Legends of the Lake

Legends of the Lake

Running Time: 1 x 48 mins

“Everyone has beliefs… we know, that our being is in the lake” – Chief Ntsundeni Netshiavha. This film juxtaposes the ancient wisdom to the contemporary scientific knowledge, therefore exposes the impact of both schools of thought in encouraging communal solutions towards the future.

For over a hundred years, the Vhatavhatsindi known as the “People of the Pool”, have safe guarded, protected and conserved Lake Fundudzi; South Africa’s only inland lake, by performing rituals for their ancestors and observing traditional laws. Yet with modernization and development, such traditional laws are no longer being observed. In this film we see why Lake Fundudzi is in a state of demise and how this state marks the beginning of a bitter struggle as potential investors are earmarking Lake Fundudzi for eco-tourism business development, much to the protest and disapproval of Vhatavhatsindi. The Vhata-vhatsindi maintain that any development around the lake would anger their Ancestors as Lake Fundudzi is a sacred place where the souls of the Ancestors rest.

This film juxtaposes the ancient wisdom to the contemporary scientific knowledge, therefore exposes the impact of both schools of thought in encouraging communal solutions towards the future.