Folklore in Namibia

Folklore is a fascinating and immersive way to learn about a culture and the values embedded within it. When it comes to Namibian folklore, there is an incredibly wide range of material to dive into. One story that stood out to me is called Mantis, Ostrich, and Fire. This story comes from the San people. The San people, also referred to as Bushmen, are hunter-gatherers who are members of different Khoisan-speaking indigenous groups whose large region spans Botswana, Namibia, Angola, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Lesotho, and South Africa. They are understood to be among the oldest ethnic groups in the world. In a lengthy study, researchers at the University of Pennsylvania found that the genetic DNA of the San people was more diverse than any other group, which suggests they have survived longer than any other group. Personally, I have a bit of a problem with characterizing a group as an "ancient race," as the article I read on the subject did, and I worry that it reduces an entire population to serve as just another intriguing subject, when really there is so much more to a people than their label in this sense.

Source: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/destinations/africa/galleries/Namibia-the-wilderness-exposed/ostriches-namibia/

Now for the story:
In the story, Mantis set out to bring the first fire to people. Mantis observed Ostrich and happened to notice that his food smelled different; it had been cooked. While watching Ostrich eat, Mantis noticed that Ostrich took fire out from beneath his wing and dipped his food into it before eating it. When he finished eating, Ostrich carefully tucked the fire back under his wing and went about his day. Mantis, knowing that Ostrich won’t give him fire, devised a plan to take it from him and bring it to the San people so that they could cook their food and sit by the light of the fire at night.

One day, Mantis led Ostrich to a yellow plum tree. Ostrich began to pick and eat the sweet plums with joy. Mantis insisted that the best, juiciest plums were those highest above in the tree’s branches. Ostrich stretched himself out on his long legs and extended his wing to reach high for those plums up top. While Ostrich was vulnerable, Mantis grabbed some of the fire out from underneath Ostrich’s wing and ran off with it to bring it to the San people. From then on, Ostrich has kept his wings pressed to his body, in order to protect the little fire he has left, and has therefore never flown.

Sources:
http://www.gateway-africa.com/stories/The_Mantis_San.html
http://www.gateway-africa.com/countries/namibia/bushmen.htm
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/San_people
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/5255229/Most-ancient-race.html

- Cecilia A. 2/12/18