Table Mountain as a GuardianThe myths associated with Table Mountain reveal contrasting relationships to the landscape of Africa's most famous cape. For instance, the myth of Umlindi Wemingizimu portrays the mountain as a benevolent being whereas the legend of Adamastor depicts the mountain as a hostile agent in an alien landscape. Contemporary Zulu sage, Credo Mutwa, recalls the myth of Umlindi Wemingizimu wherein Qamata created the world. Qamata was born from the union of sun-god Tixo and earth-goddess Djobela. Nganyaba, the Great Dragon of the Sea, tried to prevent Qamata from forming dry land above the waters that covered the world. During the ensuing struggle Qamata was crippled by the jealous Nganyaba. To aid Qamata with creation, Djobela, produced four gigantic beings to guard the north-, west-, east- and southern extremities of this land, the largest keeping watch in the south. After many fierce battles the giants asked the Great Mother Djobela to turn them into mountains so that they could, even in death, continue to protect the land from the sea-dragon. The greatest giant of all was Umlindi Wemingizimu - the 'Watcher of the South', who became Table Mountain. According to local oral tradition, former residents of District Six also liken the mountain's profile to that of a sleeping giant, while fishermen from this community still refer to Table Mountain as d'Klipman (The Rock Man). The late Jose Burman, writer and local mountaineer, spoke of the Old Grey Father as the guardian of the portals of Africa. Similarly, the vision of the mountain as a protective force is evident among Muslims, who believe that it is an integral part of the 'Circle of Islam' that guards those living within its ring from natural disaster. The Cape Moslems may have introduced the legend of how Devil's Peak got its name after a duel between a Dutch pirate, Van Hunks, and the devil disguised as a stranger. This popular narrative seems to portray the European as a vagabond-hero willing to sell his soul in order to control the elemental forces of nature in Africa. In contrast, Cam›es relates how Adamastor was transformed into a towering mountain in order to protect the Cape from passing sailors who dared 'discover' the continent's mysteries. Cam›es uses the encounter between Da Gama and Adamastor to convey the struggle between modern man and the classical gods. For him the eventual triumph of man over the gods symbolizes the triumph of the Renaissance over the Middle Ages, humanism over dogmatism. For Cam›es the Cape is a symbol of a forbidden portal - a crucial threshold between West and East - where Adamastor stood guard over the hidden secrets of nature. For later South African poets like Guy Butler and Roy Campbell, the confrontation between Da Gama and Adamastor is a symbol for western civilization's struggle against barbarism. Or were I in the wildest waste, Sae black and bare, sae black and bare, The desert were a paradise, If thou wert there, if thou wert there. Robert Burns (17591796) O, Wert Thou in the Cauld Blast
Table Mountain as a Terrestrial Paradise |
