experience
GACRUX
IMAI
MIMOSA
ACRUX
FOMALHAUT
HADAR
RIGIL KENTAURUS
Tswana
What the Giraffes
Teaches Us
The sky is a dome of solid stone resting on the Earth. The sun and moon move across its surface. Beyond it dwells Modimo, the creator of all things and the moulder of destiny. The sun is also an eye that watches us. It knows that we humans cannot labour without end, so it turns its gaze away at night, and the Earth falls into darkness. This, the story goes, is when unsavoury deeds are done. But it’s also when we gather to marvel at the many holes in this great dome, through which light shines to guide us. These are stars, or badimo – the spirits of ancestors from far antiquity who guide and protect us, and mediate our relations with Modimo. Those that shine brightest are said to have been important when they roamed the Earth. Each holds a story, a sign, a lesson. When we gather under the great, wide sky of Ngamiland, the shimmering waters of the
Okavango Delta around us, and only the warmth of a fire to draw us close, we see it clearly. A cluster of six stars in the southern sky. Some know them as the Southern Cross and Pointers, but here, they are Dithutlwa, the giraffes. A mother and her young walking slowly across the night. Always together. Moving as one. “You see those stars?” the elders ask each generation in turn. “How they are always together?” And we nod, absorbed by the orange glow that illuminates their face and hands. “They remind us to stay together, and to remember where we come from. Not to pull away from our own, or rush to arrive wherever we are going. But to keep our eyes fixed ahead – looking far, like the giraffe – and take our time. Always remaining close.”
Shona
The Sweetheart Star
To some, it’s the lonely star of autumn. To others, Fomalhaut. Here, it is Ndemara – the sweetheart star. In the southern sky, few others surround it, at least that we can see. Alone in a stretch of impenetrable darkness, it shines brightly enough to remind us. In the summer months, Ndemara sets late. When it appears, it’s time for secret lovers to part – to return home before their absence is discovered.
The night sky and romance are timeless companions. There is romance in it, around it, beneath it, because of it. But do not be caught with your lover after Ndemara rises. Let the spell of the cosmos linger. Return to your lover tomorrow. Gaze upward, then at each other, and know that some things belong only to you, if only for a moment.
– Nthopang Xani, Singita Okavango Delta
– Chantelle Rode, Singita Sabi Sand
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