Posted on December 13, 2010
Drawing by the late !kun artist, Thaalu Bernardo Rumau.
This story comes from the far away time, when the world was dark and there was no sun. No Moon. No fire. The story comes from that time when people ate their food raw. Yes, this story comes from a long, long time ago.
Deep in the desert, a man called Jahe, discovered the art of making fire. When Jahe roasted his food on fire's flames, the air filled with delicious smells. His own family sat around the fire feast. They felt warm, safe and comfortable.
Jahe was a selfish man. He did not share his fire with anyone else. Jahe kept secrets hidden inside his hut, inside his eland leather bag, his n|o sako. Yes, Jahe was a secret keeper.
One day, a man called Dima, came upon Jahe's camp. Dima was a magician who could make the wind run across the dunes. Dima was one who could dance until the spirits sang. He was one who could call the rain to come. Yes, Dima was a spirit man.
On this day, Jahe was not at home. His children invited Dima to sit around their fire. They offered to share their roasted wild vegetables with Dima.
"Hmm, this is delicious!"Â said Dima and smacked his lips. He clicked his tongue. "Tje, tje, tje! Why does this food taste like no other?"Â
The children told Dima all about their father's fire sticks. Dima finished his food and walked home quietly. He thought: "What is going on here? Who is this Jahe with the power of fire?
That night, Dima dreamed about the fire sticks and the delicious smell of roasting potatoes. How could this Jahe keep fire all to himself? When he awoke, Dima had a plan.
He traveled all the way back to Jahe's place. When he was close to the small reed huts, Dima hid behind a tree. He watched. He saw Jahe twirl his fire stick round and round in the palms of his hands. He saw how Jahe blew the sparks into a flaming fire. Da'a Fire!
"Aha! So this is how it is done!"Â Dima exclaimed.
Then he saw Jahe hide the fire sticks inside his reed hut.
Dima went to Jahe's camp, pretending not to know anything about the fire secret. He asked for food and Jahe gave his visitor a piece of the cooked food.
"Mmm"¦why is this food so good?"Â asked Dima. Jahe said nothing.
But Dima had a plan. He asked the people to clap-clap for him so that he could dance to the clapping rhythm. The rattles around his legs shook, shook and shook as Dima danced. His feet stamped on the ground. People sang, people chanted while Dima danced around and around the fire.
Ihie-hie, ihie-hie
Who is this man
Who can dance
Like the eland
In the wind
Ihie-hie, ihie-hie
Ihie-ihie. Ihie
Jahe saw that Dima was a great dancer. He too, wanted to dance like this. He wanted to see this dance properly, but it was too dark. Quietly, Jahe slipped into his hut.
Jahe fetched the moon from his round leather bag. Yes, this was another secret Jahe kept to himself. The moon N||ui!
Jahe came outside the hut and held the moon high up above his head. It cast its light upon the dancing Dima. Now Jahe could see. He hung the moon up in a tree and joined the dancing. After a while, the spirit of Dima's dance entered him. He forgot all about the moon in the tree.
While the people were dancing round and round the fire like this, Dima grabbed the moon and threw her high up into the sky. She stayed there and lit up the earth. She lit up the earth for all to see in the dark. Now everyone was dancing in the light of the moon.
Dima called the wind and told it to blow, to blow up a storm. He left Jahe's camp upon the back of the whirling wind.
When Jahe looked again, Dima was gone and the moon was hanging in the sky. There was nothing he could do. Moon was no longer his, yes, moon belonged to everyone now!
A long, long time passed. Dima decided to go back to Jahe's camp. He wanted those fire sticks. He wondered what else Jahe was hiding inside his hut.
When he arrived, the children were alone. They offered him water. Dina saw the children take the water from a place hidden behind green reeds. He saw their legs covered with wet mud. So this was where Jahe kept water all to himself, thought Dima.
Dima drank the cool water and greeted the children. He pretended to leave for home. When the children were not looking, Dima turned around and ran back. He found Jahe's water pot behind the green reeds. He pushed the enormous pot over. Water flowed onto the red earth. It ran here, there and all over the place. Dima told the water to made little rivers, to flow like that on the earth.
Dima jumped over the river just as Jahe arrived home. He ran after him, but Dima was clever. He had gathered a bag full of thorns earlier. He scattered the thorns onto the ground before he jumped the river. Jahe's feet got stung by the sharp !hu thorns. He screamed. Jahe yelled like a child. He could not catch up with the running Dima.
More and more time passed by. Dima thought about the fire sticks. He longed for the smell of cooked food.
Dima made another plan. He disguised himself. He rubbed the red powder from the Dnu tree onto his skin. He mixed it with a little oil and rubbed it all over himself, until he had a red ochre skin. He dressed himself with eland hide, the tail from a hare and hung the wild pig's tusks around his neck. He strung many ostrich beads around his head, ankles and arms. Disguised like this, he walked until he reached Jahe's camp once again.
The children saw him coming and said:"Â This is the man who threw the moon into the sky! This is the man who made the water run like snakes!"Â
"No,"Â said the adults, "It is not him. Look, this is an old man. Let us give him food."Â
They ate Jahe's delicious cooked meat around the camp fire. Afterwards, Dima said to Jahe: "Come, let us play a game, let us play a game with the djani stick."Â
Dima took out his djani, a hollow reed with soft quineafowl feathers stuck into one end. On the other end was a thin leather thong, weighed down with a little lump of beeswax. In the middle of the reed was a nicely shaped feather to help the djani fly.
Dima threw the djani into the air. It drifted on the breeze. Dima and Jahe ran after it. Jahe wanted to win Dima at this game. If only he could be the one to keep it in the air! He hit the djani up with a stick every time it came floating down over his head. But Jahe could not see it properly, it was too dark.
So Jahe slipped into his hut and fetched the sun from his bag. Yes, the sun, the |am. Another secret Jahe kept hidden in his bag!
Jahe hung the sun high up in a tree. Now he could see the djani while it drifted along in the breeze!
Dima saw the yellow-red sun, he saw how it lit up the earth. He called to the wind to blow harder. The djani blew further away and Jahe chased after it.
Dima struck the sun with his g!aun stick and caused it to fly high up into the sky, carried along by the power of the wind. Again, Dima left upon the wind's back, while the yellow-red sun stayed up, hanging high in the sky.
Again, long time passed by. Dima disguised himself again and returned to Jahe's camp. He wanted those fire sticks, yes, the fire sticks, the da'ani.
Dima joined Jahe under a tree. Dima saw that Jahe was wearing his fire sticks on a leather thong around his neck.
Dima said: "Let us play. Jahe asked what game they should play. "Gi-gi, the clapping game,"Â replied Dima. And they began to clap their hands together in the rhythm of the game.
Clap-clap
Clap-clap-clap
Clap-clap
Clap-clap-clap
Dima tried to grab the fire sticks in-between the clapping rhythms, but Jahe threw it over onto his back. They clapped the whole day long. The rhythm of the clapping made Jahe forget all about the fire sticks. When it swung around and onto his chest once more, Dima grabbed it and ran away. Dima finally held the fire sticks in his hands!
Dima called to the wind to blow up a dust storm. He left Jahe's camp in the swirling dust.
Dima broke the sticks into little pieces and scattered it all over the earth. He called the wind and told it to carry its fire to the trees. Yes, carry the fire into the trees, the trunk, the branches. From now on, humans will find fire in every tree, Dima called out. Yes!
Jahe caught up with Dima, but it was too late. Dima cried out: "How could you keep the fire, the moon, sun and water away from people! This is not right! From now on you will no longer be a human being."Â
Dima turned Jahe into a bird, a tsava, for keeping the earth and heaven's things to himself. Jahe became a little red bird with a black spot on his head. He still sits on the tree branch at sunset and sings his melancholy song.
Tie-wie, tie-wie
Where is my bag
My round leather bag
Tie-wie, tie-wie
Where is my bag
My round leather bag
Tie-wie, tie-wie
Tie-wie, tie-wie.
My story walks till here.
Story, recorded by Lorna Marshall was translated by Marlene Winberg