DOI Page / Citation link:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.49271#0136
Rites of transition and the conception of !Nau among the Hottentots
81
Bay, where there are no cattle nowadays, with ground Inaras pips, goats’ dung, and fat.
Next, her whole body is rubbed with Inaop, and the hair is cut from the top of her head.
In cutting off a bit of her hair, they spit on the end of it and say, “The next husband you
get must be a lucky one, and get him quickly.” The woman also puts on a complete set
of new clothes.
All this time there is a pot on the fire in the hut with a small piece of meat in it which
the old woman has fetched from the cooking pots. She takes some of the black from this
pot, and puts a mark under each eye, “so that everything the widow meets may be nice
to her ”, and also on the chest, “so that her food may go down nicely ”. The meat in the
pot is eaten by the old woman. The hair which was cut off is mixed with the ash of the
fire, and the whole is then removed from the hut and a fresh fire made. The next morn-
ing the widow will take the /drap, “contents of the animal’s stomach”, and, together with
the old woman, who goes in front, will scatter them over the cattle kraals saying, “deiba
/aba”, “let there be plenty of milk”. There follows the milking of a cow, the reintro-
duction to water, the fetching of wood, just as in the case of the oayais. The water
ceremony was described to me as follows by IKabes. First the old woman sprinkles
the widow with water saying “ Xaredamakaure ^aba ^abare ”, “don’t get thin, get fat like
the ^aba onion”. Then they go together to the spring, where the old woman takes a
stick, beats the water, and scatters it on the widow. She also dips her hand in the water,
and sprinkles the widow’s face and her whole body. Finally she puts clay on her legs
saying again, “Xare dama kaure #aba #abare”, and, filling the water pot, //ho-es, she
sets it on the widow’s head. Then they go home.
If it is a woman who has died, the treatment of the husband is much the same, but
Gottlief gave me a few additional details. After the husband has been cleaned, two
cuts are made on his forehead, and //ubus32 juice is rubbed in. In the old days, as men-
tioned above, the cut was made with the //gurus, a new piece being broken off for each
occasion. The widower’s hair is cut from the back of the head, also with the //gurus.
Before he has been cleaned in this way he must not leave the hut. After the hut has been
cleaned, some dabi and //ganab tree branches are soaked in water over night. Next
morning the widower and his attendant go out among the cattle and sheep, and sprinkle
them with this water.
When a child has died, both parents become Inau, and have to be dealt with similarly.
*
* *
I am fully aware how incomplete and indefinite these notes are in many details. It
may well be that there is still some chance of filling in the gaps, especially for some
32 A small shrub with astringent leaves.
81
Bay, where there are no cattle nowadays, with ground Inaras pips, goats’ dung, and fat.
Next, her whole body is rubbed with Inaop, and the hair is cut from the top of her head.
In cutting off a bit of her hair, they spit on the end of it and say, “The next husband you
get must be a lucky one, and get him quickly.” The woman also puts on a complete set
of new clothes.
All this time there is a pot on the fire in the hut with a small piece of meat in it which
the old woman has fetched from the cooking pots. She takes some of the black from this
pot, and puts a mark under each eye, “so that everything the widow meets may be nice
to her ”, and also on the chest, “so that her food may go down nicely ”. The meat in the
pot is eaten by the old woman. The hair which was cut off is mixed with the ash of the
fire, and the whole is then removed from the hut and a fresh fire made. The next morn-
ing the widow will take the /drap, “contents of the animal’s stomach”, and, together with
the old woman, who goes in front, will scatter them over the cattle kraals saying, “deiba
/aba”, “let there be plenty of milk”. There follows the milking of a cow, the reintro-
duction to water, the fetching of wood, just as in the case of the oayais. The water
ceremony was described to me as follows by IKabes. First the old woman sprinkles
the widow with water saying “ Xaredamakaure ^aba ^abare ”, “don’t get thin, get fat like
the ^aba onion”. Then they go together to the spring, where the old woman takes a
stick, beats the water, and scatters it on the widow. She also dips her hand in the water,
and sprinkles the widow’s face and her whole body. Finally she puts clay on her legs
saying again, “Xare dama kaure #aba #abare”, and, filling the water pot, //ho-es, she
sets it on the widow’s head. Then they go home.
If it is a woman who has died, the treatment of the husband is much the same, but
Gottlief gave me a few additional details. After the husband has been cleaned, two
cuts are made on his forehead, and //ubus32 juice is rubbed in. In the old days, as men-
tioned above, the cut was made with the //gurus, a new piece being broken off for each
occasion. The widower’s hair is cut from the back of the head, also with the //gurus.
Before he has been cleaned in this way he must not leave the hut. After the hut has been
cleaned, some dabi and //ganab tree branches are soaked in water over night. Next
morning the widower and his attendant go out among the cattle and sheep, and sprinkle
them with this water.
When a child has died, both parents become Inau, and have to be dealt with similarly.
*
* *
I am fully aware how incomplete and indefinite these notes are in many details. It
may well be that there is still some chance of filling in the gaps, especially for some
32 A small shrub with astringent leaves.