Yesterday, after school, we
were heading back to our recently revamped rustic rondavel when our
taxi hit a swarm of bees that were on the move. We weren't going
very fast, what with the bumps and stones and potholes and all, so a
whole bunch of bees buzzed in at Theo’s window, past me in the
middle and out at the drivers side. The taxi came to a screeching
halt and Theo and the driver jumped out waving their hands around
their heads. This encouraged a couple of bees to dive down Theo’s
shirt, making him jump around even more vigorously until he
eventually got stung. The incident led to a new fascinating discovery
which I shall share.
It seems that bees have a
special place in Xhosa culture. I bet you didn't know that if bees
decide to enter your house and make a nest, you are not allowed to
remove them, harm them or smoke them out. In fact, the visiting bees
are actually your ancestors making a house call and the only way to
make them leave, is to kill a cow.
I’m getting to know the
Ngidi family through school since Mrs Ngidi is a teacher while her
husband is our contracted taxi driver. He is one of the few people
around here who farm their land and they are one of the more
respectable wealthier families in the area. Their 2 sons have been
to college and their daughter is in Grade 3 and has the most
confident voice in the whole school. Mrs Ngidi is a Christian, as is
her daughter, Viwe, but her husband is more old school Xhosa and
follows traditional ways, as do their sons. Mr Ngidi talks to his
ancestors at his kraal whenever a decision needs to be made but he is
a bit sceptical about some of the powers of the amaqiga (sangoma).
For instance, he doubts that a person can be made invisible so as to
avoid being hit by bullets as was reported on the radio recently.
Anyway, some time ago, some bees entered the Ngidi home and decided
to make a nest in their couch right in the middle of the lounge. The
couch was carried outside and a structure was erected above it to
protect it from the rain. Two years later, Mr Ngidi, decided he
wanted his couch back so the local elders were called in and of
course a cow was slaughtered. The elders spoke to the bees, who
listened, and after the conversation, the bees (their father’s
father’s father) buzzed off and all was well. The ancestors were
happy to see that a cow was slaughtered in their honour and left the
family in peace.
Bees found in nature are
regular bees and are not your reincarnated uncle. Some small boys
bravely collect honey from natural bee hives by covering a arm and
hand in a plastic bag and with a balaclava pulled over their head,
they help themselves to chunks of honey comb. I like the fact that
inadvertently, the bees are protected around here, but I just wish
more farmers would plant vegetables and give the bees something more
than wild cherry guava trees to pollinate.
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| my beaded shell window thingie |
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| my decorative door thingie |
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| my beaded curtain thingie |
As to our recently revamped
rustic rondavel, I've been in a bit of a creative mood lately and
besides moving furniture around, I've created some dangly thingies
to hang in front of the tiny window as well as another threaded
bamboo thingie to hang in the doorway. It’s pretty to look at and I'm proud of my handy work although it hasn't kept my ancestors
out of our mud hut. They have tracked me down here in Transkei and if
slaughtering a whole herd of cattle will get rid of them, I’m game.
You see, my ancestors have taken the form of mozzies and I suspect
they are here to stay, whispering sweet nothing in my ear until I
answer them or go dilly.
