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the spirit of water • magda minguzzi
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Fig.82 Klip Drift fish traps: plan and diagrammatic section based on the site survey next page Fig.83-84 Klip Drift: points marked A and B indicate the fish traps positions on the site
The trap located to the west of the site is a stone tidal weir, a sort of dam of about 11 metres in length, with a single-room trap, about 5 metres in diameter, on one side toward the middle of the wall. On the eastern side of the site there is a single-room, circular trap with a diameter of about 10 metres, similar to the single-room traps surveyed at Cape Recife and Oyster Bay. In the aerial photographs one can clearly see that the stones had been moved from their original positions in order to build the walls of the traps. As a consequence of this relocating of the stones, the bottoms of the traps are sandy and there are fish to be found. We can imagine that the sandy floor of the trap made it easier to use pointed fishing tools like the spears used by the KhoiSan. Here too, like at Cape Recife, the traps always have water in them which makes them perfect for acting as fish nurseries or for aquaculture. Final points As we can see from the case studies, the fish traps worked closely with the tides, the wind, the ocean currents, changes in level and the consequent flows of the water. They take into account the form and dimensions of the rock formations which allow water to enter the coastal intertidal zone at specific points and the position, shape and dimensions of the walls of the tidal fish traps are in perfect synergy with this universe of constantly moving water.
