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The Story of Stories

Summarized by Klintin in context to Self-Realization, from the collections of Wilhelm Bleek (Bushman Folklore and Superstitions 1911), Dorothy Bleek (Mantis and his friends 1924), Laurence v/d/Post (Hunters Heart 1961) and Jenny Couzyn (Creation of the world in !Xam Mythology 2003)]

Like all stories has a beginning makes this one is no different, but it has no ending.  This Story of Stories has it’s beginning in a time before time itself, when every thing still existed as one in a ever flowing expression of the force of creation and formed the great Primordial Ocean of life in all of it’s essence.
Within this oneness while performing it’s primordial dance something new and even more strange was happening in it’s depths, something unheard of that would change everything.
One of the droplets from this great ocean became aware of itself and with that moment it found itself standing separate from the vastness it came. This confused droplet started growing in its awareness till a even more stranger thing happened, it started to take form and shape and as this intensified  it emerged from this primordial ocean bearing the shape and form known by us to day as the Mantis and who the old people called //Kaggen.

//Kaggen found himself in a confusing struggle for survival to maintain this new expression of life that he emerged as. The forces of the Great waters wanted to suck him back into the vastness of the one and his curiosity refused him to return and fought for his newly gained individuality from the whole. He was at the point of being assimilated back into the waters when from a unknown force within him invoked and brought into awareness The Honey Bee. The Honey Bee grabbed on to the already exhausted //Kaggen and pulled him out of the Waters in a bid to get him to a safe place where he can experience this new expression of life itself. //Kaggen now overcome by his ordeal passed out in the arms of Honey Bee. The two flew till no end, finding no place to rest over the vastness of the great Ocean. Honey Bee now also exhausted struggling to hold on to the passed out Mantis in this endless flying and search that he also came to a point that it could not go any further, as he wanted to give up he saw in the distance something floating on the Primordial Ocean. Heading his bearing to the floating refuge with the last of his strength he arrived at what was a  half open flower just sitting there.

Exhausted Honey Bee landed on the flower and placed the still passed out Mantis in it’s centre. Mantis is safely laying in the heart of this flower, Honey Bee is at the last of his strength from the treacherous journey they undertook. With the last of his strength he placed with Mantis the Seed of Life and Honey Bee fell to ground and died from exhaustion returning him back to the oneness it came from.

Mantis wakes up after his ordeal and  finds himself alone in a strange and mysterious place. Mantis with the Seed of Life in his possession started exploring this new form and expression of life he found himself in.  

In this environment Mantis started becoming even more aware of himself in this peculiar environment and as time passed with his increasing awareness and the Seed of life in his presence he manifested the very internal aspects as he has became aware of himself. The first to manifest was the Klip Dassie and she became his life long companion and wife and soon after that more and more aspects of himself started to spring into existence representing the essence of the animals, plants and celestial bodies that we perceive today. Soon all of these aspects of self started interacting with each other and their environment and this brought about more aspects into existence which populated this new space, referred to by the old people as the 1st Creation.

The 1st Creation was now inhabited with a life of it’s own, Mantis now has a family which forms his foundation, Dassie his wife, his adopted daughter Porcupine who he saved from the abuse of her crazy father Bush Fire ‘the all devourer’. His best friend was the Rainbow and followed him everywhere as if he was it’s tale getting into all kinds of mischief and antics. Rainbow later Married Porcupine and they also gave Mantis two grandsons the Grey Mongoose and Little Rainbow. Mantis interacted with all the inhabitants of the 1st creation and soon received a reputation as being a cunning trickster as his curiosity got him into more lessons, discovery and trouble. He was up to his old tricks one day with the Ostrich and with his cunning tricks stole the fire that Ostrich hid under its wing, only to be consumed by it later for his ignorance in dealing with it and it burned him into 3 pieces. He then went to throw himself into the renewing water as he did many times when his tricks turned on him, when he looked back to the water he noticed to his surprise that their where two boys produced by his ordeal with the fire sitting there in the water, they where !Gaunab and Little Mantis his son’s. 

The 1st Creation now resembles life as we know it today but expressed in all of it’s essence and Mantis learned new aspects of this space and himself every day from his exploits and interactions with everything. 
Mantis now a master of himself and respected by all looks back at everything he brought in creation and with the essence of the trees he brought into existence gifted a tree to each and everyone in the 1st Creation because he knew the importance this aspect of self holds to living this expression of creation.

The ‘old tinder-box owner’ as the old people also referred to Mantis then set out to bring his master piece into existence, but it would require skill-full and cunning planning and manoeuvring.  
His cunning plan required him to steal his best friend Rainbows shoe which is not a easy undertaking even for the old trickster. He skill-fully got hold of the shoe of the magical being and took of to the waterhole where he placed the magical shoe into the water and from this act emerged the Eland in all of it’s essence - the manifestation of the most precious, beautiful, magical and sacred part that was within Mantis and he treated it accordingly.  He was very protective about Eland and hid the being deep in the brush at the waterhole, returning to it secretly everyday to feed it with honey a sort after and magical substance because he loved it so dear.

Meanwhile, Mantis is being watched everyday as he collects the honey and it created suspicion in the devious on-looker in the distance, Meerkat.
The devious Meerkat set out to find out where and to who all this honey was going to and approached Grey Mongoose the old tricksters grandson to help him find out before there is no honey left for them,he said. Grey Mongoose made work of it and finally found out where and to who the honey was going reporting it to Meerkat.
Mantis on his daily routine went to gather the best honey and flew of to his beloved Eland for it’s ritual feeding. Mantis arrived at the waterhole to a unimaginable horror finding his most beloved creation slaughtered and devoured as food by everyone in the 1st Creation. This act of horror invoked the most intense expression of grief over the old Mantis for the loss of his most loved Eland followed by a explosion of rage and bitterness for not being able to partake in the feast with the rest of creation. This intense grief and bitterness enveloped him and a great Darkness came upon this space in the 1st Creation sucking the Mantis into it’s dark void.  

The Darkness Swallowed Mantis into a unknown abyss where he was imprisoned, enslaved and humiliated by Meerkat and the torment this Darkness held. Broken to the last of his will from what seemed like a eternity he breaks-down, sitting on the floor he take what some say his shoe and others say a feather and through it into the darkness cursing his ordeal.  The item flew through the air and Mantis noticed that it just kept on going up, changing into something he has never seen before resting up there in the Darkness. Mantis jumped up and shouted at it saying “You! up yonder! you shall now glow down, so we can find our way in our Darkness”. He opened his wings and flew up to what we perceive as the moon today and went through it into the sanctuary of the 1st Creation and away from the endless servitude and humiliation of the Darkness.

Long after his ordeal Mantis became aware that something was going on in the Darkness and on closer inspection he perceived the most beautiful sounds coming out of the abyss. He went closer to investigate and saw other inhabitants also following this sound into the void. He followed them in and when he came there he realized it is no longer a dark void but a expression of creation he has never seen before. The origins of the sounds even amazed him more when he saw three girls dancing with rattles and as they danced creation took place in this strange new space. He was now fully fascinated by this place and the activities that was going on there, he never missed a opportunity to watch those girls perform their dance of creation. His curiosity got him in a chance meeting with the girls and their parents, they where just as amazed at the sight of the old magical shape-shifter //Kaggen and the relationship that grew from there changed the whole of creation to how we perceive Earth today. The 2nd Creation.

Mantis is now a frequent visitor of the 2nd Creation and good friend of the family that lived in the cave, Night, his wife Darkness and their three daughters who’s names roughly translate to, Mountain, Plains and Water. The sisters each wore a necklace made from different materials that rattled when they danced and this brought abundance to this new environment. Mantis was amazed that this could happen but he also saw the dilemma of it, that these girls will have to dance constantly to maintain their abundance and suggested that they marry his sons and that would create a union between the 1st Creation and the 2nd Creation and also sustain what the dance brings forth. The union of the two families and creations took place and the 2nd Creation thrived with Mountain married to Windbird with their child Listen, Plains married to Fire-dancer with their child Look and Water married to Rain-bull with their child Feel. Mantis now just a studious observer of both Creations made the decision to relocate the inhabitants to the 2nd Creation and call this new expression their home. He first relocated the Big Trees which will act as the portholes via everyone will travel from the 1st creation to their new home.  The inhabitance of the 1st creation started moving through the tree portholes, some came from a hole in the ground under the tree, others streamed out of it’s stems, branches and roots populating this new environment with 1st Creation-al life.
Life continued here and thrived in this different expression of the life force, the inhabitance interacted with it and brought new life like the Milky-way that a girl made by throwing her fire ash into the sky, The Sun’s armpit being pulled here to shine upon earth so man could see and also the making of fire by firedancer that eventually separated the animals, plant, humans and celestial bodies from each other till this very day.
Then much later Mantis noticed a strange animal wandering around he had no idea what it was and went to investigate finding the animals to be what we perceive as sheep today and they belonged to the Ticks. They only served there owners needs and did not serve life as the other animals does. He finally after lots of trouble with the Ticks and Sheep he made the decision that they should eat all the sheep of the face of the earth and put a end to them. The rest agreed and they started eating the sheep as they got them to only find out that they will never succeed in this task on their own and Mantis makes the decision to invite Porcupines father Bush Fire the crazy all devourer to help them eat the sheep. Bush Fire joined them there devouring everything in it’s path, he ate all the remaining sheep, everything that was around it and everyone that stood in his way. Like the eating of the Eland in the 1st Creation when they became that beauty they also became what the sheep was to the Tick in the 2nd creation.
The space itself also increased in it’s density and by the time when things got their names they remained in that shape as we see it today, others like the three sisters went to sleep long time ago and just layed still where the great mountains and valleys,plans and forest and oceans and rivers lay today. Life and this Story from there continued till this very day and this moment of me re-telling this Story of Stories.