The audio for this story is currently not available.
Pensa wa ri omuyeve wakatjoruhonga mokuti onguza kwa Kalahari akuhe. Eye aruhe aa eta ovipuka mbya ṋuna konganda okukora na vyo imba oveṱunḓu re. Pa ri nokazera, inga okatjeratjere, Pensa kaa vanga okukambura. Eye tjinene aa vanga inga omainya womutjira wako okutwa koviku vye. Ouzeu wa ri pokutja, eye kaa yenene okukepata poo okukeyaha. Oviku vya Pensa aavi tenge meyuru uriri tjimuna okazera-andaku eye u yenena okukambura okazera nga na pora omainya womutjira wako!
Pensa was the best hunter in the whole Kalahari Desert. He brought home fat animals and fed his family well.
There was this bird, the Pam-Pam bird, which Pensa wanted to catch. The bird’s tail feathers were perfect for his arrows. The problem was, he could never manage to trap or shoot Pam-Pam.
Pensa’s arrows would fly through the air just like a bird - if only he could catch Pam-Pam and pull out his tail feathers!
Pensa wa sekama na i komurumendu omunazondunge, ombuke yavo. “Arikana ndji pa ondunge kutja hi kambure vi okazera inga okatjeratjere. Me hepa omainya wako kouta noviku vyandje. Hi tjite vi kutja mbi ke kambure?” Ombuke ya tja, “Twende u kayakise omuriro. Oupuka auhe tji wa tupuka okuzapo pomuriro, kambura imbwi ouṱiṱiṱiṱi. Ungura ongwehe nu u twemo oupuka auhe mbwo. Okatjeratjere make yenene okunanukirwa nake ya kongwehe.”
Pensa went to the wise man, their healer. He asked for help. “Please guide me to catch the Pam-Pam bird. I need his feathers for my bow and arrows. What must do to catch him?”
The healer replied, “Go and make a fire. When all the insects run away from your fire, you must catch the smallest of them. Make a trap and place this little insect inside your trap. It will tempt the Pam-Pam bird.”
Pensa kaa tjiwa kutja okatjeratjere nombuke va ri omapanga. Okatjeratjere porumwe aake karyangera indji ombuke. Ovo aave serekarerasana omahungi. “Ami me ku rakiza,” ombuke ya tja kokazera indu tji ke ya okumuryangera. “Ami mba raere omuyeve kutja nga tjite vi kutja me ku kambure. Ove tji wa munu omuriro mokuti, tuka kokure tjinene. Ami me vanga okumuna kutja ouṋe pweṋe ngu ma taara.”
Pensa did not know that the healer and the Pam-Pam bird were friends. Pam-Pam often visited the healer. They exchanged stories. “I warn you,” said the healer when Pam-Pam bird visited him, “I have told the hunter how to catch you. When you see a fire in the veld, you must fly far away. I want to see which one of you will win.”
Moruveze ndwo, Pensa wa uta okuyeva okazera inga okatjeratjere. Eye aa haama mokuti na kuru outi we womuriro kumwe. Omuise tji wa twima, eye aa umbu ehozu ongondoroka nouti we, nganduu ndi okarumunino tji ka yakura nu omuriro nu omuriro tjiwa yaka. Oupuka okuza morumunino rwehozu wa uta okutuka, nungwari Pensa wa yenena okukambura okambahu uriri. Eye we ke twa mongwehe ye.
In the meantime, Pensa started his hunt for the Pam-Pam bird. He sat in the veld and rubbed and rubbed his fire sticks. When the smoke appeared, he blew into the fine grass around his fire sticks, until the little flame appeared and became a fire.
The insects around the flaming grass flew away, but Pensa managed to catch a young grasshopper. He put it into his trap.
Okatjeratjere kaa ke yenene okuritjaera kokambahona okatjate ngo mongwehe ya Pensa. Oko kamuna kutja make wirire tjimanga pehi nake kahakana nokanyo kako okatwe. Pensa wa zuva okatjeratjere tji make uru, “Pam-pam, pam-pam, pam-pam.” Pensa wa tupuka kongwehe ye. Okazera ka patwa!
The Pam-Pam bird could not resist the juicy young grasshopper in Pensa’s trap. He decided to fly down and grab it quickly with his sharp beak.
Pensa heard Pam-Pam bird’s cry, “Pam-pam, pam-pam, pam-pam.”
Pensa ran to his trap. The bird was trapped!
Okatjeratjere ke riheka ku Pensa kutja me ke se. “Kako,” Pensa wa tja, “ami mba paha okukukambura okuza korukuru. Ndino ndi oove owandje! Omainya woye maye katjita kutja oviku vyandje vi tuke meyuru, tjimuna ove nao”.
Pam-Pam bird begged Pensa to set him free. “Oh no,” said Pensa, “I have wanted to catch you for a very long time. Today you are mine! Your feathers will make my arrow fly through the air, just like you.”
Okatjeratjere ke riheka amake ravaere, “Tji we ndji zepa komoo kakara nomainya warwe koviku vyoye inga tji ya kurupa, mena rokutja tjandje ami mba koka. Ndji esa mbi yende nu ami me yanisa kutja me ku pe omainya omape, aruhe omueze tji wa nyosa ombi.”
Pam-Pam bird screeched, “If you kill me you will have no more feathers for your arrow when these are worn out, because I will be dead. Set me free and I promise to give you new feathers with each full moon.”
Pensa wa isa inga okatjeratjere. Okatjeratjere tji ka tuka, ke ripura, “Ami tjiri mba isiwa?”
Pensa let Pam-Pam go. As Pam-Pam walked away, he thought, “Am I really free?”
Pensa wa ya konganda na kaungura oviku ovipe. Ovandu tji va muna oviku vye ovipe, ovo va hungira nereka ekukutu: O-o, tara omuyeve ngwo! Eye u na omainya wokatjeratjere koviku vye. Nambano ma yeve nawa nokutuyetera ovikurya oviwa. Matu kara nomukandi!”
Pensa went home and made new arrows. When the people saw his new arrows, they exclaimed: “O-o, look at this hunter! He carries the Pam-Pam bird’s feathers in his arrows. Now he will hunt well and bring us good food. We shall have a feast!”
Ouṱuku mbwo, ombuke ya hongorera po ovandu mokupunda momuriro amave nyandere outoṋi womuyeve nomapanduriro wokatjeratjere. Okuza keyuva ndo, ovayeve ovasemba avehe ve zemburuka ehungi rokatjeratjere, okuriserekarera kovanatje vavo otjovitjitwa ovizemburukise vyomayuva nga kapita.
That night, the healer led the people in a fire dance to celebrate the hunter’s success and Pam-Pam bird’s freedom.
And since that day, all the good hunters remember the story of the Pam-Pam bird, to tell their children as a memory of days gone by.
Traditional San story
Manyeka Arts Trust
Asnath Mundjindjiri, Angelika Tjouṱuku
Otjiherero
Level 4
The audio for this story is currently not available.
