ash and black soot in minutes and hours… an entire season’s growth can be destroyed in a single fire lasting no longer than a few hours. A year's rainfall can go up in smoke and leave us with nothing but bare soil and starving herbivores. The reality is that Africa still burns probably much like in the days when Zog and his clan discussed ways in which to control this new innovation! Its been part of this (and other) continents for a very very long time. It shaped the vegetation and everything else with it. No part of this world is untouched by it (apart from the poles, to some extent!). In short, fire shaped the way this continent and its inhabitants evolved and it will continue to do so in many ways.

Captivating the human mind and soul.

So as I leave the office and drive home at night in the winter, and I turn onto Matopos road my eyes start looking for the tell tale glow on the horizon. I am looking for it cause I don’t want to see it! I love watching the savanna grow and ripen into a rich honey colored mass of waving grass in the late summer. To see it destroyed with all its inhabitants is soul destroying. Then when you see it, that red and orange smokey glow in the distance your heart pounce in your throat, just like in my younger days on the farm, where fire was enemy number one and everyone in one’s household was ready to assist if a neighbor would call and say the dreaded word “FIRE”.

But when you see it and when you are over the initial shock of it, and like the rest of Africa, who has accepted death and destruction to a large extent - when you get to that point, then the ancient role of fire takes its effect on me. I cannot drive past it, I can not ignore it though other cars speed by. I, however, have to stop and look, get out the car and walk to it, as I am drawn to it. You often hear the anger in it - its amazing how much noise it makes, an angry beast consuming everything in its way. An incredible number of minute explosions, as oils and resins and gasses ignite with audible cracks and sizzling sounds are emitted as gasses are extruded from confined spaces in dead and live wood and dense grass stands.

The contrasts are amazing - dry grass, bright fire, dull smoke
and an amazing array of smells and sounds

When you stop and watch, it is mesmerizing… it consumes your mind like it consumes the dry vegetation. Sometimes rapidly it will lunge itself forward into large clumps of dense fuel, other times it will gently find its way through the short grass, bridging itself to the next large accumulation of dry matter… almost like an athlete pacing himself, for the final assault on the finish line. Sometimes during these the gentle periods, there are patches which are rejected, or forgotten by the fire or simply not worthy of being devoured, either the biomass is too sparse or the fire out-burned itself and then cant get to it… I love looking at these patches of unburnt vegetation amongst a sea of black, after the fire. They remind me of last standing pieces on a chessboard, the last remaining subjects of a game between masters… the last men standing in a war.

While fires are attractive - be sure not to ge trapped!

While devastating, and highly destructive, fire is also amazingly life-giving. How contradictory can this be? Like the rest of this continent, there are paradoxes and ironies and sometimes just plain illogical phenomena. Yet, soon in contrast to the otherwise black world a new sword of green grass will emerge, bright green, greener than where the veld did not burn - or perhaps it is a cynical play of color in your eyes and in your mind! The reality is that this world sometimes needs it - where we live and work in rural Africa, the grass are habitually burned every year, which is not good. But in places with “sound” management - there is often the need to burn.. To remove the dead wood, the moribund grass and reset the system. Some plants only germinate after smoky fires stimulate their seeds from dormancy… So its not all completely negative! It facilitates and initiates the next cycle, its just that sometimes these cycles follow too rapidly after each other.

Fires at night are simply amazing. Captivating, Awesome!

Whichever the case may be, in the day that may follow such fires, I always look for the new grass, those green little guys bravely pushing their heads into this great new world, unaware of what may follow. Not knowing whether they fill the simple stomach of a locust, the complex series of fermentation chambers of a ruminant like the impala or the sheep and goats, whether it will be a stately sable antelope or if they would survive the cycle and be consumed by Africa’s ultimate herbivore, fire.

Turing reality into a temporary fairy land of color and a
hypnotic theatre of which the aftermath is a cruel black world. 

So, I stop and look, perhaps allow the fire to play with my eyes and my mind a little… allow myself the luxury to travel back to the cave days where our ancestors may have scavenged the after effects of these fires, just like modern raptors swoop down and catch insects fleeing in the face of the fire or other scavengers searching the barren landscape for half cooked victims of the fire…. I may take a few photographs… smell the smoke, wonder about the puff-adders and squirrels again… and when I have had my fix I drive home. There, I greet my family, eat a well cooked meal, pour something smooth and settle in front of my fireplace, and contemplate my day and the ones to follow.

Read some more!

Please look at Gary Larson’s cartoon

On the earliest evidence for habitual use of fire in Europe.  Wil Roebroeksand Paola Villa 

The New York Times; Of Tubers, Fire and Human Evolution, By MARK DERR, Published: January 16, 2001 

7. Components

It not just Matopos, its a characteristic of all places. In fact it is not only a characteristic of ecosystems, its there in many things we deal with… the basic components or parts of the larger whole. The elements that constitutes the whole. When reading a little more about the word component - the dictionary suggested to also look at the word compound, and that brought me to the word aggregation… which is very different from compounds, but each describes in its own way how these systems are constructed. So this is how I look at my world, and therefore how I see Matopos, the larger whole made up of many different building blocks, some in compounds others mere aggregations of elements - which ever way it comes together - there are numerous elements which ultimately constitutes what we know as Matopos.

There is a lot which is of importance here - its not only what the specific components or “ingredients” are, but more importantly how they all are assembled, how they fit together and in some cases how they merge or fuse into something else or change in character. At another level, the overall whole is affected by the way in which these components, aggregations and compounds interact - how they integrate to create a larger whole. Their specific dynamics create the whole which we often refer to as the ecosystem, or should we want to be smart and include the human component, which we should, then we refer to it as the socio-ecological system. This system is then controlled or its interactions determined, or driven by outside factors such as sunlight and rainfall, and economies at various levels. So while the system is composed of specific components the way in which they are assembled, aggregated and fused, determines their interactions and dynamics - and ultimately the behavior of the system.

The individual components my be inert - sterile, but the way in which they act and react upon one another, how they interact and these smaller interactions merging and fusing into larger dynamics - this is what makes it special, functional and worthy of further consideration!

Most probably because of this, I often get the feeling this place is alive… yes its alive with animal and plant life, but more than that, when you pause to look and feel, you often feel it breath… not hear, feel. There’s the presence of the place that gets to you. Like a ridiculously large behemoth. In places the ancient exoskeleton is exposed and the granite is pealing off like old dry skin… with a mosaic of lichen dandruff and warts and large grassy hairs remaining in the creases and crevices. New growth is evident in the soft areas between the hard exterior and the softer belly. Where the hard exterior gives way to the softness of dark rich soil. Covered with vegetation, drying in the winter sun like a huge butterfly waiting for its wings to harden against the forces brought upon it by the next part of its continuous life-cycles. In a not too dissimilar fashion this place reveals all the possibilities of evolutionary life seen in times gone by and present. 

When I stand at the edge of numerous wetlands or vleis in summer and the ducks arrive from no-one really knows where, and the frogs and other amphibians emerge from their clay tombs, I think of it as the gills of an exceptionally large salamander, most sensitive and vulnerable to the outside world if not treated with care. I think of pollutants burning into those sensitive breathing apparatus and wish for a major storm to flush it clean of chemicals, to leave it clean and pristine so the heron can stare at it own reflection for days on end…. So other critters can complete life-cycles of their own and birds can hang their nests out of harms way… so life can play its role in the lives of the different layers of life represented in this place.

Further afield the rocks and boulders build up in massive aggregations or monstrous monoliths, like the one near Mbalabala, a huge wart on our critters back, together they all form when you fly over Matopos the wrinkled back of our friend. Trusting the world, its exposed capillaries merge into small veins and arteries joining in where valleys merge into larger rivers channeling life giving water to man and beast. It amazes me how hard the skeleton can be and how trusting it exposes the softest parts of its existence to the world, to use and abuse.  Not questioning our intentions - jut giving and trusting.  

The outer layer is in most places, hard crusty rock - like the exoskeleton of an old insect of ancient crocodilian, in places it gives way to softer skin, rich soils from which grass and trees emerge making then best of the opportunity provided to them. When you scratch too hard here, you will expose the soft inner being, and if you dont care for it, it will become infected and erode away into large gullies, which like the wounds of an old person, it never really heals. So be careful where you place your roads and stalls and gates. Just like the human hand is composed of delicate bones and tendons and muscles and skin, perfected with nails and pores and hair in the masculine version or simply soft and smooth…. Such are the places in Matobos when you look for it, or if you are prepared to see it…  delicately put together with the minimal use of components, unlike the the extravagant rain forests of Costa Rica or elsewhere, Matobo is a place of modest minimalism. How contradictory can that be? Let em explain - the individual components are minimal, simple without ostentatious flair, just there - but when you look at the whole, you allow the human eye and mind to comprise the symphony of place and spirit to come together, then it the simplicity merges into the greater whole… the basic components aggregates and compounds into what we realized in our simplicity as a place worthy of international conservation status…

 

     

6. Geo-Anthropomorphism

This to me, this looks like the gathering of the elders, engaged in serious conversation over grave matters. Please visit the The Arts in Focus to obtain information about our 2014 Matopos Calendar -  an initiative supporting rhino conservation in Zimbabwe. If I could be like Matobo As an enthusiastic student I was frequently warned against it, the greatest sin a zoologist could commit - anthropomorphism. Describing animals and their behavior in terms of human characteristics was taboo. In those days animals were not supposed to behave in human ways or show emotions. Not sure if this is also a sin in Geography, but its the only way I can describe Matobo and the influence it exerts on us as we travel through it. If I could be like Matobo - bold and generous, gentle and fertile, grandiose but true to it, larger than life itself, but still sincere - what a life that would be? To handle life with all its challenges, droughts and floods, eons of climate change, frosty winter mornings and sweltering summer days, bathing in showers and lit up by lightning while listening to the distant music of thunder… Imagine harboring rhinos and sheltering sable and eagles and have enough delicate space for mosses and lichens! And to be able to do all of this with grace and confidence the way Matobo holds itself together with broad granitic shoulders and boulders and fertile wetlands and grassy meadows. If I could be like Matobo - bold and generous, gentle and fertile, grandiose but true to it, larger than life itself, but still sincere - what a life that would be? To handle life with all its challenges, droughts and floods, eons of climate change, frosty winter mornings and sweltering summer days, bathing in showers and lit up by lightning while listening to the distant music of thunder… Imagine harboring rhinos and sheltering sable and eagles and have enough delicate space for mosses and lichens! And to be able to do all of this with grace and confidence the way Matobo holds itself together with broad granitic shoulders and boulders and fertile wetlands and grassy meadows. Complex geomorphology, and diverse plants. I love the way some plants grow high in these hills, there cant be much soil there - but this land is  generous and accommodating. The mother and child - how long has she cared for the children of Matobo? Have you noticed how proud those hills can be? Rich in character, with the years showing in their faces and postures alike, but still proud, still going about their daily chores with focussed diligence, without fail. Whether they are draped in generous layers of moss and lichens, standing tall amongst great botanical diversity in the national park, or bare in the desolate over-grazed communal landscape, these hills are never stripped of their pride and dignity. Those in the communal areas, accustomed to human presence and attention often reveal so much more of themselves. Unashamedly they invite you in, like the local inhabitants will invite you into the rich cool atmosphere of their huts and share a meagre meal of maize on the cob and sweetened tea.  Matobo could be an old man, graciously allowing the world to build paths and schools and lives while nurturing a thousand fields and producing grazing for a nation’s cattle, providing stones for generations of catapults and logs for kraals and mud for humble huts. Even, allowing Rhodes to carve into it an empire and a grave. Yielding abundant golden fields of grass, turned into bundles of thatch by women with dextrous sickles. As their clear voices sing lonely tunes, I can clearly imagine him, Old Matobo, lying back content for what he gives. And then there is the feminine side of this place, the ability to spawn new generations of everything within her, and within her reach… trees, the thatching grass, the grazing and even the human spirit, our values and the goodness of the veldt. She will allow the water to run from her noble shoulders and accumulate in streams and rivers, channeling it to places in need, where thirsty cattle will congregate to drink and settle to rest and ruminate… allowing this place to strengthen them, mold them and sustain them - like we all should. What better place can there be, to stimulate the heart and soul of a thinking being? Can there be a better place to grow into the person you ought to be? Matobo changes you, shapes and builds you. It prepares you for the rest of your life, like it prepared the proud Ndebele nation for what was to lie ahead in their history. Matobo spawned important people, proud kings and distinctive leaders, to this day. There is no other way, if you, or a nation submit to this place and accepts its influence, you can only emerge as a finer being or greater nation on the other side. I am staying a little longer, if I may.

5. Transitions

Change, cycles, natural rhythms and transformations

Grass, trees, rocks an boulders all
contribute to this dynamic mosaic

According to the dictionary on my computer, transition is the process or period of changing from one state or condition to another. So the word is used to describe both the process and the timing of change, from one place to another, or the same place changing over time. An interesting concept when you want to photograph “place or space” and “time”.

During the last few days I have been driving to and from work at odd hours, and the concept described above keeps coming back to me. There are all these transitions which this time of year highlights so clearly. During the wet season, when everything is green, it is almost impossible to see the transitions, or the delineations, between grass, shrubs and trees, or between riverine and savanna and savanna and hill: the ecotones, as we call them, the areas of transition between vegetation communities. But now, in winter, the lines demarcating them are stark, clearly-drawn, even to the untrained eye. There are, however, many more transitions: those between states which change in reaction to soil type or man-made entities, like the edges of roads, and natural pasture giving way to crop fields, and parks to agricultural land. There are the transitions as you go up the hills from the river or drainage lines at the bottom-lands to higher lying areas, with grass and acacias. Then up hills with their own vegetation type (defined by structure and species composition) and granite outcrops, so characteristic of this part of the world. Those are the transitions in space: one vegetation condition following another in a pretty predictable pattern as governed by aspect (south facing versus north facing) soil type and moisture levels, as well as altitude, land use and abuse.

The cycles of grass growing, dying, burning and sprouting
is in stark contrast with ancient solid granite.

The other transition I see unfolding as I drive is the process of change which happens to the same place over time: the cyclic nature of place in areas with high seasonal variability. It is the natural (or sometimes, not so natural) progression of green grass lignifying, hardening and protecting itself against herbivory (i.e. being eaten by herbivores!), ensuring the production of viable seeds. What remains is the dry, golden-colored grass, moribund as its lifecycle is complete. Slowly, this rich standing hay is consumed by eager ungulates in search of a digestible diet. 

Annual fires change the landscape - it keeps small trees
from growing and maintains what is called a fire climax savanna

In many areas this grass will soon be grazed by cattle, to be ruminated at night in peaceful kraals with their brass bells ringing softly as their jaws move rhythmically, or trampled into dust and eventually returned to the soil either as undigested organic matter or manure: good ecology either way! Often though, as in much of Africa, the inevitable happens, the incredibly fast transition from rich golden biomass to heat, smoke and ash as a fires rage through the dry landscape. The end result of this is a black and ash environment, devoid of any nourishment where regeneration, stimulated by rain, is the only way to new life. 

Total transformation - Black & Ash

Against all odds!

There is always a little happiness when I drive to work through the burnt areas and emerge on the other side…and I always eagerly seek out where the fire ceased its destruction and the grass maintained its presence. Every night I drive home I instinctively look for the red glow in the distance. I hate these fires, but when I come across them I always stop, mesmerized and shaken up by their incredible destructive power, drawn to it. I stop, look and, in a strange way, I enjoy them. There is something about veld fires – the powerful display of energy as light – and even though it is extremely destructive, there is a mysterious and  magical attraction, something that brings about an increase in a man’s heart beat. Perhaps it only happens to Africans, and other people who understand this proud continent, and the processes which drive the transitions here.

Strip roads remain a feature of this landscape connecting
outlying rural areas with vibrant Bulawayo!

Perhaps the fascination with transitions this time of year relates to the instinctive expectation of the new season about to emerge. The sense of excitement, as you smell summer: you look for the changes in the sky, eagerly and subconsciously keeping an eye on the faintest of clouds, only to see them losing their feeble hold on the dry atmosphere. Patience and time will bring about the greatest annual transition…the greening of the earth after a long dry season. 

I should not be too expectant now, it’s only the first week of September, the first rains could be months away…and there are still some severe processes and transitions to play themselves out before then. Like the tiny green grasses I saw emerging on the barren apron of the road this morning, where the veldt burnt some weeks ago. “Residual moisture”, I heard the voice of the rangeland scientist in me; “Stupid ignorant little sods!” answered the cynical side of me, “Good luck to you!” I shouted as I drove by, making a mental note to check upon their progress in the next few weeks.

Mopani leaves dry out during winter - creating lovely colors
which will soon give way to a new season. 

So, transitions would be a good word to keep in mind as I attempt to capture the essence of Motopos, an added component to consider when engaging in Ansell Adam’s visualizing of a subject. I am sure you will see it, whether intentionally focused on it or simply as a natural characteristic of the scene photographed. But look out for it, its omnipresent in our complex and dynamic world!