|kaggen (the Mantis) and the Moon (version 1)

|kaggen (the Mantis) and the Moon (version 1)

Wilhelm Bleek notebooks

kabbo (Jantje) (II)

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-treaded 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. Whilst in the preceding myths of the Mantis, the Moon, according to its origin, is only a piece of leather (a shoe of the Mantis),-in Bushman astrological mythology the Moon is looked upon as a man who incurs the wrath of the Sun, and is consequently pierced by the knife (i.e. rays) of the latter. This process is repeated until almost the whole of the Moon is cut away, and only one little piece left; which the Moon piteously implores the Sun to spare for his (the Moon's) children. (As mentioned above, the Moon is in Bushman mythology a male being.) From this little piece, the Moon gradually grows again until it becomes a full moon, when the Sun's stabbing and cutting processes recommence.- This explanation of the Moon's changes is given in four versions; the longest of which (although as yet unfinished) is in a speech made by the Mantis, when he had created the Moon. BIII. 434-437, 432a-437a, 438-460, 501-514, IV. 515-526, 528-584, V. 585-590, XVL. 1497-1590, XVII. 1591-1683, XVIII 1698-1711, 1725-1758)

1) p.422v: A note on the throat arteries, which house the thinking strings and are the instruments of thought, 2) p.547v: names of groups of |xam: Flat and Hartebeest River |xam, the

story

1871, 1872, March 1873 (notes added)

|kaggen (the Mantis)

Celestial bodies and aeroscopy

Sun ( |kaggen and the Moon and )

Sun ( follows the Moon's spoor )

Sun ( rises and sets )

Sun ( and the death of the Moon )

Sun ( and the creation of the Moon )

Sun ( about )

Sun ( doings of )

Sun ( armpit of )

Sun ( armhole of )

Sun ( weapons of )

Sun ( assegai of )

Sun ( knife of )

Sun ( rays of )

Sun ( house of )

Sun ( spear of )

Sun ( stabs )

Sun ( cuts the Moon's side )

Sun ( is angry )

Sun ( pierces the Moon )

Moon ( |kaggen and the Moon )

Moon ( body parts of )

Moon ( what the people say about )

Moon ( and the |xam )

Moon ( 'running meets the clouds' )

Moon ( lights the ground )

Moon ( 'stands' )

Moon ( footpath of )

Moon ( talks )

Moon ( parts of )

Moon ( father of )

Moon ( children of )

Moon ( size of )

Moon ( waxes and wanes )

Moon ( wound of )

Moon ( lives and dies )

Moon ( resurrection of )

Moon ( death of )

Moon ( |kaggen makes )

Moon ( and the Meerkats )

Moon ( and the eland's gall )

Moon ( doings of )

Moon ( colour of )

Moon ( appearance of )

Moon ( 'the devil's veldschoen' )

Moon ( 'thinking strings' of )

Moon ( is pierced )

Moon ( is cut )

Moon ( light of )

Moon ( shines )

Moon ( sets )

Moon ( little )

Moon ( cool )

Moon ( side of )

Moon ( relations of )

Moon ( wife of )

Moon ( backbone of )

Moon ( red )

Moon ( 'great one' )

Moon ( 'softly goes' )

Moon ( 'gently goes' )

Moon ( house of )

Moon ( children are clever and 'understand' )

Moon ( pain of )

Moon ( head of )

Moon ( flesh smells badly )

Moon ( round )

Moon ( new )

Moon ( old )

Moon ( full )

Moon ( three-quarter )

Moon ( like fire )

Moon ( grown-up )

Moon ( belly of )

Moon ( neck of )

Moon ( vertebra of )

Moon ( 'puikwax' of )

Moon ( 'paxwax' of )

Moon ( spoor of )

Moon ( grows )

Moon ( stomach of )

Moon ( hunger of )

Moon ( scarred )

Moon ( shoulder top of )

Moon ( shoulder blade of )

Moon ( 'returning comes' )

Moon ( tooth of )

Moon ( 'ill stands' )

Moon ( time of )

Moon ( blood of )

Moon ( skin of burns )

Moon ( lies in sky )

Moon ( 'putrid flesh' of )

Moon ( 'decayed flesh' of )

Moon ( and darkness )

Moon ( and night )

Moon ( fresh )

Moon ( vigorous )

Moon ( young )

Moon ( creation of the )

Moon ( eland's gall and )

Moon ( is |kaggen's veldskoen or shoe )

heavens ( |kaggen and the Moon and )

heavens ( things of )

heavens ( and the Moon )

heavens ( and the Sun )

heavens ( creation of the Moon in )

paxwax ( 'puikwax' )

paxwax ( |kaggen and the Moon and )

paxwax ( the Moon's )

paxwax ( 'panwax' )

paxwax ( creation of the Moon and )

thinking strings ( |kaggen and the Moon and )

thinking strings ( the Moon's )

thinking strings ( of |xam )

thinking strings ( the location of )

thinking strings ( in the throat arteries )

thinking strings ( are instruments of thought )

|kaggen ( the Mantis )

|kaggen ( and the Moon and )

|kaggen ( creates the Moon )

|kaggen ( his things )

|kaggen ( fights with the Meerkats )

|kaggen ( makes fire )

|kaggen ( is a 'rogue' )

|kaggen ( doings of )

|kaggen ( actions of )

|kaggen ( springs into darkness )

|kaggen ( is a 'devil' )

|kaggen ( and the eland's gall )

|kaggen ( and the Meerkats )

|kaggen ( shoe or veldskoen of )

Meerkats ( |kaggen and the Moon and )

Meerkats ( fight with |kaggen )

Meerkats ( killed the eland )

Meerkats ( creation of the Moon and )

eland's gall ( in the tree )

eland's gall ( |kaggen and the Moon and )

eland's gall ( creation of the Moon with )

eland's gall ( is thrown into the sky )

eland's gall ( is pierced by |kaggen and breaks )

Bushmanland ( the ground is red in )

Ichneumon ( |kaggen and the Moon and )

Ichneumon ( creation of the Moon and )

death ( of the Moon )

death ( |kaggen and the Moon and )

|xam ( groups of )

|xam ( 'Bushman tribes' )

|xam ( names of groups )

child ( Moon's )

child ( |kaggen and the Moon and )

eland ( its gall )

eland ( |kaggen and the Moon and )

creation ( of the Moon )

creation ( |kaggen and the Moon and )

fight ( |kaggen and the Moon and )

fight ( of the Meerkats and |kaggen )

names ( of groups of |xam )

names ( of 'Bushman tribes' )

names ( |kaggen and the Moon )

spoor ( of the Moon )

spoor ( |kaggen and the Moon )

armpit ( Sun's )

armpit ( |kaggen and the Moon )

vertebra ( the Moon's )

vertebra ( |kaggen and the Moon )

knife ( used by the Sun to pierce the Moon )

knife ( |kaggen and the Moon )

weapons ( of the Sun )

weapons ( |kaggen and the Moon )

weapons ( Sun's assegai, knife, spear )

house ( the Sun's )

house ( |kaggen and the Moon )

shoe ( |kaggen's veldskoen )

shoe ( |kaggen and the Moon )

things ( |kaggen's )

things ( |kaggen and the Moon )

speech ( of the Moon who talks )

speech ( |kaggen and the Moon )

veldskoen ( the devil's 'veldschoen' )

veldskoen ( |kaggen's shoe )

veldskoen ( |kaggen and the Moon )

379-390, 421-428, 429-460, 501-514, 515-526, 528-590, 1497-1590, 1591-1683, 1698-1711, 1725-1758