Elephants through the eyes of Seronga natives

The people of the Okavango have cared for the environment since time immemorial PIC: THALEFANG CHARLES
The people of the Okavango have cared for the environment since time immemorial PIC: THALEFANG CHARLES

When we were growing up, we did not see such a massive population of wild animals, elephants in particular, especially in our villages. We used to see their footprints and sometimes they would pass by our fields during the night.

We used to scare them by beating the drums (ne re idaya dithini le di-diramu) and sometimes making a fire with grass and reeds (mmweni) so that the huge flame would scare them away.  This was done during the night and it gave us peace of mind.

We could tell when elephants were coming by the feel of the wind and in those days they were harmless and they were scared of coming nearer to people because they would sense our smell and they would go away. Even though we lived in the same area, Okavango, naturally we were places apart.

Editor's Comment
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