Liewe Heksie
Encyclopedia
Liewe Heksie is a fictional character created in 1961 by Afrikaans
children’s books author Verna Vels
. The Liewe Heksie series consisted of a number of books. It was also dramatised on the Afrikaans
radio station and made into a popular Afrikaans language television programme from 1981, with marionettes. In both the radio
and TV versions, Vels herself provided the voice of Liewe Heksie. The television series was directed by well-known children's programme writer and director Louise Smit
, who created more than 4,000 children's shows for South African television
.
Her best friends are the elves Blommie (“Little Flower”), her kitten
Matewis (a common name for a cat
in South Africa
, possibly originating from this very series) and the sophisticated Karel Kat, an anthropomorphic cat who drives a car and owns a helicopter
, from the city. Other characters include the magical horse
Griet (who only appears whenever Liewe Heksie exclaims, "Ooo Griet!" ("Oh dear!") He has a girl's name, but Heksie claims that all the boys' names were taken by the time she named him), 'Koning Rosekrans' (“King
Rose Wreath”) who rules Blommeland. Even though he likes Heksie very much, he gets frustrated with her, but not angry enough to chase her out of Blommeland. Kwaaitjie Kabouter ("Littly Angry Elf"), a bad-tempered elf, and his baby brother Kwaai Babatjie ("Angry Little Baby"). He even lets her babysit Kwaai Babatjie when he has to deliver messages for the king
.
There is also the evil Geel Heks ('Yellow Witch'), who with her minions, the Gifappeltjies ('Little Poison Apples'), are constantly trying to take over Blommeland. The two Gifappeltjies are also dressed in yellow and orange, and aptly named Kerrie (Curry) and Borrie (Turmeric), and are menacing-looking elves who call Liewe Heksie 'die dom heks' (the dumb witch).
Blommeland is protected by the Silwer Roos ('silver rose') which is under guard in the palace. On a number of occasions the Gifappeltjies and the Geel Heks try to steal the Silwer Roos to take it to their land (Gifappeltjieland). Should they succeed all the other flowers in Blommeland would die and the beautiful land of the elves would become dry and barren. However, on each of these occasions Liewe Heksie manages to save the day (albeit accidentally) and is hailed as a heroine.
Sometimes the Feekoningin ("Fairy Queen") intervenes, and lets Heksie believe that she has done some real magic. Heksie sometimes calls her Koningin By (Queen Bee). Liewe Heksie is the only witch in Blommeland, therefore she doesn't know any other witches there. She once went to Gifappeltjieland (that is dry and arid, and resembles the lunar
surface) with the help of Karel Kat and his helicopter, and thought mistakenly that she'd gone to the Moon.
She has a sterretjieskombuis (star-filled kitchen) because the corrugated iron roof covering her kitchen, was blown away by the wind when she rolled the rocks and pumpkins (that kept it down) off it, in order to paint it. The Feekoningin helped her by putting in a skylight, so that Heksie can see the stars above her kitchen at night.
She speaks in a very monotonous tone of voice, and doesn't understand "big words" that Blommie and the other kabouters (elves) often use. She often says "Haai oe Blommie" (Oh, wow, Blommie) for everything new or interesting she hears. Whenever she does something stupid and the other kabouters laugh at her, she gets shy and says "Moenie vir my lag nie" (don't laugh at me). She also says "Ek wil nou nie snaaks wees nie, maar..." (I'm not trying to be funny now, but...) whenever she makes obvious observations.
Another thing she says a lot when she's panicking, is "Oo Griet!" ("Oh Griet" but similar to "oh dear!"). Whenever she says this, her magical horse Griet appears and helps her out of trouble.
s were used. Each puppet was about 9 centimetres (3.5 in). Most of them were rod puppets, with latex
faces and hands. The mouths could move, the eyescould shut and a special mechanism inserted into the Liewe Heksie puppet made her cry, and even her hat could move over her eyes when she was shy A special separate marionette
version of Liewe Heksie was used when she flew on her broom.
Special sets
were built for the puppets complete with little houses and flowers. They had to make a little hole for each scene for the puppets controls to go through the set for the puppeteer
s to handle and manipulate. The best puppeteers at that time were hired, including Antoinette Snyman
and Althea Oelofse. Some of these puppets still exist today, but they are in very bad shape. The latex had begun to crumble. Most have been disposed of, while others remain in a storage facility of a museum
, waiting for preservation
and restoration.
, and more recently on CD.
Several children's music albums followed the success of the series, and the theme song to the TV show is very well known and still popular today, especially among the 30-something generation who grew up listening to and watching it.
It was written by Vels, and the choir was directed by Sophie Faul.
on local comedian Casper De Vries's show Die Casper Rasper Show with Verna Vels as a guest on the show. The sketch uses foul language, with costumes that don't really resemble the shows outfits. It suggests that Blommie and Koning Rosekrans are gay. It also suggests that Liewe Heksie has an affair with a Gifappel. It also has a lot of references to the show's history.
-CGI animation
and be released in 26 episodes of 11 minutes each in 2007. It was to be animated by Anamazing Workshop, and produced by Meerkat Media, but economic conditions were poor and the project was scrapped.
Afrikaans
Afrikaans is a West Germanic language, spoken natively in South Africa and Namibia. It is a daughter language of Dutch, originating in its 17th century dialects, collectively referred to as Cape Dutch .Afrikaans is a daughter language of Dutch; see , , , , , .Afrikaans was historically called Cape...
children’s books author Verna Vels
Verna Vels
Verna Vels is the creator of the beloved South African book, film and radio character Liewe Heksie.-Biography:Verna Barbara Robertson was born in 1933 in Reitz of the Orange Free State South Africa. She completed her schooling, and in 1952 graduated the University of Pretoria. In 1954 obtained her...
. The Liewe Heksie series consisted of a number of books. It was also dramatised on the Afrikaans
Afrikaans
Afrikaans is a West Germanic language, spoken natively in South Africa and Namibia. It is a daughter language of Dutch, originating in its 17th century dialects, collectively referred to as Cape Dutch .Afrikaans is a daughter language of Dutch; see , , , , , .Afrikaans was historically called Cape...
radio station and made into a popular Afrikaans language television programme from 1981, with marionettes. In both the radio
Radio
Radio is the transmission of signals through free space by modulation of electromagnetic waves with frequencies below those of visible light. Electromagnetic radiation travels by means of oscillating electromagnetic fields that pass through the air and the vacuum of space...
and TV versions, Vels herself provided the voice of Liewe Heksie. The television series was directed by well-known children's programme writer and director Louise Smit
Louise Smit
Louise Smit is a South African writer of children's books and of children's television programmes.-Biography:Shet studied Drama at Teachers College in Paarl, and the University of Stellenbosch. She then did charitable work in Malawi. She performed indigenous folktales with the participation of the...
, who created more than 4,000 children's shows for South African television
Television in South Africa
Television in South Africa was first introduced in 1976. Despite being the most economically advanced country in Africa, South Africa was relatively late in introducing television broadcasting to its population.- Opposition to introduction :...
.
Story and characters
Liewe Heksie is a rather incompetent and forgetful witch who lives with her friends the elves in Blommeland (“Flower Land”). Her stupidity and lack of magical skill leads to many funny situations in the stories. Her given name is Levinia.Her best friends are the elves Blommie (“Little Flower”), her kitten
Kitten
A kitten is a juvenile domesticated cat.The young of big cats are called cubs rather than kittens. Either term may be used for the young of smaller wild felids such as ocelots, caracals, and lynx, but "kitten" is usually more common for these species....
Matewis (a common name for a cat
Cat
The cat , also known as the domestic cat or housecat to distinguish it from other felids and felines, is a small, usually furry, domesticated, carnivorous mammal that is valued by humans for its companionship and for its ability to hunt vermin and household pests...
in South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
, possibly originating from this very series) and the sophisticated Karel Kat, an anthropomorphic cat who drives a car and owns a helicopter
Helicopter
A helicopter is a type of rotorcraft in which lift and thrust are supplied by one or more engine-driven rotors. This allows the helicopter to take off and land vertically, to hover, and to fly forwards, backwards, and laterally...
, from the city. Other characters include the magical horse
Horse
The horse is one of two extant subspecies of Equus ferus, or the wild horse. It is a single-hooved mammal belonging to the taxonomic family Equidae. The horse has evolved over the past 45 to 55 million years from a small multi-toed creature into the large, single-toed animal of today...
Griet (who only appears whenever Liewe Heksie exclaims, "Ooo Griet!" ("Oh dear!") He has a girl's name, but Heksie claims that all the boys' names were taken by the time she named him), 'Koning Rosekrans' (“King
Monarch
A monarch is the person who heads a monarchy. This is a form of government in which a state or polity is ruled or controlled by an individual who typically inherits the throne by birth and occasionally rules for life or until abdication...
Rose Wreath”) who rules Blommeland. Even though he likes Heksie very much, he gets frustrated with her, but not angry enough to chase her out of Blommeland. Kwaaitjie Kabouter ("Littly Angry Elf"), a bad-tempered elf, and his baby brother Kwaai Babatjie ("Angry Little Baby"). He even lets her babysit Kwaai Babatjie when he has to deliver messages for the king
Monarch
A monarch is the person who heads a monarchy. This is a form of government in which a state or polity is ruled or controlled by an individual who typically inherits the throne by birth and occasionally rules for life or until abdication...
.
There is also the evil Geel Heks ('Yellow Witch'), who with her minions, the Gifappeltjies ('Little Poison Apples'), are constantly trying to take over Blommeland. The two Gifappeltjies are also dressed in yellow and orange, and aptly named Kerrie (Curry) and Borrie (Turmeric), and are menacing-looking elves who call Liewe Heksie 'die dom heks' (the dumb witch).
Blommeland is protected by the Silwer Roos ('silver rose') which is under guard in the palace. On a number of occasions the Gifappeltjies and the Geel Heks try to steal the Silwer Roos to take it to their land (Gifappeltjieland). Should they succeed all the other flowers in Blommeland would die and the beautiful land of the elves would become dry and barren. However, on each of these occasions Liewe Heksie manages to save the day (albeit accidentally) and is hailed as a heroine.
Sometimes the Feekoningin ("Fairy Queen") intervenes, and lets Heksie believe that she has done some real magic. Heksie sometimes calls her Koningin By (Queen Bee). Liewe Heksie is the only witch in Blommeland, therefore she doesn't know any other witches there. She once went to Gifappeltjieland (that is dry and arid, and resembles the lunar
Moon
The Moon is Earth's only known natural satellite,There are a number of near-Earth asteroids including 3753 Cruithne that are co-orbital with Earth: their orbits bring them close to Earth for periods of time but then alter in the long term . These are quasi-satellites and not true moons. For more...
surface) with the help of Karel Kat and his helicopter, and thought mistakenly that she'd gone to the Moon.
She has a sterretjieskombuis (star-filled kitchen) because the corrugated iron roof covering her kitchen, was blown away by the wind when she rolled the rocks and pumpkins (that kept it down) off it, in order to paint it. The Feekoningin helped her by putting in a skylight, so that Heksie can see the stars above her kitchen at night.
Full story list
- Liewe Heksie kry 'n verjaarsdag (Dear little witch gets a birthday)
- Liewe Heksie en Blommie Kabouter sing in die straat (Dear little witch and Little Flower Elf sing in the street)
- Liewe Heksie en die bikini (Dear little witch and the bikini)
- Liewe Heksie en die motor (Dear little witch and the motorcar)
- Liewe Heksie maak die koning gesond (Dear little witch makes the King better)
- Liewe Heksie en die toorwoorde (Dear little witch and the magic words)
- Liewe Heksie en die donkie (Dear little witch and the donkey)
- Liewe Heksie word babawagter (Dear little witch becomes a babysitter)
- Liewe Heksie in die land van die Gifappeltjies (Dear little witch in the land of Poison Apples)
- Liewe Heksie en die dief (Dear little witch and the thug)
- Liewe Heksie en die koekoek (Dear little witch and the cookoo-clock)
- Liewe Heksie en die wals (Dear little witch and the waltz)
- Liewe Heksie kry 'n kat Dear little witch gets a cat)
- Liewe Heksie en die mini (Dear little witch and the mini)
- Liewe Heksie gaan skool toe (Dear little witch goes to school)
- Liewe Heksie en die winkel (Dear little witch and the shop)
- Liewe Heksie en die troeteldier (Dear little witch and the pet)
- Liewe Heksie en die feekoningin (Dear little witch and the fairy queen)
- Liewe Heksie en die helikopter (Dear little witch and the helicopter)
- Liewe Heksie en die orkes (Dear little witch and the band)
- Liewe Heksie en Griet (Dear little witch and Griet)
- Liewe Heksie en die sneeu (Dear little witch and the snow)
- Liewe Heksie hou partytjie (Dear little witch has a party)
- Liewe Heksie vang vis (Dear little witch goes fishing)
- Liewe Heksie en die toneelstuk (Dear little witch and the play)
- Liewe Heksie en die alpeviooltjies (Dear little witch and the flowers)
- Liewe Heksie en die klompe (Dear little witch and the shoes)
- Liewe Heksie in die sirkus (Dear little witch and the circus)
- Liewe Heksie en die tuppels
- Liewe Heksie en die tent (Dear little witch and the tent)
- Liewe Heksie gaan maan toe (Dear little witch visits the moon)
- Liewe Heksie en die vlieende piering (Dear little witch and the UFO)
- Liewe Heksie se geskenk (Dear little witch's present)
- Liewe Heksie en die rugbywedstryd (Dear little witch and the rugby tournament)
- Liewe Heksie en die rolskaatse (Dear little witch and the rollarskates)
- Liewe Heksie en die rekenaar (Dear little witch and the computer)
- Liewe Heksie en die rotbende (Dear little witch and the rat-gang)
- Liewe Heksie en Botterblom (Dear little witch and Butterflower)
- Die dag toe Liewe Heksie se kop gedraai het (The day when Dear little witch's head turned)
- Waar is Klein Kwaaitjie Kabouter? (Where is Little angry baby?)
- Liewe Heksie en Adspersus (Dear little witch and Adspersus)
Impact on South African culture
Liewe Heksie had a big impact on the way people who grew up watching the television show. She always gets everyone's names wrong because she's so absent-minded and forgetful. She calles 'Koning Rosekrans 'Koning Rosedoring' (King Rose Thorn) or 'Koning Rosebaard' (King Rose Beard). She calls Karel Kat's helicopter a 'meulikopter' and calls the Geel Heks 'Die Pers Heks'(the purple witch).She speaks in a very monotonous tone of voice, and doesn't understand "big words" that Blommie and the other kabouters (elves) often use. She often says "Haai oe Blommie" (Oh, wow, Blommie) for everything new or interesting she hears. Whenever she does something stupid and the other kabouters laugh at her, she gets shy and says "Moenie vir my lag nie" (don't laugh at me). She also says "Ek wil nou nie snaaks wees nie, maar..." (I'm not trying to be funny now, but...) whenever she makes obvious observations.
Another thing she says a lot when she's panicking, is "Oo Griet!" ("Oh Griet" but similar to "oh dear!"). Whenever she says this, her magical horse Griet appears and helps her out of trouble.
Puppets of TV
Tiny puppetPuppet
A puppet is an inanimate object or representational figure animated or manipulated by an entertainer, who is called a puppeteer. It is used in puppetry, a play or a presentation that is a very ancient form of theatre....
s were used. Each puppet was about 9 centimetres (3.5 in). Most of them were rod puppets, with latex
Latex
Latex is the stable dispersion of polymer microparticles in an aqueous medium. Latexes may be natural or synthetic.Latex as found in nature is a milky fluid found in 10% of all flowering plants . It is a complex emulsion consisting of proteins, alkaloids, starches, sugars, oils, tannins, resins,...
faces and hands. The mouths could move, the eyescould shut and a special mechanism inserted into the Liewe Heksie puppet made her cry, and even her hat could move over her eyes when she was shy A special separate marionette
Marionette
A marionette is a puppet controlled from above using wires or strings depending on regional variations. A marionette's puppeteer is called a manipulator. Marionettes are operated with the puppeteer hidden or revealed to an audience by using a vertical or horizontal control bar in different forms...
version of Liewe Heksie was used when she flew on her broom.
Special sets
Theatrical scenery
Theatrical scenery is that which is used as a setting for a theatrical production. Scenery may be just about anything, from a single chair to an elaborately re-created street, no matter how large or how small, whether or not the item was custom-made or is, in fact, the genuine item, appropriated...
were built for the puppets complete with little houses and flowers. They had to make a little hole for each scene for the puppets controls to go through the set for the puppeteer
Puppeteer
A puppeteer is a person who manipulates an inanimate object, such as a puppet, in real time to create the illusion of life. The puppeteer may be visible to or hidden from the audience. A puppeteer can operate a puppet indirectly by the use of strings, rods, wires, electronics or directly by his or...
s to handle and manipulate. The best puppeteers at that time were hired, including Antoinette Snyman
Antoinette Snyman
Antoinette Snyman is a well known South African puppeteer. She is both known for her great manipulation and puppet making skills.- Background :' was born in 1952 in Johannesburg, South Africa...
and Althea Oelofse. Some of these puppets still exist today, but they are in very bad shape. The latex had begun to crumble. Most have been disposed of, while others remain in a storage facility of a museum
Museum
A museum is an institution that cares for a collection of artifacts and other objects of scientific, artistic, cultural, or historical importance and makes them available for public viewing through exhibits that may be permanent or temporary. Most large museums are located in major cities...
, waiting for preservation
Preservation (library and archival science)
Preservation is a branch of library and information science concerned with maintaining or restoring access to artifacts, documents and records through the study, diagnosis, treatment and prevention of decay and damage....
and restoration.
Radio, Records, Cd's
Most of the voices were primarily performed by Vels, if she was the storyteller; many of these recorded stories also appeared on recordsGramophone record
A gramophone record, commonly known as a phonograph record , vinyl record , or colloquially, a record, is an analog sound storage medium consisting of a flat disc with an inscribed, modulated spiral groove...
, and more recently on CD.
Several children's music albums followed the success of the series, and the theme song to the TV show is very well known and still popular today, especially among the 30-something generation who grew up listening to and watching it.
It was written by Vels, and the choir was directed by Sophie Faul.
Parodies
The Liewe Heksie series was also parodiedParody
A parody , in current usage, is an imitative work created to mock, comment on, or trivialise an original work, its subject, author, style, or some other target, by means of humorous, satiric or ironic imitation...
on local comedian Casper De Vries's show Die Casper Rasper Show with Verna Vels as a guest on the show. The sketch uses foul language, with costumes that don't really resemble the shows outfits. It suggests that Blommie and Koning Rosekrans are gay. It also suggests that Liewe Heksie has an affair with a Gifappel. It also has a lot of references to the show's history.
Revival
There were plans for the show to be redone in 3D3-D film
A 3-D film or S3D film is a motion picture that enhances the illusion of depth perception...
-CGI animation
Animation
Animation is the rapid display of a sequence of images of 2-D or 3-D artwork or model positions in order to create an illusion of movement. The effect is an optical illusion of motion due to the phenomenon of persistence of vision, and can be created and demonstrated in several ways...
and be released in 26 episodes of 11 minutes each in 2007. It was to be animated by Anamazing Workshop, and produced by Meerkat Media, but economic conditions were poor and the project was scrapped.
See also
- Verna VelsVerna VelsVerna Vels is the creator of the beloved South African book, film and radio character Liewe Heksie.-Biography:Verna Barbara Robertson was born in 1933 in Reitz of the Orange Free State South Africa. She completed her schooling, and in 1952 graduated the University of Pretoria. In 1954 obtained her...
- Antoinette SnymanAntoinette SnymanAntoinette Snyman is a well known South African puppeteer. She is both known for her great manipulation and puppet making skills.- Background :' was born in 1952 in Johannesburg, South Africa...
- Louise SmitLouise SmitLouise Smit is a South African writer of children's books and of children's television programmes.-Biography:Shet studied Drama at Teachers College in Paarl, and the University of Stellenbosch. She then did charitable work in Malawi. She performed indigenous folktales with the participation of the...
- Haas Das se NuuskasHaas Das se NuuskasHaas Das se Nuuskas was a weekly short television show in South Africa about a rabbit and a mouse running a news broadcast in Diere Land . Created by Louise Smit in 1976, at the time of television's introduction in South Africa, it was the first children's television programme in that country...
- Wielie WalieWielie WalieWielie Walie was an Afrikaans children's variety programme created by Louise Smit featuring puppets, which was broadcast from the launch of television in South Africa in 1976. With Karel and Sarel, two best friends but always fighting. Bennie always ready to read a story, and the duck and the...
- IntersterIntersterInterster was a weekly science-fiction puppet television show made for children and shown in South Africa from the late 1970s...