Nǃxau

Nǃxau ǂToma
N!xau in 2003.
Born	circa 1944 Tsumkwe, Namibia
Died	1 July 2003 Tsumkwe, Namibia
Other names	N!xau Gǃkau Gcao Tekene Coma
Occupation	Bush farmer, actor
Years active	1980–1994

Nǃxau ǂToma^[1] (short: Nǃxau , alternative spelling Gcao Tekene Coma, ca. 1943 – 1 July 2003) was a Namibian bush farmer and actor who was made famous by his roles in the 1980 movie The Gods Must Be Crazy and its sequels, in which he played the Kalahari Bushman Xixo.^[2][3] The Namibian called him "Namibia's most famous actor".^[4]

Biography

N!xau was a member of the San tribe, commonly known as Bushmen. He spoke Juǀʼhoan, Otjiherero and Tswana fluently, as well as some Afrikaans.^[4] He did not know his own exact age,^[2][4] and before his appearance in the films he had little experience of typical "modern" living: he had only ever seen three white people before being cast^[2] and was unaware of the value of paper money, allowing (according to legend) his first earnings for The Gods Must Be Crazy to literally blow away in the wind.^[2][4]

He earned only a few hundred dollars for his work in The Gods Must Be Crazy, but by the time of the first sequel he was educated about the purpose and value of money within the "civilized world" and negotiated a much larger sum for the film.^[2] Regardless, he did come from a culture that did not value the material things that money could buy and subsequently had never before learned money management skills, "he did not have the skills to manage his income,"^[4] although he used some of it to build a brick house with running water and electricity for his family.^[2]

In addition to The Gods Must Be Crazy, N!xau starred in a series of sequels: The Gods Must Be Crazy II, Crazy Safari, Crazy Hong Kong and The Gods Must Be Funny in China. 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 twenty at a time because, according to The Independent, without the complex farming systems of the "modern world," he had trouble keeping track of more).^[2] The local daily New Era (Namibia) stated that he simply could not count farther than twenty.^[3]

On 1 July 2003, he died from multiple-drug-resistant tuberculosis^[4] while he was hunting guinea fowl. According to official estimates he was about 59 years old at the time.^[4] He was buried on 12 July in a semi-traditional ceremony at Tsumkwe, next to the grave of his second wife.^[4] He was survived by six children.

Filmography

• The Gods Must Be Crazy (1983) (Actor)
• The Gods Must Be Crazy II (1988) (Actor)
• Kwacca Strikes Back (1990) (Actor)
• Crazy Safari (1991) (Actor)
• Crazy Hong Kong (1993) (Actor)
• The Gods Must be Funny in China (1994) (Actor)
• Sekai Ururun Taizaiki (1996) (Himself)

References

1. ^ The exclamation mark in his name is a symbol for a click consonant in his native tongue, Juǀʼhoan. The spelling of his full name Gcao Coma suggests that it is a voiced dental click.
2. ^ ^{a b c d e f g} Vallance, Tom (10 July 2003). "N!xau: Kalahari bushman who became an international film star". The Independent. http://www.independent.co.uk/news/obituaries/nxau-755451.html. Retrieved 19 January 2009. 
3. ^ ^{a b} Shiremo, Shampapi (30 September 2011). "Gcao Tekene Coma: Internationally acclaimed Namibian film star (±1944-2003)". New Era. http://www.newera.com.na/article.php?articleid=40929. 
4. ^ ^{a b c d e f g h} Tangeni, Amupadhi (11 July 2003). "Cgao Coma - bridging ancient and modern". The Namibian. Archived from the original on 31 July 2003. http://web.archive.org/web/20030731075751/http://www.namibian.com.na/2003/june/national/03E045E14E.html. Retrieved 19 January 2009. 

External links

Biography portal

• Nǃxau at the Internet Movie Database
• Nǃxau at Find a Grave

Persondata
Name	Nǃxau
Alternative names	N!xau, Gǃkau, Gcao Coma
Short description	Bush farmer, actor
Date of birth	ca. 16 December 1944
Place of birth	Tsumkwe, Namibia
Date of death	1 July 2003
Place of death	Tsumkwe, Namibia