A sourced illustration has not yet been added. This gap is included in the coverage record.
Overview
Ddi-xerreten is identified in the narrator’s note as a man of the early race whose head is stone. The tale places him beside a lioness’s household, where she has gathered other people’s children to live and work for her while she suffers from illness in her chest. He visits during her absence, when she is fetching water, and sits with the children. Rather than leading them all along one route, he points out their families’ fires in different ravines and on different parts of the hillside.
The departures are carefully repeated: groups of two or three children, and one child alone, rise and go back to their own people. Ddi-xerreten remains waiting after they have left. When the lioness returns, she notices that children are no longer playing outside and recognises the seated man by his head. She angrily demands the children. He responds that they were not their children, maintaining that distinction as she attacks him.
The lioness takes hold of his head and growls or bites at it, but the stone-headed visitor leaves her crying out over her teeth. He repeats his answer, gets up and returns home. The ending leaves the lioness angry at losing the children, with the narrator explaining that she loved them and felt she had treated them well. Ddi-xerreten’s extraordinary head enables him to withstand this encounter; the passage supplies no separate account of his birth, transformation into stone or later adventures.
Origins & earliest records
Bleek and Lloyd, Specimens of Bushman Folklore (1911), IV.—37, pp. 162–169. Original p. 162 credits |han#kass’o, January 1879, who heard the tale from his maternal grandmother #kammi and, when older, his mother |xabbi-an.
Records & interpretation
Complete bilingual passage and surrounding notes inspected. Original p. 162 heading visually verifies contributor, date and transmission chain; p. 163 note specifies stone head; p. 169 retains teeth, homeward departure and lioness’s affection. Ddi-xerreten is the mirror’s plain-text rendering of the edition’s marked name.
In the literature
“His head was stone.”
IV.—37, Ddi-xerreten, the Lioness, and the Children; complete pp. 162–169 and all notes; excerpt p.163 · Bleek–Lloyd original English translation; Lucy C. Lloyd, editor; L. identifies the earlier report listing
A stone-headed early-race man visits while an ill lioness fetches water. He points groups of children toward their own families’ fires in different ravines and remains waiting. On her return he insists that they were not their children. Her attack on his stone head hurts her teeth; he returns home alive. No origin of his stone head or further adventure is given.
Selected bibliography
Documented works and useful reading. This is not a list of every appearance.
- 01
Specimens of Bushman Folklore
IV.—37, Ddi-xerreten, the Lioness, and the Children, complete pp. 162–169, including original contributor heading and explanatory notes.
- 02
Specimens of Bushman Folklore — IV.—37, Ddi-xerreten, the Lioness, and the Children; complete pp. 162–169 and all notes
London: George Allen & Company,1911; original bilingual edition. Actual p.162 contributor heading, p.163 stone-head note and p.169 complete ending visually inspected. Access image indices independently checked; scandata-derived count initially returned pages two later and was corrected before citation.
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. Actual p.162 contributor heading, p.163 stone-head note and p.169 complete ending visually inspected. Access image indices independently checked; scandata-derived count initially returned pages two later and was corrected before citation.
- A stone-headed early-race man visits while an ill lioness fetches water. He points groups of children toward their own families’ fires in different ravines and remains waiting. On her return he insists that they were not their children. Her attack on his stone head hurts her teeth; he returns home alive. No origin of his stone head or further adventure is given.
IV.—37, Ddi-xerreten, the Lioness, and the Children; complete pp. 162–169 and all notes
No entire book or original performance/manuscript archive read; no independent translation of facing |Xam text. Adjacent Vulture and Mason Wasp text not treated as complete new source coverage.
References
Sources supporting this profile. Linked pages have their own scope and editorial standards.
- Primary collected narrative and original page scanOriginal 1911 bilingual edition: Ddi-xerreten, the Lioness, and the ChildrenResearch access: 2026-10-05
- Mirror of primary editionDdi-Xerreten, the Lioness, and the Children: plain-text mirrorResearch access: 2026-10-05
Image credits
A sourced illustration has not yet been added. This gap is included in the coverage record.
