Kaixu kaixu ǁae-en ge khoena xū-e ge ǀū-i. ǁÎn ge ge ǀū i mâtin nî ǃhanagās, tamas ka io sarana oms, tamas ka io ǀurina kurusa. ǁNā elob Nyameb ǀhommi ǃnâ hâb ge hoa gā-aisiba ǃhūbaib diba ūhâ. ǁÎb ge nēsa goasūs ǃnâ sâu hâ.
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.
ǀGui tsēb ge Nyameba ge mîǁgui ǁîb nē gā-aisib sūsa Anansiba nî mā sa. Mâǁaeb hoab hîab Anansiba nē sūs ǃnâ ra kōbab ge ǀasa xū-e ra ǁkhāǁkhāsen.
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!
Xūǃgunuxa Anansib ge ra âi, “Tita xa ǀgapi hais amǃnâ ǃnorasase nî ūhâhe. O ta ge tita hoana ūhâ” ti. ǀÎb ge kaixu tsuriba goa sūs namipeba xū ǁîb ǁkhoms ai ge ǃgae. ǁÎb ge hais ai ra oa tsoatoa. Xawe i ge kaise ge ǃgom i hais ai goasūs ǀkhā oasa ǁîs ge ǁîb ǁgoadi ai hoaǁae ge re gâusen xui-ao.
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.
Nēǁaeb hoabab ge Anansib ǀgôaba hais ǃnaka ge mâ i ǁîba ra kōǃgonse. ǁÎb ge ra mî, “Supu i tide harosa ǁîsa du ga ǁâb ai a apa o?” Anansib ge ra dītsâ goa sūs gā-aisib xa ǀoa hâsa ǁîb ǁâb ai ǃgae, tsî i ge kaise ge supuba pi.
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.
Supuseb ge ǀgapigab kōse ra kharo. Xaweb ge sâ tsî ra âiǃgâ, “Tita gom hoa gā-aisisa ūhâ o, ob mâti ti ôaba tita xa ra gā-ai!” ǁÎb ge kaise nēs xa ǁaixakaihe tsî goa sūsa haisa xū ra aoǁnâ.
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.
ǁÎs ge ǃhūb ai ǃâro di ǃnâ ra ǀgora. Gā-aisib ge ge ǃnoraǃnorahe hoan xa a ǀgoraguhe ǁkhā se. ǁNāpaxus ge khoen ge ǁkhāǁkhāsen ǃgaroǃā sîsenga, ǃom sîsenga, sarana kurusa, ǀuri kuruxūna kurusa, tsî ǁkhāti hoaraga xūn ǁîn a dīǁkhāna.
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
Maureen Merley So-Oabes
Khoekhoegowab
Level 3
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