Another hunters’ description of the Zebra (see also the Shona praise-poem Zebra). This one is a Khoi-Khoi poem from South Africa.
Target of the hunting shepherd boys
Whose head is too swift for the throwing stick, (1)
You dappled fly,
You of the shadow and light
Keeping a sharp watch
For those who watch for you! (2)
O you who like a woman
Are so full of jealousy.
from Oral Poetry from Africa (1984)
compiled by Jack Mapanje and Landeg White,
Longman
Footnotes
- the throwing stick: The principal hunting weapon of the Khoi-Khoi, similar to a boomerang.
- The Khoi-Khoi are immensely skilled trackers but the zebra is too smart for them.
