A wildlife filmmaker is sent on assignment to a remote village in South Africa to make a documentary about the meaning of the buffalo. One hot day, at the tail-end of summer, she arrives in the arid village of Legkophung, home to the Balete – the People of the Buffalo.

She is told by a wary stranger to visit the local chief for answers, as he is the only one who is allowed to talk about their culture. However, the chief is ill and is not available for some time, so the filmmaker goes to the local shop. Here, she meets Mr Matshediso, the owner, who is willing to talk.

He lets on that it is only the old people of the village who really know the stories behind why the buffalo is the totem animal of the Balete people. He introduces the filmmaker to his 85-year-old mother, who knows the buffalo praise poem but has never seen this totem animal that she worships. The filmmaker also meets Mr Matshediso's daughter, Madikoti, who dreams of becoming a game ranger in a nearby nature reserve that has a big herd of buffalo. Although, she admits, she doesn't really believe in the buffalo totem idea.

Over the months the filmmaker continues her search … and through the interactions with the Matshediso family and the villagers, she begins to realise she has her own reasons for wanting to understand the meaning of the buffalo. Ten years ago she was involved in an accident that involved buffaloes. Now she is determined to understand what it all meant.

She learns that many years ago the Balete chief burnt a book containing the history of his people and their relationship to the buffalo. She follows the trail of the burnt book and eventually gets an appointment with the chief, only to come out empty-handed.

So, with the help of Mr Matshediso, the filmmaker sets up a notice board outside his shop to entice people to share their anecdotes, songs, poems and folklore about the buffalo. The response is slow at first, but results in the entire community exploring their buffalo identity … and allows the filmmaker to examine the importance of buffaloes in her own life.


Sundance, Berlin Forum, African, Asian & Latin American Festival - Milan, Hot Docs