The origin of the Moon

Metadata

Title

The origin of the Moon

Collection

Lucy Lloyd |xam notebooks

Contributor

kabbo (Jantje) (II)

Summary

The origin of the Moon is an episode in the story of the Mantis and his pet eland. When the Suricats, who were present at the cutting up of the eland, ill-treated the Mantis, he found upon a bush another eland's gall-bladder, and this (as mentioned above) he pierced and broke, thereby creating a darkness into which he sprang; but, being inconvenienced by it, he took off one of his shoes and threw it into the sky, with the order that it should become the Moon. Thus the Moon is red, because the shoe of the Mantis was covered with the red dust of the Bushmanland, and cold, because it is only leather. We have two versions of this myth, a shorter one (LII.-24. 482-486), and a longer one, in which a good deal of conversation is introduced (BII. 379-390, 421-428, III.429-433), of which the final speech of the Mantis, as treating of the reasons for the changes of the Moon, is referred to the latter heading.

Comments

1) p.482: this story was told by ||kabbo's maternal grandfather (Tonno wwo) to his daughter (!kui ang), ||kabbo's mother, who told it to ||kabbo, 2) p.481v: a note on !kao (a little animal) who shot the eland with his arrow, 3) See also

Type

story

Date

18 September 1871 (started) (translated 30 July 1915 by Dorothea Bleek)

Category

|kaggen (the Mantis)

Celestial bodies and aeroscopy

Keyword

Meerkat ( suricate )

Meerkat ( and origin of Moon )

Meerkat ( kills |kaggen's pet eland )

Meerkat ( and |kaggen )

|kaggen ( and origin of Moon )

|kaggen ( the Mantis )

|kaggen ( and Meerkat )

|kaggen ( his pet eland )

|kaggen ( and eland's gall )

|kaggen ( his veldskoen )

|kaggen ( creates Moon from his shoe )

shoe ( or veldskoen )

shoe ( |kaggen's )

shoe ( and origin of Moon )

eland ( gall of )

eland ( and origin of Moon )

eland ( |kaggen's pet )

eland ( gall is pierced by |kaggen )

eland ( killed by Meercat )

Moon ( and |kaggen, eland and Meerkat )

Moon ( creation of )

Moon ( origin of )

Moon ( is |kaggen's shoe )

Moon ( and eland's gall )

Moon ( is shoe )

Moon ( is red )

Moon ( rises and sets )

origin ( of Moon )

creation ( of Moon )

veldskoen ( |kaggen's shoe with which he creates the Moon )

Story Pages

482-486

Contents

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