Mar 29, 2010: Hand Jive

[xoxoxoBruce]

For the majority of South Africans, the unregulated minibus taxis are the only option for public transportation. A system of hand signs has developed to signal these taxis. Artist Susan Woolf learned and published a booklet of them, which the Post Office used to issue a series of stamps.

In a nation with 11 official languages, the hand signals are a universal "12th" language that crosses cultural lines. Each signal pinpoints a specific route in street-side finger lingo that is used to bring jam-packed minibuses to a swift, traffic defying halt.
Knowledge is key to reaching a desired destination: an upward index finger goes to Johannesburg's inner city, a gun style-point is for Alexandra township, and a splayed hand will go to upmarket Rosebank.
"As soon as you have the wrong sign, they take you to the wrong place. So it's important to have the right sign," said Hlile Doshane, 52, who is a daily passenger. "If you show the wrong sign, it means you are lost."

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