Title

Dorothea Bleek - Book BC151_A3_019

Collection

Dorothea Bleek notebooks

Summary

Auen notebook, volume VIII. Much description of daily life, current life and personl history, including relations with others and the inhabitants of the area/settlement. There are interesting descriptions of dancing, sorcery, healing and magic animals, as well as practises relating to death and marriage and family life. There is much given relating to hunting, cooking, eating and finding food, as well as the coming of Christianity to the people and associated beliefs. There are also many names and descriptions of artefacts such as weapons, instruments and ornaments and dress.

Comments

1) p.482: 14.12.21. Anni u. Description of picture shown to her by DB; 2) p.483: 15.12.21. |kukurrib & |ki !kai (Anni u's husband), waiting for the arrival of donkey's, comment on people riding them, the arrival and departure of 2 masters, and a Baas who she spoke to, a comparison between Nama and 'Klip kaffirs', baas was asking about 'a |kukurrib' who has run away, they were afraid, ironing clothes with the missus; 3) p.484: 17.12.21. Anni u. Describing different peoples, possibly from a picture shown to her, describes tasks she sees, a description of the 'war game', dancing, 'playing the bows', a reference to Stow p.46 (probably a picture being shown), how old men made the things shown, not the people, describes chipping open an ostrich eggshell to use as watervessel and for making beads from, making & threading beads, some personal history - someone dies leaving 2 orphans, Makoba are bad people because they 'roast and eat the people, the Bushmen in the pot and eat them', making a clay pipe, mentions dagga, making arrow & quiver ; 4) p.487: 20.12.21. Anni u and ||ka she |nau, an old man. Describing the making of a pipe, about ostriches & the hunting of them, wildebeest and boars, hunting and weapons, people 'striking the bow', 'a tortoise [?] gourd, people make it and play it Auen make it', making and playing musical instruments; 5) p.488: 22.12.21. Baases coming and going on donkeys, contemporary history of the place, who is there, about praying to Jesus for food, the Lord's things, 'God made heaven', 'He prays that he save me once more', how the narrator worked for a German [?], they [Germans?] went when they were finished, 'the Namas taught us - Namas told us to pray. Namas thus prayed Namas said, the millipede is God's things. These things of the Namaquas, taught them to sing hymns, of which he gave one tune', how they do not take the millipede as they are afraid- 'a sorcerer takes it', grinds & mixes it & rubs it around the eyes, 'a wizard does this' and rubs while the people dance the '!ne ya'[?]; 6) p.489v: 23.12.21. |kwi |kei and |kukurib. Personal history, work and two 'Kaffirs' from Olifantskloof, on wind and rain and things that are good to eat at 'Krismas', peoples who live there, dying for tobacco, personal history & origins; 7) p.491: 24.12.21; 8) p.491v: 26.12.21. |kwi |ke. Trapping a steenbuck, killing it, making kaross out of skin, worn by a woman, about people from Korixas coming to visit Anni u and make houses, collect food, sorcerers - magic bird, the sparrow[?] and wasps, sparrows are feared; 9) p.493: 28.12.21 Anni u. Gathering berries, what the different people call the berries (the Naron, the Auen), about a cobra, death and burial (due to cobra bite possibly); 10) p.495: 29.12.31. |kwi |kei [ku?]. Flowertime, eating oinkies, seasons, making fire and burning, using a riem, fever and sickness of the people ('coughing is the illness'), daily life; 11) p.496: 30.12.21. |kukurrib. Dress and ornaments, dancing & playing the bow, playing war game [description of same picture possibly?]; 12) p.497v: 31.12.21. Anni u. Names for relations, wives roles, marriage, the Auen married two women, personal history; 13) p.499: 1.1.22. Drawing water and other daily life, words, 'the moon is dead, another comes', the new moon described; 14) p.500: 4.1.22. |kwi |ke & |kukuri. A fragment of a story about a bird near the water; 15) p.501: 6.1.22. |kwi |ke & |kukuri. The coming and going of many people, likens the cobra to a wizard of whom the people are afraid, mentions the porcupine's sleeping place, fetching water, 'the cow is good. Not pretty.', game throwing sticks; 16) p.502v: 7.1.22. Daily life, milking cows, dancing after rainfall; 17) p.503v: 10.1.22. |kwi |ke. Fragment of Moon and hare story: origins of death, 'The Moon took the axe and split the Hare's mouth the Hare died. Hare says the men shall die and the women live and you shall carry them. But the Moon said all shall live men and women and bear children and be many people.' , catching and eating locusts and beetles, oxen and horses at waterholes; 18) p.505v: 13.1.22. |kwi |ke. Fragment of Lion and Jackal story, a stone and water [?]; 19) p.506: 13.1.22. Anni u. Lion and hyena, what she knows about the hyena from her youth, trying to remember the Hyena and Lion story but cannot; 20) p.507v: wagons coming & mention of relations; 21) p.508: 31.1.22. |kukuri & |kwikeba. On death and becoming a spirit (||gauwa), method of burial, when there are no stones to cover bushes are used, on seeing a spirit when a person dies, about the 'big captain', like a great white man, seems to ride a horse, a good spirit, takes dead men away, gives men plenty to eat, about a white man's captain (Huwaba - God?) who 'talk to white men and other people in dreams', 'while the Bushman's captain has no things, is poor'; 22) p.569v: 7.2.22. |kukuri. Seasons, hunting, winds, names for different winds; 23) p.510v: 7.2.22. |na, Anni u's uncle. Personal history, 'Huwa is the rain' the Auen say, makes people, people cut him between the eyes and dance the |gi dance, cutting, spirits of dead people come; 24) p.512: 8.2.22. |kukuri. People eat locusts, 10.2.22. Names for stars and constellations; 25) p.512v: 11.2.22. |kukuri & |kwi |ke. Baboons, habits of, who eats them, Bushmen do not, Klipkaffirs do, what God says about killing baboons and punishment, they are sorcerers, 'talks and dances like a Bushman'; 26) p.513v: 12.2.22. |kwi |kai. Berries in ears, collecting honey, making drums, the end of the drumstick put in fire and used by sorcerer to make burns on dancers along their spines, 'it is the young men who are so burned while dancing'; 27) p.574v: 19.2.22. Storks, locusts and dancing; 28) p.575: 24.2.22. |kwi |kai. Personal history as a child; 29) pp. 516-552 are blank.

Contributors

Anni u, |kwi |ke/|kwi |kei, |kwi |kai, |kwikeba, |kukurib, |ki |kai, ||ka she |nau

Date

December 1921- February 1922

Categories

Healing and ailing, History (personal), Custom and daily life, Relations with others, Artefact and dress

Story Pages

482-552

Page Images