The lady in the moon

Monday. 25 February 2013

(Recommended song choice for this blog entry: "Angolan Women" - Life In a Day Soundtrack)

A zulu man and his girlfriend (Andile and Montli) met me in the small town of Kokstad, after a long drive from Mthatha in the Baz Bus.

Somehow, I had managed to overlook the fact that I was passing through an invisible demarcation of differing cultural territories. 

After spending the better part of 2 weeks amongst the Xhosa people, I was now moving on into the hands of the Zulus. 

I sat in the front of the VW Citi Golf, after arguing with both Andile and Montli over who was to sit in the front passenger seat. I thought it nicer for the couple to sit side-by-side in the front, but after 10 minutes of their polite insistence, I took my spot in the front next to this amicable Zulu man; while his girlfriend giggled herself into comfort in the back seat. It was their job to deliver me to Sani Lodge, where I would stay put until Thursday before making the trek to Soweto.

By this stage of my journey, I was ravenous. They kindly pressed pause on our Sunday evening movements and I ordered us a takeaway pizza. 

Shoving pizza slices into both their hands, I made them tell me tales from their traditional folklore, and we resumed our journey. 

This one in particular captured my interest.  I tell it in the voice of my new Zulu friend, he is a great story teller. This is the tale of the lady in the moon.

"As children, we were told stories of the lady in the moon.

In our culture, Sunday is the day of rest.

Long ago, when men were still hunting and the women gathering, the people would work hard each day of the week, excepting every seventh day. The spirits of our ancestors had forbidden us to work  on a Sunday. At the end of each weekly cycle, the tribe would gather - the men returning from their hunting and the woman from their gathering. 

One day. A simple young village woman defied the spirits of the ancestors - and  on a Sunday, went into the forest in search of firewood, her baby tied to her back with cloth. 

The spirits were furious at her disregard for their word - and as a sequel to their anger - were determined to make an example out of her for all the land to see.  

The provoked spirits set fire to the victims as well as the firewood they had collected - and then swept up their spirits and trapped in the moon - as a reminder for the land below.

And as for the coals and ashes from the fire, they threw them into the sky and made the stars."

I tried googling 'the lady in the moon', but unfortunately did not seem to find it anywhere. I am sure there are various versions of this folk tale, this is just the one that I was told.

Coincidentally, it was full moon when he told me this tale. He stopped the car on the side of the empty road, and in the dark all three of us squinted up to the lady in the moon. 

Please note this is not my photograph. It is just one I found surfing on the net which I am using as an example to show where the lady is. You can find its original HERE.

My best efforts at Microsoft Paint.  A simple outline of the lady in the moon, her basket of wood, and her baby which is tied to her back with traditional cloth.