A sourced illustration has not yet been added. This gap is included in the coverage record.
Overview
After burying his wife, Dia!kwain and the accompanying people cross a salt pan on their way to his sister’s home. They see something resembling a little child seated with crossed legs. His sisters Whai-ttu and |kweiten ta ||ken discuss its human appearance and a cap like the one his wife wore. Another speaker relates an explanation received from old people: those taken away might appear before surviving relatives. Dia!kwain decides to inspect the same place on his return. He considers whether the figure was a bush, but it is no longer there when he passes again. The disappearance leads him to interpret it as something different; it does not establish through identification that the seated figure was his wife.
Dia!kwain connects this sighting with what his mothers had told him about a deceased person’s continuing attachment to friends. In that explanation a remaining outer part appears because the person still thinks of them and resists leaving. The account attributes the taking away to sorcerers, and a note compares the change to that of another named people. These are the narrator’s inherited explanatory beliefs, accompanying the observed cap, posture and empty place, rather than an independently witnessed account of a sorcerer abducting the figure.
A second recollection comes from Mansse, husband of Dia!kwain’s sister |a-kkumm. While hunting, he sees a little child beside a bush and initially wonders whether his own child has followed him and lost the way. Approaching, he observes a little girl who seems afraid, looks from side to side and moves away. Her appearance is partly like a person and partly different. He decides to leave her alone. When he walks on, she comes forward again and sits near the bush. No death, capture, attack or identification concludes this second encounter; it is retained beside the bereavement account as a distinct reported sighting.
Origins & earliest records
Bleek and Lloyd, Specimens of Bushman Folklore (1911), IX.—211, Concerning Two Apparitions, complete pp. 364–371. Heading credits January 1876 Dia!kwain, Katkop dialect. The second encounter is attributed within his account to Mansse.
Records & interpretation
Complete two-encounter passage and notes read, including the return inspection and final girl/bush outcome. Immediate observations, named relatives, inherited explanations and Mansse’s embedded recollection are distinguished. The first figure’s resemblance to the wife’s cap does not prove its personal identity.
In the literature
“It is like a little child.”
IX.—211, Concerning Two Apparitions; complete pp.364–371 and all notes; brief prose excerpt p.367 · Bleek–Lloyd original English translation; Lucy C. Lloyd, editor; L. identifies the earlier report listing
After burying his wife, Dia!kwain’s party sees a child-like seated figure on the salt pan. His sisters notice a cap resembling his deceased wife’s. On returning he considers whether it was a bush but finds no figure there. He interprets the disappearance through inherited accounts of deceased people’s attachment to friends. Resemblance and interpretation do not establish that the apparition was his wife.
Selected bibliography
Documented works and useful reading. This is not a list of every appearance.
- 01
Specimens of Bushman Folklore
IX.—211, complete pp. 364–371: January 1876 contributor heading, salt-pan return, inherited explanations and embedded Mansse encounter.
- 02
Specimens of Bushman Folklore — IX.—211, Concerning Two Apparitions; complete pp.364–371 and all notes
London: George Allen & Company,1911; original bilingual edition. Complete selected English account and all notes read; contributor heading, brief excerpt and complete ending checked in original page pixels.
Family & connections
A source-supported family tree or inspiration record has not yet been compiled for this profile. Related reading below indicates a connection in subject matter, not a proven lineage or creative influence.
Located primary passages
Specific passages supporting details in this entry, grouped by their published witness.
Specimens of Bushman Folklore
London: George Allen & Company,1911; original bilingual edition. Complete selected English account and all notes read; contributor heading, brief excerpt and complete ending checked in original page pixels.
- After burying his wife, Dia!kwain’s party sees a child-like seated figure on the salt pan. His sisters notice a cap resembling his deceased wife’s. On returning he considers whether it was a bush but finds no figure there. He interprets the disappearance through inherited accounts of deceased people’s attachment to friends. Resemblance and interpretation do not establish that the apparition was his wife.
- Mansse, husband of Dia!kwain’s sister, reports a child beside a bush while hunting. He initially wonders whether his own child followed him. Approaching reveals a little girl whose appearance is partly human and partly different; she seems afraid and moves away. He leaves her alone, and she comes forward to sit near the bush. No attack, capture or final personal identification occurs.
No entire volume, original performance/manuscript archive or independent translation of facing |Xam text claimed. Adjacent chapter material not treated as complete new coverage. Reported testimony and inherited interpretation retain their distinct attribution.
References
Sources supporting this profile. Linked pages have their own scope and editorial standards.
- Primary collected personal recollections and explanatory notesOriginal 1911 bilingual edition: Concerning Two ApparitionsResearch access: 2026-10-05
Image credits
A sourced illustration has not yet been added. This gap is included in the coverage record.
