Heitsi-eibib is a figure in the Khoikhoi

Khoikhoi

The Khoikhoi or Khoi, in standardised Khoekhoe/Nama orthography spelled Khoekhoe, are a historical division of the Khoisan ethnic group, the native people of southwestern Africa, closely related to the Bushmen . They had lived in southern Africa since the 5th century AD...

 mythology

Khoikhoi mythology

This is a summary of some of the gods, heroes and monsters that appear in the beliefs of the Khoikhoi, an ethnic group from southern Africa.- Gods and heroes :...

. While he is usually mentioned as a cultural hero, Heitsi-eibib's role in the mythology is fluid. He is sometimes called a trickster

Trickster

In mythology, and in the study of folklore and religion, a trickster is a god, goddess, spirit, man, woman, or anthropomorphic animal who plays tricks or otherwise disobeys normal rules and conventional behavior. It is suggested by Hansen that the term "Trickster" was probably first used in this...

 figure, similar to Cagn

Cagn

Cagn is the supreme god of the Bushmen of southern Africa. He is the first being and the creator of the world. He is a trickster god who can shape shift, most often into the praying mantis.-Shapeshifting:...

 of the related Bushmen

Bushmen

The indigenous people of Southern Africa, whose territory spans most areas of South Africa, Zimbabwe, Lesotho, Mozambique, Swaziland, Botswana, Namibia, and Angola, are variously referred to as Bushmen, San, Sho, Barwa, Kung, or Khwe...

 people. In other contexts, he appears as a patron of hunters and in some stories he even had a part in creating the world. The multiple roles of Heitsi-eibib have been called a reflection of the fluidity of the Khoisan

Khoisan

Khoisan is a unifying name for two ethnic groups of Southern Africa, who share physical and putative linguistic characteristics distinct from the Bantu majority of the region. Culturally, the Khoisan are divided into the foraging San and the pastoral Khoi...

's religious resources and rituals, which are usually ambiguous and lack in standardization. Heitsi-eibib was also a life-death-rebirth figure

Life-death-rebirth deity

A dying god, also known as a dying-and-rising or resurrection deity, is a god who dies and is resurrected or reborn, in either a literal or symbolic sense. Male examples include the ancient Near Eastern and Greek deities Baal, Melqart, Adonis, Eshmun, Attis Tammuz, Asclepius, Orpheus, as well as...

, dying and resurrecting himself on numerous occasions. Resulting from this, his funeral cairns can be found in many locations in southern Africa, and it is customary to throw a stone onto them for good luck.

Legend

In different accounts, Heitsi-eibib is born from either a girl or—more often—a cow, who got pregnant by eating a magical grass. He had a role in creation, impressing specific characteristics into different species. For example, he cursed the lion to walk on ground instead of nesting on a tree. Heitsi-eibib was also a legendary hunter, sorcerer and warrior.

One particular legend involves Heitsi-eibib's fight with the Ga-gorib (he who throws down), a beast who lived on the edge of a pit. The Ga-gorib would trick people into throwing stones at it, but the stones would always bounce back from the creature's hide, and the thrower would fall into the pit. When Heitsi-eibib met the beast, he refused to throw stones until Ga-gorib turned away from him, whereupon he cast a stone that fell Ga-gorib into its own pit. In another version of the same story, Heitsi-eibib wrestled with the Ga-gorib and was thrown to the pit repeatedly, but could not be kept down. In the end, the Ga-gorib is again thrown to his own pit by Heitsi-eibib.

External links

• Heitsi-Eibib at godchecker.com