A sourced illustration has not yet been added. This gap is included in the coverage record.
Overview
The lioness in this |Xam tale lives in a house and suffers from illness in her chest. Unable to do hard work, she has gathered children from other people’s families to live with her and help her. She goes to the water to fetch a supply; the narrator’s note suggests, without certainty, that she probably carries it in a gemsbok’s stomach, since she kills gemsbok. While she is away, Ddi-xerreten directs the children towards their own families’ fires across the surrounding ravines.
On returning she first notices the children’s absence because they are no longer playing around the house. She recognises Ddi-xerreten, becomes angry and demands them back. He insists that the children were not theirs. She catches his head and attacks, then cries out about her teeth: the note has identified his head as stone. He maintains his answer and returns home, while she stays angrily at her house.
The final explanation matters to her represented character. The narrator says that she felt she had done well towards the children and that she loved them; the account does not end with their being eaten or with her being killed. She remains a speaking, household-keeping lioness whose claim to other people’s children is challenged. Her illness and affection are part of this particular witness, rather than traits assigned to every lioness in the collection.
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
“she did not a little love the children”
IV.—37, Ddi-xerreten, the Lioness, and the Children; complete pp. 162–169 and all notes; excerpt p.169 · Bleek–Lloyd original English translation; Lucy C. Lloyd, editor; L. identifies the earlier report listing
An ill lioness gathers other people’s children to live and work with her. The visitor sends them to their own people while she is away. She angrily demands them and catches his stone head, then cries over her teeth. The visitor leaves; she remains angry at home. The narrator explicitly preserves her affection and belief that she treated the children well; no child-eating or lioness death ends the episode.
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.
- An ill lioness gathers other people’s children to live and work with her. The visitor sends them to their own people while she is away. She angrily demands them and catches his stone head, then cries over her teeth. The visitor leaves; she remains angry at home. The narrator explicitly preserves her affection and belief that she treated the children well; no child-eating or lioness death ends the episode.
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.
