Notebooks
Story: The Mantis makes an eland
Title
The Mantis makes an eland
Collection
Summary
The Mantis (/kaggen) makes and brings up a young eland. /kwámmana, who is informed of its existence by the Ichneumon, kills it, to the grief of /kaggen. The latter, having pierced the gall of the dead eland, takes an ostrich feather to wipe it from his eyes, which feather he then throws up into the sky, ordering it to become the Moon. A description of porcupine hunting, in which the moonlight is of service, follows. This story, which /han≠kass’o had from his mother, /Xabbi–an, throws light upon one or two points which had remained somewhat obscure in the versions earlier collected (L VIII.-6. 6506-6595 1/2). |kaggen (the Mantis) takes one of |kwammana's shoes and soaks it in the water. It grows into an eland and |kaggen returns to look at it again and again. The Ichneumon sees the eland while he is pretending to sleep and tells his father (|kwammana) about the eland. While |kaggen is away, |kwammana kills the eland. |kaggen is angry with the people for killing the eland without telling him, as he is the one who made it. He pierces a gall, which breaks and covers him so that he can no longer see. He finds a feather, which he picks up and throws into the sky and which becomes the Moon.
Comments
1) This story was translated by Dorothea Bleek in 1914, 2) p.6505opp: |han≠kass'o heard this from his mother (≠kammi-an), 3) p.6508v: a noise made when hunting springbok, 4) p.6546v: the name of !ko !nuin tata's sister, who was one of the Early Race (or !xwe ||na ss'o !kui), 5) p.6576v: see The coming of lion, 6) This story is found in Book VIII-6
Contributors
|han≠kass'o (Klein Jantje) (VIII)
Date
21 March – 5 April 1878
Categories
|kaggen (the Mantis), Celestial bodies and aeroscopy
Keywords
|kaggen (the Mantis) , |kaggen (makes an eland) , |kaggen (is the eland's 'father') , |kaggen (his actions) , |kaggen ('cuts' honey for the eland) , |kaggen (deceives) , |kaggen (makes an eland) , |kaggen (creates the Moon) , |kaggen (his pet eland) , |kaggen (pierces the eland's gall) , |kaggen (his relations) , |kaggen (and |kwammana) , |kaggen (and the Ichneumon) , |kaggen (tells the feather to become the Moon) , |kaggen (his pet eland) , |kaggen (instructs the Moon) , Moon (its origins) , Moon (its doings) , Moon (the resurrection of) , Moon ('falls away') , Moon ('living comes') , Moon (and |kaggen's making of the eland) , Moon (lights the darkness) , Moon (|kaggen creates) , Moon (the ostrich feather becomes) , Moon (and the eland's gall) , Moon (|kaggen's instructions to) , eland (|kaggen makes an eland) , eland (the actions of) , eland (and the reeds) , eland (is |kwammana's shoe) , eland (grows in the water) , eland (is |kaggen's 'child' or pet) , eland (|kaggen makes) , eland (and honey) , eland (its gall) , eland (the creation of) , eland (and the creation of the Moon) , eland (|kaggen calls it '|kwammana's shoes') , |kwammana (|kaggen makes an eland) , |kwammana (kills |kaggen's eland) , |kwammana (his shoe becomes an eland in the water) , |kwammana (|kaggen calls eland '|kwammana's shoes') , transformation (of a feather into the Moon) , transformation (of |kwammana's shoe into an eland) , transformation (|kaggen makes an eland) , eland's gall (|kaggen makes an eland) , eland's gall (|kaggen pierces it) , eland's gall (and the creation of the Moon) , Ichneumon (|kaggen makes an eland) , honey (|kaggen feeds it to his eland) , honey (|kaggen 'cuts') , honey (|kaggen rubs his eland with) , honey (|kaggen makes an eland) , ostrich feather (which becomes the Moon) , ostrich feather (and |kaggen's creation of the Moon) , ostrich feather (|kaggen makes an eland) , shoe (eland created from |kwammana's) , shoe (|kaggen calls eland '|kwammana's shoes') , shoe (|kaggen makes an eland from) , feather (ostrich) , feather (which becomes the Moon) , feather (and |kaggen's creation of the Moon) , feather (|kaggen makes an eland) , origin (of the Moon) , origin (feather which becomes the Moon) , origin (and |kaggen's creation of the Moon) , origin (|kaggen makes an eland) , creation (of the Moon) , creation (feather which becomes the Moon) , creation (and |kaggen's creation of the Moon) , creation (|kaggen makes an eland) , gall (eland's) , gall (|kaggen pierces it) , gall (and the creation of the Moon) , gall (|kaggen makes an eland) , name (of the eland) , name (|kaggen calls the eland '|kwammana's shoes') , name (|kaggen makes an eland) , pet (|kaggen's eland) , pet (|kaggen makes an eland) , child (the eland is |kaggen's) , child (or pet) , child (|kaggen makes an eland)
Story Pages
6505-6582
