Umlindi
Weminigizimu
The African
people believed that Qamata created the whole world. When he wanted
to create the dry land, Nganyamba – a dragon who slept under the sea – tried to
stop him from doing this. Qamata realised that he would need some
help so he approached the one-eyed goddess, Djobela, and she cast a spell to
create four giants who were to guard the land from the north, south, east and
west. There were many battles and eventually the giants were
defeated, but, as they were dying, they asked the goddess to turn them into
mountains, so they could continue to look down on the land and protect
it. She did this and the giant of the south, known as Umlindid
Wemingizimu, became Table Mountain.
Adamastor
Adamaster
is the spirit of the Cape of Storms. The first story about him was
told by the Portuguese poet, Camoens in the 1500’s.
Vasco Da
Gama, the Portuguese explorer was approaching the Cape with his fleet, when
they were surrounded by a huge dark cloud, in the shape of a gigantic
human. The figure asked them why they were so foolish as to attempt
to sail in such dangerous and stormy waters and told them that there would be
awful disasters if they tried to sail round the Cape of Storms. He
told the terrified sailors that he was Adamastor who had tried to overthrow the
gods. The gods punished him by turning him into a mountain and
placing him at Cape Point to guard the seas of the south.
The
Circle of Islam
The story
goes that the Muslim, Nureel Mobeen escaped from the prison on Robben Island,
made his way over to the mainland and hid in the caves on the mountainside,
near the Twelve Apostles. His tomb (kramat) is now a shrine at
Oudekraal.
In Cape
Town, there are six kramats that form the Circle of Islam – one in Somerset
West, one on Robben Island and four in the Cape peninsula (including the one
belonging to Nureel Mobeen). Muslims believe that the Circle
protects those who live within it from natural disasters such as earthquakes,
tidal waves, fire, plague and famine.
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