The Pam-Pam Bird

Pass on the love of reading! Read this children’s story to a lucky young person.

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Told in !Xun by Pensa and translated by Joaquim Chimbembe and Marlene Winberg.

This story is about a clever hunter’s success on the hunting grounds. The hunter also learns to share and take care of the resources around him. If you take more than you need, you destroy nature’s abundance.

Pensa was the best hunter in whole Kalahari. He brought home fat animals and fed his family well.

However, Pensa was not satisfied. There was this one bird, the Pam-Pam bird, whose tail feathers were just perfect for a hunter’s arrow. It would make the arrow fly through the air just like Pam-Pam bird. But Pensa could never manage to catch that Pam-Pam bird.

Pensa went to the people’s Shaman. He asked for help. “Please guide me to catch the Pam-Pam bird. I need his feathers for my bow and arrow. What is it that I must do to catch him?”

The Shaman replied: “Go and make a fire. When all the insects flee from your fire, you must catch the smallest among them. Make a trap and place this little insect inside your trap. It will lure the Pam-Pam bird.”

Pensa did not know that the Shaman and the Pam-Pam bird were friends. Pam-Pam always visited the Shaman. They exchanged stories.

“I warn you,” said the Shaman when the Pam-Pam bird visited, “I have told the hunter how to catch you. When you see a fire in the veld, you must fly far away. I want to see which one of you will win.”

In the meantime, Pensa started his hunt for the Pam-Pam bird. He sat in the veld and turned and turned his fire sticks. When the smoke appeared, he blew into the grass around his fire sticks, until the little flame appeared and became a big fire. The insects flew away, but Pensa managed to catch a young grasshopper. He put it into his trap.

The Pam-Pam bird could not resist the juicy young grasshopper in Pensa’s trap. He flew down and grabbed it, quickly, with his long, sharp beak.

Pensa heard the Pam-Pam bird’s cry. Pam-Pam, Pam-Pam, Pam-Pam… Pam-Pam bird was trapped!

Pam-Pam begged Pensa to set him free. “Oh no,” said Pensa, “I have wanted to catch you for a very long time. Today you are mine! Your feathers will make my arrow fly through the air, just like you.”

Pam-Pam screeched. “If you kill me you will have no more feathers for your arrow when these are worn out, because I will be dead. Set me free and I promise to give you new feathers with each full moon.”

Pensa thought about Pam-Pam’s words. Yes, he decided, it is true what the Pam-Pam says. If I kill him now, he will not grow any more feathers.

Pensa agreed to the bargain. But first, he pulled out a beautiful and shiny-black feather from the bird’s tail.

Pam-Pam flew straight to the Shaman’s place and told him what happened.

“Tje-the,” chuckled the old Shaman, “I see you both won this round. Pensa got his feathers and you, your freedom.”

Pensa went home and made new arrows. When the people saw his new arrows, they said: “O-o, look at this hunter. He carries the Pam-pam bird’s feathers in his arrows. Now he will hunt well and bring us the best food. We shall have a feast!”

That night, the Shaman led the people in a fire dance to celebrate the hunter’s success and the Pam-Pam bird’s freedom.

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Thank you to the Manyeka Arts Trust for allowing FunDza to republish this story. To find out more about the Manyeka Arts Trust, visit: www.manyeka.co.za