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Story: How an Elephant steals a young Springbok from |kaggen (the Mantis) or Pet Springbok carried off by an Elephant

Title

How an Elephant steals a young Springbok from |kaggen (the Mantis) or Pet Springbok carried off by an Elephant

Collection

Summary

The pet springbok of the Mantis carried off by an Elephant, while the Mantis is in a hole, digging out sweet food for it,–the Elephant substitutes her own calf,–the inarticulate reply of the latter to the questions of the Mantis leads to the discovery of the deception,–the Mantis kills the calf and follows the spoor of its mother. He recognizes his pet, who is immediately swallowed by the mother Elephant,–dialogue,–entry of the Mantis into the body of the elephant, notwithstanding the attacks of her companions,–death of the elephant,–rescue of the young springbok,–triumphant departure of the Mantis with his pet, through the midst of the angry and threatening elephants. This myth is in the Katkop dialect, and was told to Día!kwãin by his mother #kámme-an. It is partly written down by L. (B XXV. 2416–2424, 2429–2431, 2433 and 2434, XXVI.2435–2473). An Elephant carries away the little Springbok on her back while |kaggen (the Mantis) is inside a hole digging for food. |kaggen calls to the little Springbok from inside the hole but it does not answer him. The Elephant-calf answers him instead, but not with a nice sound. |kaggen thinks that the soil he has thrown out of the hole has stuck in the little Springbok's throat. |kaggen emerges from the hole to see why the child's throat sounds as it does. He finds the Elephant-calf lying there covered with soil from the hole, strikes the calf and knocks it down, killing it. |kaggen tracks the departed Elephant by its spoor but decides to return home to tell his sister (who is the Blue Crane) about the theft of the child. The sister scolds him for sleeping in the hole and not hearing what occurred. |kaggen asks for food so that he may follow the Elephant to its place. He tells his sister she must watch for when the grass blows from another direction, for that is when he will return with the child. He finds the Elephant's house and sees the little Springbok playing with the Elephant children, and calls out to it. The Elephant sees |kaggen coming and swallows the Springbok child. |kaggen demands that the Elephant give the child back and enters her navel to fetch the child, whom he fastens onto his back. The other people try to stab |kaggen to death, so he exits through the Elephant's trunk and flies away to return the child to his sister.

Comments

1) This story was told to Dia!kwain (David Hoesar) by his mother (≠kamme-an), 2) p.2416v: notes on bees and the Blenner fly and their making of holes for their grubs, 3) p.2419v: note on the |xam word for a digging-stick, 4) p.2440v: a note on a 'urina' or little hole; the |xam name for the Springbok child (after its grandmother), 5) p.2447v: the |xam word meaning 'beloved child', 6) p.2456v: the Elephants in this story were people (and were armed with assegais), 7) p.2457v: the |xam name for a springbok skin used for fastening and carrying children upon the back (the legs are tied at the front), 8) p.2463v: the |xam name of a wizard, enchanter or prophet, one who knows everything and is invisible but can see you ('kwo-kwa ssi-kuiten'), 9) The Blue Crane is |kaggen's sister (see The Blue Crane and the girls: pp.2261-2271), 10) This story is found in Book XXV and Book XXVI