DOI Seite / Zitierlink:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.49271#0131
76
A. W. Hoernle
After the ceremony, the guests coming to greet the couple, give them beads or brace-
lets, or other similar small gifts. These presents are called do ais.26
The meat of the !gao #hum #hs is now ready, and may be eaten by anyone who has
undergone a similar ceremony, except that pregnant women, menstruating women, and
their husbands, may not come to the house where any cutting has been done, otherwise
its efficacy is lost. If any unqualified person were to eat of this meat he would die. The
newly married couple may eat only of the flesh, not of the pluck.
Until the wounds are healed, and the two persons can be //am, they remain !nau,
and may touch neither water, nor the pots, nor . go among the animals. The old woman
remains to cook for them outside the hut. She herself must eat the flesh of the //aus
(“pelvis”) and when the bones are quite clean and bare, she ties them together and hangs
them up in the rafters of the hut above the fire, where they may get the smoke. Accord-
ing to some informers, they are left there as long as the hut stands; according to others,
they are removed later when the fire is renewed, and thrust into the hole of some animal.
When the cuts have healed, the man and wife are cleaned by the old woman in a
manner similar to that in which the young girl was cleaned. A complete change of cloth-
ing must be made, and the old woman alone is at liberty to use the old sets. Finally the
animal’s tail is taken, threaded on a //awdb (“sinew”) which has been saved from the
animal, together with the knuckle bone (/naoxds) of a hind leg. The whole is tied round
the woman’s waist. It either remains there until it falls off of itself, or it is taken off
after it has become black, and buried with the pubic bones in an animal’s hole.
Next the couple must be reintroduced to the ordinary tasks of life. The woman is
helped to milk just as the young girl was. She is taken to the water in a similar way,
and she must be reintroduced to cooking. Some meat is cooked on the fire, which has not
been used for cooking since the day of the ceremony. The old woman supports the bride’s
arm while she stirs the contents of the pot, and finally helps her to lift the pot from the
fire. She then removes the fire and lights a fresh one just as was done for the oayais.
When the bride first goes to gather wood, the old woman goes in front of her, striking the
ground as she goes with a thorny branch, “to protect the bride from being pricked with
thorns.” The first pieces of wood gathered must be given to the old woman. Then at
last all is well.
The man has to be reintroduced to the cattle kraal as well as to cold water. The
night before this ceremony some branches of the dabi “tamarisk,” and the //ganab 27
tree are soaked in water. This water is taken next morning and with it the cattle and
26 Lit. “throw in the face”.
27 Called the Doorn Acacia by the Dutch.
A. W. Hoernle
After the ceremony, the guests coming to greet the couple, give them beads or brace-
lets, or other similar small gifts. These presents are called do ais.26
The meat of the !gao #hum #hs is now ready, and may be eaten by anyone who has
undergone a similar ceremony, except that pregnant women, menstruating women, and
their husbands, may not come to the house where any cutting has been done, otherwise
its efficacy is lost. If any unqualified person were to eat of this meat he would die. The
newly married couple may eat only of the flesh, not of the pluck.
Until the wounds are healed, and the two persons can be //am, they remain !nau,
and may touch neither water, nor the pots, nor . go among the animals. The old woman
remains to cook for them outside the hut. She herself must eat the flesh of the //aus
(“pelvis”) and when the bones are quite clean and bare, she ties them together and hangs
them up in the rafters of the hut above the fire, where they may get the smoke. Accord-
ing to some informers, they are left there as long as the hut stands; according to others,
they are removed later when the fire is renewed, and thrust into the hole of some animal.
When the cuts have healed, the man and wife are cleaned by the old woman in a
manner similar to that in which the young girl was cleaned. A complete change of cloth-
ing must be made, and the old woman alone is at liberty to use the old sets. Finally the
animal’s tail is taken, threaded on a //awdb (“sinew”) which has been saved from the
animal, together with the knuckle bone (/naoxds) of a hind leg. The whole is tied round
the woman’s waist. It either remains there until it falls off of itself, or it is taken off
after it has become black, and buried with the pubic bones in an animal’s hole.
Next the couple must be reintroduced to the ordinary tasks of life. The woman is
helped to milk just as the young girl was. She is taken to the water in a similar way,
and she must be reintroduced to cooking. Some meat is cooked on the fire, which has not
been used for cooking since the day of the ceremony. The old woman supports the bride’s
arm while she stirs the contents of the pot, and finally helps her to lift the pot from the
fire. She then removes the fire and lights a fresh one just as was done for the oayais.
When the bride first goes to gather wood, the old woman goes in front of her, striking the
ground as she goes with a thorny branch, “to protect the bride from being pricked with
thorns.” The first pieces of wood gathered must be given to the old woman. Then at
last all is well.
The man has to be reintroduced to the cattle kraal as well as to cold water. The
night before this ceremony some branches of the dabi “tamarisk,” and the //ganab 27
tree are soaked in water. This water is taken next morning and with it the cattle and
26 Lit. “throw in the face”.
27 Called the Doorn Acacia by the Dutch.