Giraffe: The Seer

Africans of all tribes regarded the giraffe as one of the holiest animals on Earth. In fact, its name in the Batswana language, Thutlhwa, is a word that means ‘the honoured one,’ or ‘the one to be respected.’ The giraffe was regarded as an animal that was able to foresee the future. It was in fact the symbol of all seers and all prophets and diviners. In the language of the Zulus, the giraffe is called Indula-minthi, and this name means ‘the one who is taller than the trees.’ Our people believed that a giraffe could foretell the coming of veld-fires, and that by its actions it would warn other animals of the coming danger. And again and again, in places where I was initiated in many parts of Africa, I found likenesses of the giraffe. Even in ancient caves where Khoi-San people used to live, you find many paintings of giraffes on the walls of those caves.

The giraffe is a quiet animal by nature, and quietness is regarded as an important characteristic of a seer. Our people say, “He who sees into the future must have lips that do not speak.” When we are undergoing deep initiation into the mysteries of African healing, we are always told by our teachers to think very deeply about certain animals. And amongst these animals is the giraffe, and if an initiate is praying for the intensification of his visionary powers, he is told to either draw, or paint, or even carve out of soft wood, the likeness of a giraffe.

Because of its very long neck, the giraffe is capable of seeing danger far away, long before the other animals with it see or sense that danger. When a gang of hunters approach, the giraffe will always be the first one to start moving, slowly at first, and then galloping away at a speed that warns the other animals around it that there is danger afoot.    Giraffes sometimes behave strangely in the bush. Male giraffes will sometimes mount other males, and thus the giraffe is viewed as the animal that protects those men and those women who fall in love only with members of the sex to which they belong – namely homosexuals or lesbians. In ancient Africa, such people were viewed as holy people, whose life energy was not dissipated in heterosexual activities. Some of the wealthiest and most influential women amongst many tribes were lesbians, who mined and processed several important metals such as copper and silver, which were regarded as female metals.

According to our people’s religion, if one dreams of a giraffe peacefully drinking water in the bush, this was said to mean that one shall soon have the calling to initiation and shamanism within a short time. Should you however, dream of a giraffe galloping away, this was seen as a warning sign that danger was stalking you, and that one of your ancestors or ancestresses has come to warn you, in the form of a giraffe, that you must take evasive action immediately!    The giraffe was one of two animals whose spoor was regarded as sacred to the Great Earth Mother. It was also the symbol of obedience and of peace. When an African child’s grandparent blessed the newly born child, he or she used to mention the giraffe, the wildebeest, and the buffalo in that blessing. The blessing went this way: “May you grow, child of my child. May you grow as tall as the giraffes of the wilderness, as mighty as the buffalos of the plains, and as wise as the wildebeests of the bush.” This was an African grandparent’s blessing to his or her child. Many, many times in my childhood, I heard our grandmothers, grandfathers and even great-grandparents uttering this blessing upon the offspring of their children or their children’s children.

A story by Credo Mutwa