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The first time I met Suakhwe Bushman elder Cobra Kepile was on a safari in Makgadikgadi Botswana, about 25 years ago.
It was the day that something re-arranged within me. I felt as if I had just met an ancestor. Softly spoken, with arresting blue eyes, Cobra introduced himself. I felt like I was not only meeting one man, but thousands of generations. Of timeless belonging. As if he was a gatekeeper into 50 000 years of heritage, traditional wisdom and indigenous lifeways. A space that fascinated me. Little did I know at the time, how this remarkable man would go on to shape my life. Over the years, I connected with him whenever we returned to Makgadikgadi on safari. It was a standard request of ours to the outfitter: time in the bush with Cobra. He was always a steady wise influence, and very few of our clients or colleagues departed the desert without a sense of peace. Born from time spent with Cobra. I had never before, nor since, met anyone would appeared to belong so naturally, so effortlessly. Beneath his deeply wrinkled weather-beaten face lies many a deep story. And behind his piercing gaze lies many years of squinting at the horizon, at the ancient landscapes of Makgadikgadi, the “Great Big Nothing”. A man of very few words, Cobra can say 'nothing' in one hundred different languages. He speaks a universal dialect of the soul. Even the trees, the animals, the birds know him. If it could be said that man’s fundamental search in life is to find belonging, contentment, inner peace, then Cobra has much to offer us all. Regardless of our colour, career or creed. The old man retired as a guide a few years ago, and now lives in a small remote village on the edge of the Makgadikgadi Pans called Gweta, some 200 km’s south-east of Maun. In sincere appreciation of Cobra's immense impact, the company he worked for gifted him with a small house. A simple affair complete with running water and electricity, which in rural Botswana, is more like a small palace. At the time, he didn’t need it, so he gave it away. He also was gifted a herd of goats, which in this part of the world is pretty much seen a retirement investment or pension policy. He was not in need of them at the time. So he gave them away. Because the only thing a Bushman knows is how, and why, to share. Take a moment to let that sink in. The capacity to give away a house - and goats - attests to Bushman lifeway principles. That meaning and success is not necessarily defined by accumulation. That survival in the desert depends on building, maintaining and trusting your ecosystem; that your support system would provide you with a goat when needed. This is the only life way the man knows. About 3 months ago, Sarah and I visited Cobra in Gweta. He is never apart from his beloved wife and constant companion Banchani. Despite his age and frailty there is a unique ‘aliveness’ to him. His eyes miss nothing. He is as sharp as a razor. Due to a recent stroke he has lost much of the use of his right arm, and we can tell he deeply misses the days of the horizon-less Makgadikgadi and the freedom the desert brings. On that day he looked a little unsettled and troubled. We asked him what we could possibly do to help him feel more comfortable. Silently he turned to look at an unfinished and somewhat neglected shell of a small hut in his yard. The walls were incomplete and there was no floor, door, windows or roofing. “I would love to have a roof on my house,” he said gently. Sarah and I, lost for words, stared at each other. So we took this story to our ecosystem of friends, colleagues and supporters. Some of them had met Cobra in the bush, others had only heard of him in story, and his profound impact, through our eyes and ears over the years. And with the generous kindness of our ecosystem, we were able to give Cobra and Banchani a goat. A goat in the form of a complete house. As a retired goat-giver, it was the very least we could do. Lead Wild plays this Living Heritage forward, to allow the river of traditional wisdom to keep flowing. For Living Heritage is not something you can possess, it is something you can only participate in. The keystone of our leadership philosophy is built on this: honouring and re-energising the immense value of traditional lifeways. Our spiritual inheritance. And exploring how this is still so deeply relevant in modern times, and within modern leadership principles. Our story with Cobra continues .... ALAN & SARAH McSMITH 19 AUG 2026 |
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