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I’m contemplating the patterns under my feet on an Nguni skin next to my bed, thinking about the Gerard Manley Hopkins poem:
Glory be to God for dappled things-
Glory be to God for dappled things-
For skies of couple-colour as a brinded cow;
For rose-moles all in stipple upon trout that swim;
Fresh-firecoal chestnut-falls; finches' wings …
I love the words: dappled, brindled, stippled, studded, mottled, spattered, freckled and I wonder what Hopkins would have made of this pattern.
I love the words: dappled, brindled, stippled, studded, mottled, spattered, freckled and I wonder what Hopkins would have made of this pattern.
I own five Nguni. In Zulu terms if they were flesh and blood, this would make me a very wealthy woman. Each Nguni is differently and distinctly patterned. I know the name of each of them thanks to Marquerite Poland’s evocative book The Abundant Herds celebrating Zulu cattle naming, brilliantly illustrated by Leigh Voight.
The Nguni beside my bed is Stones in the river – a creamy beast with dark round patches circled by lighter rings like the tide-mark on boulders in an African river that is slowly drying.
The beauty of an oral language lies not only in its lyrical and tonal qualities but in the slight nuances, the imaginative combination of words, the rich metaphor, exaggeration, paradox, imagery, allusion and truth. It’s the language of young herdsmen who have spent their days in the veldt with nothing but wide open spaces and the stone-like palisades of ancient cow byres and nights next to flickering fires under huge star-strewn skies, to feed their imagination and idea of story – each herdsman knowing his beasts so well that every single one is praised by name and sung to as it enters the byre for milking - the names giving credit to human creativity, playfulness and story telling.
My four other Nguni are named:
Gaps between the branches of the tree silhouetted against the sky. A huge cream beast with black shapes that seem like trees in silhouette against a pale sky.
Gaps between the branches of the tree silhouetted against the sky. A huge cream beast with black shapes that seem like trees in silhouette against a pale sky.
Flies in the buttermilk. A creamy animal stippled with small black dots that resemble flies swimming in a bucket of buttermilk. 
6 Comments on Abundant Words - Dianne Hofmeyr, last added: 4/15/2010
Wow! Gerard Manley Hopkins! I read many things on Blogs but it is the first time anyone has enthused over GMH since my English teacher at school. I love internal rhyme: the stress and beauty this brings to descriptions.
Lovely, Dianne!
leslie
I was one of those nerdy children who loved poetry Elaine, so all those poems learnt at school are still rolling around in strange little pockets in my brain! And thanks Leslie. I'm writing from the southern hemisphere and thought everyone must be bored with hearing about whales and dolphins... so my bedroom carpet had to be my inspiration! I hope anyone looking at the pics will notice my 'specially for the blog' painted toenails... a shade called 'Vixen' in case anyone is interested!
Another beautiful and lyrical post, Dianne, bringing its wonderful sense of another and sunnier place. The playing with words and detailed descriptions of animals reminded me - oddly - about the "For I Will Consider My Cat Jeoffrey" poem by Christopher Smart with its long listing and naming of cat behaviour.
Ps. Excellent toenail painting as well!
Your posts are always a joy and a pleasure to read, Diane, and this one is no exception. Thank you for brightening my morning.
Lucy @ http://scribblecitycentral.blogspot.com
The photos alone are sheer poetry, Many thanks for posting them.