Title

!gaunu-tsaxau (the son of the Mantis), the Baboons, and the Mantis

Collection

Lucy Lloyd |xam notebooks

Summary

The son of the Mantis is killed by the Baboons, and restored to life by his father. This piece contains specimens of the manner in which the Bushman language is supposed to be spoken by baboons. By /han≠kass’o (L VIII.-11. 6978-7014, 12. 7065-7094). !gaunu-tsaxau, the son of |kaggen (the Mantis) collects sticks for his father to shoot at the Baboons and comes across some Baboons, who beat him and break his head. |kaggen dreams that the Baboons have killed !gaunu-tsaxau and are playing with his eye. He awakes and goes to join in the Baboons' game and the child's eye smells its father's scent and plays about so that the Baboons cannot catch it. |kaggen catches his child's eye and anoints it with his perspiration and it flies into the air and into the quiver's bag. He flies into the water and speaks to his child's eye, wanting his child to return to life again. It grows back into his son and |kaggen catches him and takes him back home.

Comments

1) Date on p.7070: 16 June, 2) p.6977v: |han≠kass'o heard this from his mother (≠kabbi-an) who he thinks got it from her mother (≠kammi – who was Tsatsi's first wife), 3) pp.6978-7014 of the story were largely translated by D. Bleek, 4) pp.6978v-6879v: see Note on the Bushman kkuirri-ttu (|han≠kass'o's uncle), 5) pp.6980v, 6995v & 7013v: the baboon's speech and the clicks used, 6) p.6999v: see Words and sentences: names of animals, 7) pp.7005v-7008v: see The !nabbe, 8) p.7006v: see Notes on a bird (|kitten-|kitten), 9) p.7010v: see Explanation of !hau-!hau (a hunting charm), 10) pp.7067v-7068v: see Words and sentences: terms for various relationships by marriage, 11) p.7071v: the name of a grass growing near water, 12) pp.7074v-7076v: see Regarding the children of the Mantis, 14) This story is found in Books VIII-11 and VIII-12

Contributors

|han≠kass'o (Klein Jantje) (VIII)

Date

24 May – June 1878

Categories

|kaggen (the Mantis), Transformation

Keywords

|kaggen (the Mantis) , |kaggen (the son of |kaggen, the Baboons, and |kaggen) , |kaggen (his things or Hartebeest's children) , |kaggen (and strangers) , |kaggen (is foolish) , |kaggen (and the Ichneumon) , |kaggen (and |kwammana) , |kaggen (is beaten) , |kaggen (his wounds) , |kaggen (goes into the water) , |kaggen (brings his son back to life) , |kaggen (his fight, or war with the Baboons) , |kaggen (his scent) , |kaggen (his tears) , |kaggen (deceives) , |kaggen (dreams that Baboons have killed his child) , |kaggen (what he says to his things) , |kaggen (aims sticks at people who 'sit on their heels') , |kaggen (shoots at the Baboons) , |kaggen (anoints his son's eye with perspiration) , |kaggen (his son is !gaunu-tsaxau) , |kaggen (the names of his relations) , |kaggen (his child's eye) , |kaggen (resurrects his son) , |kaggen (his actions) , things (|kaggen's 'Hartebeest's children') , things (the son of |kaggen, the Baboons, and |kaggen) , Hartebeest's children (|kaggen's things) , Hartebeest's children (the son of |kaggen, the Baboons, and |kaggen) , dream (|kaggens, that Baboons have killed his son) , dream (the son of |kaggen, the Baboons, and |kaggen) , name (of |kaggen's son is !gaunu-tsaxau) , Ichneumon (the son of |kaggen, the Baboons, and |kaggen) , |kwammana (the son of |kaggen, the Baboons, and |kaggen) , child (|kaggen's son is !gaunu-tsaxau) , child (the son of |kaggen, the Baboons, and |kaggen) , son (|kaggen's is !gaunu-tsaxau) , son (the son of |kaggen, the Baboons, and |kaggen) , !gaunu-tsaxau (–the son of |kaggen, the Baboons, and |kaggen) , !gaunu-tsaxau ('living returns') , !gaunu-tsaxau (the death and resurrection of) , !gaunu-tsaxau (the Baboons play with his eyeball) , perspiration (|kaggen anoints his son's eye with his) , perspiration (the son of |kaggen, the Baboons, and |kaggen) , Baboons (and the son of |kaggen, and |kaggen) , Baboons (are strangers, or 'people who are different') , Baboons (their language or 'special' speech) , Baboons (question !gaunu-tsaxau) , Baboons (play with !gaunu-tsaxau's eyeball) , Baboons (|kaggen's war, or fight with) , Baboons (kill |kaggen's son) , game (Baboons play with !gaunu-tsaxau's eyeball) , death (and resurrection of |kaggen's son, !gaunu-tsaxau) , death (|kaggen brings his son back to life) , language (or special speech of Baboons) , language (the son of |kaggen, the Baboons, and |kaggen) , resurrection (of |kaggen's son, !gaunu-tsaxau) , resurrection (|kaggen anoints his son's eye with his perspiration) , strangers (are 'people who are different') , strangers (Baboons are) , strangers (the son of |kaggen, the Baboons, and |kaggen) , speech (special) , speech (spoken by Baboons) , speech (the son of |kaggen, the Baboons, and |kaggen) , fight (between |kaggen and the Baboons) , fight (the son of |kaggen, the Baboons, and |kaggen)

Story Pages

6978-7014, 7065-7094

Page Images