RI7ER JOURNAL POSTS

We have pulled into a garage to have the vehicle´s shocks checked in Kakamas. Rob is dealing with the mechanic, and i am hanging out with his helper. She tells me she has lived here for a year, and she asks what we are doing. I tell her that we are following the Orange river from sea to source and express the importance of the river to us. I ask her what comes to her mind about the importance of the Orange river to her and to people here. Immediately she says she thinks of the snake lady.

The local Khoi-San people believe that the snake lady lives in the river. She is half snake and half woman, and between her eyes sits a diamond. The story goes that if the diamond shines on you, she takes your soul down into the river. There are various ways to retrieve the soul depending on the very local beliefs. One way is for the tribe to steal a pot and give it to the snake lady in exchange for the soul.

By Ine Skjørten