Narrated by Anna Afrikaner
!Nau-i is a body make up or powder, mainly applied on the face and legs. !Nau-i is made from soft stones mainly found at some rocky or mountainous areas.
Ms. Afrikaner narrated that she use to see her grandmother applying it on her skin and she is also using it now.
To prepare this make up, one need to know the types of stones that are used to make !Nau-i. You then need to go to the rocky area, collect the stones and ground them. Once! Nau-i is grounded, it can be mixed with milk until it becomes creamy. It can then be applied in the face or legs for decoration. !Nau-i can also be used to cover sunburn or dark spots, and it can also be mixed with animal fat to apply on the children’s skin during winter. !Nau-i is either mixed with water, fresh milk of fat, but it works better when mixed with fat. The fat function as a face protector against sun rays.
!Nau-i is not only used for beatifying but is also applied on the blisters. It blends in well with the skin colour when applied on the burnt spots. It is also used by girls as decorations during beauty contestants. !Nau-I can also be mixed with a little bit of mud to have a mixed colour. It can be red or yellow depending on the stone used. It is mostly used by women and not men. Culturally, all ladies make use of this make up but some ladies are allergic to it. !Nau-i can also be grounded for packaging and it can be stored in a sealed plastic, it maintains its quality for a long time.
The skills of making this powder is learnt through observation and experimenting when the elder women are making it. The elders would like this practice to be continued and the skills need to be preserved for the future generations. Ms. Afrikaner emphasized the importance of using! Nau-I and further indicated this practice can be further developed, for the community members to be able to produce !Nau-i in quantity and produce it for profit making.
Children should be taken to the fields to learn how to identify the stones used to make !Nau-I and if one visit another area or develop an interest to make !Nau-i, it is important to firstly approach the knowledgeable community members for assistance.