Nǃxau ǂToma

Nǃxau ǂToma[lower-alpha 1] (short: Nǃxau, alternative spelling Gcao Tekene Çoma; c. 1944 – 5 July 2003) was a Namibian 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.[1][2] The Namibian called him "Namibia's most famous actor".[3]

Nǃxau ǂToma
Nǃxau in 2003
Bornc. 1944
Tsumkwe, South West Africa, South Africa
(present-day Namibia)
Died5 July 2003(2003-07-05) (aged 58–59)
Tsumkwe, Namibia
Other namesNǃxau
Gǃkau
Gcao Tekene Çoma
Occupation(s)Bush farmer, actor
Years active1980–1994

Biography

Nǃxau was a member of the ǃKung people, one of several peoples known as Bushmen. He spoke Juǀʼhoan, Otjiherero and Tswana fluently, as well as some Afrikaans.[3] He did not know his own exact age,[1][3] and before his appearance in the films he had little experience beyond his home. He had only ever seen three white people prior to casting,[1] 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.[4][1][3] This was despite money already being a serious matter for other San, since many of them depended on purchased food and government aid and/or had enlisted in the South African Army due to the high wages it paid.[5] He was, however, able to negotiate for near several hundred thousand for his appearance in the sequel.[6] He came from a culture that did not value the material things that money could buy and consequently had not learned money management skills,[3] although he used some of his income to build a brick house with running water and electricity for his family.[1] He also bought a used car and subsequently hired a chauffeur, as he had no desire to learn to drive.[4]

In addition to The Gods Must Be Crazy, Nǃxau 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 20 at a time because, according to The Independent, without the complex farming systems of the "modern world", he had trouble keeping track of more).[1] The Namibian local daily New Era stated that he simply could not count further than 20.[2]

Nǃxau converted to Christianity and in July 2000, he was baptized as a Seventh-day Adventist.[7][8]

He was found dead in late June 2003 near his home in Namibia after going out to collect wood and on an excursion for hunting guineafowl.[9] He died from multiple-drug-resistant tuberculosis. 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 at Tsumkwe, next to the grave of his second wife. He had six surviving children.[3]

Filmography
Year Title Role Notes
1980The Gods Must Be CrazyXi[4]
1989The Gods Must Be Crazy IIXixo[4]
1991Crazy SafariNǃxau The Bushman[4]
1993Crazy Hong KongXi[4]
1994The Gods Must be Funny in ChinaNixau - Bushman[4] (final film role)

Notes
  1. The letter in his name that looks like an exclamation mark is an alveolar consonant in his native language of Juǀʼhoan.

References
  1. Vallance, Tom (10 July 2003). "Nǃxau: Kalahari bushman who became an international film star". The Independent. Retrieved 19 January 2009.
  2. Shiremo, Shampapi (30 September 2011). "Gcao Tekene Coma: Internationally acclaimed Namibian film star (±1944–2003)". New Era. Archived from the original on 15 May 2012.
  3. Tangeni, Amupadhi (11 July 2003). "Cgao Coma – bridging ancient and modern". The Namibian. Archived from the original on 31 July 2003. Retrieved 19 January 2009.
  4. "Nǃxau". The Telegraph. 10 July 2003. Archived from the original on 3 November 2020. Retrieved 10 September 2019.
  5. Volkman, Toby Alice (19 May 1985). "Despite the Movie, There's Little to Laugh at in Bushmanland". The New York Times. Retrieved 24 July 2020.
  6. Archives, L. A. Times (7 July 2003). "N!xau; Delighted Audiences in 'The Gods Must Be Crazy'". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 3 August 2023.
  7. Tania Calais. "God Isn't Crazy". Signs of the Times. Archived from the original on 25 November 2010.
  8. Sebastian Tirtirau; Dan Serb. "Reaching the Unreached" (10 minutes in). YouTube. Archived from the original on 12 December 2021. Michael Kunz's channel on YouTube
  9. Jere, Joshua (6 September 2019). "Meet The Namibian Actor Who Helped Gross $60m For The 1980 Film 'The Gods Must Be Crazy' And Was Paid $300". ZNBC. Retrieved 29 July 2023.
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