The audio for this story is currently not available.
Pensa okwa li omukongo ependa mombuwa aishe yaKalahari. Okwa kala ha etelele ombelela oinamwenyo ya ondoka nokwa palwifa nawa ovaneumbo laye. Opa li pe na okadila kamwe Pam-Pam, oko Pensa a li a hala okukwata. Omalwenya omushindi wako otaa wapalele koikuti yaye. Oupyakadi owa li nee apa eshi ina dula oku ka kwata nomwiyo ile a yashe okadila Pam-Pam, ngaashi Pensa a kale eshi hala.. Oikuti yaPensa ohai dulu okutuka momhepo ngokadila – ngeno okwa li ta kwata Pam-Pam ye a dude ko omalwenya omushindi 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 okwa ya komunongonhu, ondudu yavo. Okwe mu pula ekwafo. “Kwafe nge alikana ndi kwate okadila Pam-Pam. Onda pumbwa omalwenya pouta wange nokulumbilifa nao oikuti yange. Ondi na okuninga ngahelipi opo ndi mu kwate?” Ondudu oya nyamukula tai ti, “Inda ndele to shakala omundilo. Eshi oupuka tava faduka po omundilo woye, ou na nee okukwata okapuka aka kanininini kuvakwao. Tela nee omwiyo woye, ndele to tula okapuka oko kanininini meni lomwiyo woye. Eshi oshi na okushila Pam-Pam a ye komwiyo.”
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 kakwa li a shiiva ngeenge ondudu naPam-Pam ova li omaume opofingo. Pam-Pam, luhapu okwa kala ha talele po ondudu. Okwa li hava hokolelafana omahokololo. “Ohandi ku londwele,” ondudu tai lombwele Pam-Pam pefimbo e mu talela po, “onda lombwela omukongo nhumbi e na okweenda opo e ku kwate. Ngeenge owa mono omundilo momufitu, faduka po inda kokule. Onda hala okutala kutya, olyelye ta findana pokati keni, moshinima eshi .”
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.”
Mefimbo lixupi, Pensa okwa hovela oukongo ta kongo okadila Pam-Pam. Okwa kala omutumba momufitu ndele ta takatele a shakale omundilo waye. Eshi omwiidi wa tameka okudja omwifi, ye okwe u fudila ta undwile po omwiidi, fiyo omundilo tau xwama kanini nakanini fiyo wa yaka. Oipuka oyo ya li popepi nomundilo oya tuka tai faduka po.Pensa okwa kwata po okashanghana kamwe kanini ndele te ka tula momwiyo waye.
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.
Okadila Pam-Pam kakwa li taka dulu okufinda emakelo mokutala okashanghana ka ondoka nawa ke li momwiyo waPensa. Oka tokola okutukila pedu ka vakule po okashanghana ke li momwiyo nomulungu wako mule. Pensa okwa uda Pam-Pam ta kwena, Pam-pam, pam-pam, pam-pam.” Pensa okwa tondokela komwiyo waye. Okadila oka kwatwa komwiyo!
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!
Okadila Pam-Pam oka ilikana Pensa e ka mangulule. “Oh, ayee,” Pensa osho a ti, “Onda kala efimbo lile nda hala oku ku kwata. Nena ove owange! Omalwenya oye otaa ningifa oikuti yange i kale tai xwema nawa momhepo, ngaashi okutuka kwoye.”
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.”
Okadila Pam-Pam ta ingida, “Ngeenge owa dipaa nge ito mono vali omalwenya amwe okulumbila oikuti yoye ngeenge aa a kulupa, shaashi ame onda fya. Mangulule nge ashike ohandi udaneke kutya keshe omwedi ohandi kala handi ku pe omalwenya.
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 okwa efa Pam-Pam aye. Eshi Pam-Pam ta tuka ta i, okwe lipula, “onda manguluka ngaho shili?”
Pensa let Pam-Pam go. As Pam-Pam walked away, he thought, “Am I really free?”
Pensa okwa ya keumbo ndele ta hongo oikuti imwe ipe. Eshi ovanhu va mona e na oikuti ipe, ova ingida “Ooo-o, tala komukongo ou! A humbata oikuti ya lumbilwa nomalwenya okadila Pam-Pam. Paife otaka shava nawa noku tu etela oikulya iwa. Otu na okuninga oshivilo.
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!”
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
Fritz David
Oshikwanyama
Level 4
The audio for this story is currently not available.
