Rellies

Our neighbour has a very large plot of land which she has allowed to grow wild and is thus a haven to birds and bats. I was able to photograph this critters recently. Thanks to my new camera, I was able to really zoom in on the bats, which sleep very high up in the trees. Unfortunately, lighting and having them often fly away when I was unprepared for the shot meant I only got a couple of good ‘uns but they look so sweet!
I love etymology (discovering roots and origins of words). David delighted me with an Oshikwanyama word recently. Their word for ‘relative’ comes from the root word ‘epata’ meaning (in a modern sense) ‘kitchen’. However, to discover what ‘epata’ originally referred to, one has to go back in history.
Homesteads, which still are common, are ‘alleys’ of wooden palisades, opening off into different open areas. The whole thing is surround by a big palisade. Each area has a designation: meeting area for the men, slaughter area, pounding grain area, sleeping area. Each wife had their own ‘epata’ – a cooking/communal living area for her and her offspring. Hence, each epata represented a group of close relatives.