ODE to the Rainmakers
words and photos: Khumoetsile Seamogano
Legakabe la pula ya medupe,
Le rile kwale,
Lare ntlopotlopo.
The white-breasted crow
of the steady rain,
It said ‘yonder’,
It said ‘pitter patter’.
To conclude the rainmaking ceremony, young girls carrying black clay pots line up along the riverbank singing rain songs like this one. The elders dance and ululate (making repeated loud sounds). The land is ready to receive seeds.
Some stories are not written in history books and neatly filed in libraries. They carry meanings so intricate that mere words on a leaf would be yet another half-told tale of living magic. So, we sing songs and recite poems bearing truths that have lived since the beginning of time. Allow me to wash your eyes with an ode to Batswana’s rainmakers (people from Botswana). Let us start at the beginning. Before the conveniences offered by today’s infrastructure, a Motswana’s (citizen of Botswana) material wealth was measured by cattle and rain. When either failed, a man knew that his livelihood and that of his children were at stake. Call it love by reason of absence, but the people of the desert worshipped the rain.