Pensa okwa li omukongo ependa mOmbuga yaKalahari. Aluhe okwa etelele oonyama dha ondoka nokwa palutha nawa aanegumbo lye. Opwa li okadhila kamwe Pam-Pam, hoka Pensa a kala aluhe e na ehalo oku ka kwata. Omalwenya gokomushindi gwako oga li go opalela iikuti ye. Uupyakadhi owa li mpoka kutya, ke na nando esiku e shi pondolele okukwata nenge okuyaha okadhila haka. Iikuti yaPensa ohayi hwanukile owala mombepo ngaashi naanaa okutuka kwokadhila haka. Andola oku kwate ngaa Pam-Pam a wape okudhudha ko omalwenya gokomushindi gwe!
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 yi komunongontu, onganga yawo. Okwe mu pula ekwatho. “Kwatha ndje alikana ndi kwate okadhila Pam-Pam. Onda hala omalwenya gako ndi lumbilithe iikuti yuutati wandje. Ondi na okuninga shike opo ndi mu kwate? “Onganga oya yamukula ya ti, “Inda e to tema omulilo. Uupuka auhe sho tawu fadhuka po omulilo, ngoye oto kwata po kamwe ha okashona kwaauhe e to ka tula momwigo. Otaka ka hila Pam-Pam komwigo.”
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 ka li nando a tseya kutya onganga yo naPam-Pam oya li ookuume. Pam-Pam olwindji okwa talele po onganga noya hokololelathana omahokololo. “Onde ku londodha owala,” onganga osho ya ti kokadhila Pam-Pam sho ka li ke mu talele po, “Onda lombwele omukongo nkene te ku kwata. Ngele owa mono omulilo gwa temwa mokuti, fadhuka po. Onda hala okumona ngoka ta sindana moshinima shika.”
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.”
Pokati mpoka, Pensa okwa tameke okukonga okadhila Pam-Pam. Okwa kuutumba mokuti e ta tameke okudhiga omulilo. Sho omwiidhi gwa tameke okutsina okalwithi, okwe gu fudhile sigo omulilo go gwene gwa tema. Pensa okwa kwata okambahu e te ka tula momwigo gwe.
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.
Okadhila Pam-Pam kaka li taka vulu okusinda emakelo lyokambahu okashona hoka ka li momwigo gwaPensa. Okwa tokola okutukila pevi ye a yakule mo okambahu hoka ka li momwigo nomulungu gwe ngoka gwa li omule nawa. Pensa okwa uvu okulila kwokadhila, “Pam-Pam, Pam-Pam, Pam-Pam.” Pensa okwa endelele a ye komwigo gwe, okadhila oka kwatwa komwigo.
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!
Pam-Pam okwa galikana Pensa e mu mangulule. “Oh, aaye,” Pensa osho a ti, “Onda kala ethimbo nuule nda hala oku ku kwata. Nena ngoye ogwandje! Omalwenya goye otaga ka ningitha iikuti yandje yi tuke nawa mombepo yu ukilila ngaashi ngoye ho tuka.”
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.”
Okadhila Pam-Pam oka igidha nokukuga muule, “Ngele owa dhipaga ndje ito kala we nomalwenya gokulumbila iikuti yoye, ngaka otaga ka dhudhuka po shaashi ngame onda sa. Mangulula ndje owala otandi uvaneke kutya otandi kala handi ku pe omalwenya omwedhi kehe.”
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 etha Pam-Pam a ye. Sho Pam-Pam ta tuka ta yi okwa li ti ipula ta ti: “Onda manguluka ngaa shili?”
Pensa let Pam-Pam go. As Pam-Pam walked away, he thought, “Am I really free?”
Pensa okwa yi kegumbo e ta hongo iikuti iipe. Shampa aantu ya mono iikuti ye, ohaye yi kuminwa taa ti: “Oowoo, tala komukongo nguka! Okwa lumbilitha iikuti ye omalwenya gokadhila Pam-Pam. Nena ota vulu okuweya nawa noku tu etela iikulya. Otatu kala tu na okatuthi.”
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!”
Ongulohi ndjoka, onganga oya hiya aantu koshidhano hashi dhanenwa pomililo dha tema nawa, ya ka tyapule esindano lyomukongo nemanguluko lyokadhila Pam-Pam. Okuza tuu kesiku ndyoka, aakongo ayehe oondjumbeta ohaa dhimbulukwa ehokololo lyokadhila Pam-Pam, oku li hokololela aanona yawo onga ondhimbulutho yomasiku gonale.
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
Rachel Nandjembo
Rachel Nandjembo
Oshindonga
Level 4
