Nǃxau ǂToma (short: Nǃxau, alternative spelling Gcao Tekene Çoma or Coma; 1944 – 5 July 2003) was a
Namibia
Namibia (, ), officially the Republic of Namibia, is a country in Southern Africa. Its western border is the Atlantic Ocean. It shares land borders with Zambia and Angola to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south and ea ...
n
bush farmer and actor who starred in the 1980 film ''
The Gods Must Be Crazy'' and its sequels, in which he played the
Kalahari Bushman Xixo.
The Namibian
''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...
'' called him "Namibia's most famous actor".[
]
Biography
Nǃxau was a member of the San, also known as Bushmen. He spoke Juǀʼhoan, Otjiherero and Tswana fluently, as well as some Afrikaans
Afrikaans (, ) is a West Germanic language that evolved in the Dutch Cape Colony from the Dutch vernacular of Holland proper (i.e., the Hollandic dialect) used by Dutch, French, and German settlers and their enslaved people. Afrikaans gra ...
.[ He did not know his own exact age,][ and before his appearance in the films he had little experience beyond his home. He had only ever seen three white people before being cast,][ and when director Jamie Uys gave him his first cash payment of $300 for '' The Gods Must Be Crazy'', he allegedly let it blow away in the wind because he did not understand its value.]South African Army
The South African Army is the principal land warfare force of South Africa, a part of the South African National Defence Force (SANDF), along with the South African Air Force, South African Navy and South African Military Health Service. ...
due to the high wages it paid.[ although he used some of his income to build a brick house with running water and electricity for his family.][ He also bought a used car and subsequently hired a ]chauffeur
A chauffeur is a person employed to drive a passenger motor vehicle, especially a luxury vehicle such as a large sedan or limousine.
Originally, such drivers were often personal employees of the vehicle owner, but this has changed to speciali ...
, as he had no desire to learn to drive.[
In addition to ''The Gods Must Be Crazy'', Nǃxau starred in a series of sequels: '']The Gods Must Be Crazy II
''The Gods Must Be Crazy II'' is a 1989 comedy film written and directed by Jamie Uys, and a sequel to the 1980 film ''The Gods Must Be Crazy'', which Uys also wrote and directed. An international co-production between South Africa, Botswana an ...
'', ''Crazy Safari
''Crazy Safari'' (), also known as ''The Gods Must Be Crazy III'', is a 1991 Hong Kong comedy film, directed by Billy Chan. The film is an unofficial sequel to ''The Gods Must Be Crazy II'' and part of a trend of jiangshi fiction, jiangshi films ...
'', ''Crazy Hong Kong
''The Gods Must Be Crazy'' is a series of films starring the Namibian San farmer and actor Nǃxau ǂToma.
Official films ''The Gods Must Be Crazy'' (1980)
The first film released in 1980, written and directed by Jamie Uys. Set in Botswana an ...
'' and ''The Gods Must Be Funny in China
''The Gods Must Be Crazy'' is a series of films starring the Namibian San farmer and actor Nǃxau ǂToma.
Official films ''The Gods Must Be Crazy'' (1980)
The first film released in 1980, written and directed by Jamie Uys. Set in Botswana an ...
''. After his film career ended, he returned to Namibia, where he farmed maize, pumpkins and beans and kept several head of cattle (but no more than 20 at a time because, according to ''The Independent
''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...
'', without the complex farming systems of the "modern world", he had trouble keeping track of more).[ The Namibian local daily ''New Era'' stated that he simply could not count further than 20.][
Nǃxau converted to Christianity and in July 2000, he was baptized as a Seventh-day Adventist.][ ]
On 5 July 2003, he died from multiple-drug-resistant tuberculosis while he was out on an excursion for hunting guineafowl
Guineafowl (; sometimes called "pet speckled hens" or "original fowl") are birds of the family Numididae in the order Galliformes. They are endemic to Africa and rank among the oldest of the gallinaceous birds. Phylogenetically, they branched o ...
. According to official estimates he was about 58 or 59 years old at the time. He was buried on 12 July in a semi-traditional ceremony
A ceremony (, ) is a unified ritualistic event with a purpose, usually consisting of a number of artistic components, performed on a special occasion.
The word may be of Etruscan origin, via the Latin '' caerimonia''.
Church and civil (secular) ...
at Tsumkwe
Tsumkwe (Juǀ'hoan dialect, Juǀ'Hoan: Tjumǃkui) is a settlement in the Otjozondjupa Region of Namibia and the district capital of the Tsumkwe Constituency, Tsumkwe electoral constituency.
Nature and wildlife
The area associated with Tsumkwe exh ...
, next to the grave
A grave is a location where a dead body (typically that of a human, although sometimes that of an animal) is buried or interred after a funeral. Graves are usually located in special areas set aside for the purpose of burial, such as grave ...
of his second wife. He had six surviving children.[
]
Filmography
Notes
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Nxau
1944 births
2003 deaths
People from Otjozondjupa Region
Namibian actors
21st-century deaths from tuberculosis
Tuberculosis deaths in Namibia
San people
Converts to Adventism
Namibian Seventh-day Adventists
20th-century Namibian people
21st-century Namibian people