Kuri sa o kxaice ju ǀoa ǃ’han tcisi. Ju ǀoa ǃ’han ǁxara, kana gǃai ǃxaisi, kana ǃaqsi kuru ǀxoa. ǃXu o Nyame gea nǀa’an kxae ǂ’ang waqnsa o kxaǀho masi. Ha ǀ’ua ha ko gǂkakxo nǃang.
Long long ago people didn’t
know anything. They didn’t
know how to plant crops, or
how to weave cloth, or how to
make iron tools.
The god Nyame up in the sky
had all the wisdom of the world.
He kept it safe in a clay pot.
ǀAm nǀui, Nyame ǁ’ae te ko ha te ǀ’an Anansi ko kxoa o ǂ’angsi ga. ǀAm nǀui waqnhe ha se kxo nǃang, ha nǃaroh tci nǀhuia o ka ze. Te ka koh ho ka ǀ’ae te jan!
One day, Nyame decided that
he would give the pot of
wisdom to Anansi.
Every time Anansi looked in the
clay pot, he learned something
new. It was so exciting!
Anansi ǃka ǂxansi, “ǂ’ang te ko, Mi ǁua kxoa ke ko ǃahin ǃ’o koa gǂa’in. Ka kxoe ka mi nǀaesi ǃ’han ka tciooa!” Ha tani ǂ’anga ha du, ha ǁ’ang ǁua kxo ko ha gǃu. Te coa te ǂxuru ǃaihn. Te ka gǀaoh ko ǂxuru ǀxoa kxo ko ha gǃu ka ha kare ǂxuru ha gǃxoasi ǃ’ae khama ka te ǃ’ang kxo.
Greedy Anansi thought, “I’ll
keep the pot safe at the top of a
tall tree. Then I can have it all
to myself!”
He spun a long thread, wound it
round the clay pot, and tied it to
his stomach.
He began to climb the tree. But
it was hard climbing the tree
with the pot bumping him in the
knees all the time.
ǁ’A woaqn to’a Anansi ǁ’a ha ǃ’han nǃun te se ǃ’an ha ko ǃaihn ǃ’o khoea. Ha ko, “ka re ca soahn ko ka a ǁ’ang ǁua kxo ko a ǃ’o he ǂxuru ǀxoa?” Anansi ǁua kxoa ǁae ǁ’ai kosin ǂ’ang kxae ko ha ǃ’o te ka kaice soahn ǀ’an ǂxuru.
All the time Anansi’s young son
had been standing at the
bottom of the tree watching. He
said, “Wouldn’t it be easier to
climb if you tied the pot to your
back instead?”
Anansi tried tying the clay pot
full of wisdom to his back, and it
really was a lot easier.
Ko ǁ’aea koara nǃangsi ha gea ǃaihn ǃ’o. Te nǃom tsau te ǂ’ang, “Mi nǀe’esi ku ǂ’aun kxae ǁ’ae, te mi ǃ’han tia kaa kxae ǂ’ang tahn mi!” Anansi koh ho ha ǀ’ae te taun te nǃo’oan khauru gǂkakxo ko kxaǀho.
In no time he reached the top of
the tree.
But then he stopped and
thought, “I’m supposed to be
the one with all the wisdom,
and here my son was cleverer
than me!”
Anansi was so angry about this
that he threw the clay pot down
out of the tree.
Te ka nǂhao te sarakhoe ko kxa ǀho. Te ǂ’anga to’a ka khoara ǀ’an ju waqnhe. Te ka o tca ju o nǃaroha gǃai ǃxaisi, kuru ǃaqsi te cete du tci gesin sa ju du.
It smashed into pieces on the
ground. The wisdom was free
for everyone to share.
And that is how people learned
to farm, to weave cloth, to
make iron tools, and all the
other things that people know
how to do.
Ghanaian folktale
Wiehan de Jager
Cwi Debe
Cwi Debe, Gǂkao J. B. Kxao, Kaqece Khallie N!ani, Kileni A. Fernando, Sylvia Fernandu, Tsemkxao Cwi
Ju|’hoansi
Level 3
