Revision 1By dawn, the Tegwaan's eerie cries
reverberate through Zulu hills
as from the red stone kranz he flies
above the mist and morning chills.
Descending from the river's source
beyond the rock-fig's clinging root
he deftly steers his chosen course
o’er reeded vlei and serpine spruit
until at last on polished stone
where rippling streams of water flow
the Tegwaan settles to his own
and looks into the stippled glow
to see beneath those spreading rings
upon his sunlit pool of beams;
uZekamanzi’s flashing wings
encircling thrice tomorrows dreams.
Should shadows brush a visage there
then woe betide the one whose eye
looks back to meet the Tegwaan's stare;
it’s said the chosen soon shall die.
mBassa falling in the night
above the victim's house of clay
shows Tegwaan when the time is right;
three times, his call shall mark that day.
Tree times, his call shall mark that day.
Tegwaan’s CurseBy dawn, the Tegwaan's eerie cries
reverberate through Zulu hills
as from the red stone kranz he flies
above the mist and morning chills.
Descending from the river's source
beyond the rock-fig's clinging root
he deftly steers his chosen course
o’er reeded vlei and serpine spruit
until at last on polished stone
where rippling streams of water flow
the Tegwaan settles to his own
and looks into the stippled glow.
He sees beneath those spreading rings
upon his sunlit pool of beams;
uZekamanzi’s flashing wings
encircle thrice tomorrows dreams.
Should shadows brush a visage there
then woe betide the one whose eye
looks back to meet the Tegwaan's stare;
it’s said the chosen soon shall die.
mBassa falling in the night
above the victim's house of clay
shows Tegwaan when the time is right;
three times, his call shall mark that day.
Tree times, his call shall mark that day. © WW Schwim 11December 2010
Notes for non South African readers;
Tegwaan(Zulu) is the Hammerkop heron, (Scopus umbretta) widely associated with witchcraft and deeply embedded in African Myth. Almost all the Nguni dialects use this
Uzekamanzi is the Zulu term for Dragonfly.
Vlei is a stretch of low lying grassland - sometimes marshy.
Spruit is a stream or brook.
Kraans cliff
mBassa , Celestial body.
The Khoikhoi people of Southern Africa believed that this bird could predict the future. By staring into reflections on still water, it could see those with the shadow of death hanging over them. It would then wait for the falling star which prophesies death, before over-flying the house of the affected person and calling three times.
The nDebele of Zimbabwe consider it very bad luck to startle the Tegwaan and rural Zulu herdsmen dread its call. Among certain African tribes the Tegwaan is thought to be the lightning bird of legend.
On a rock-ledge or big tree near the river, Tegwaan constructs his curiously large nest. Weighing up to a thousand pounds, it boasts four entrances, only one of which leads to the nesting chamber. Some claim that Tegwaan has an alliance with Imfezi the deadly spitting cobra whom he allows use of the false chambers in exchange for additional security.