This is a summary, in alphabetical order, of some of the gods, heroes and monsters that appear in the beliefs of the Khoikhoi, an ethnic group from southern Africa. This article is about deities or gods from a non-monotheistic perspective. ... An 18th century drawing of Khoikhoi worshipping the moon The Khoikhoi (people people or real people) or Khoi are a division of the Khoisan ethnic group of south-western Africa, closely related to the Bushmen (San in the Khoi language). ... // Etymology World map showing Africa (geographically) The name Africa came into Western use through the Romans, who used the name Africa terra — land of the Afri (plural, or Afer singular) — for the northern part of the continent, as the province of Africa with its capital Carthage, corresponding to modern-day...

Gods and Heroes

Gaunab/Gamab/Gauna

Known as Gamab to the Haukoin and Gauna to the Bushmen, he is the supreme god of the Khoikhoi. As a god of the sky, he resides in the heavens above the stars and shoots arrows down to the mortals of earth, killing them. This also makes him a god of fate and death. The Bushmen (also known as Khwe Khoe, Basarwa, or San) peoples of South Africa and neighbouring Botswana and Namibia, who live in the Kalahari, are part of the Khoisan group and are related to the Khoikhoi. ... For alternate meanings see star (disambiguation) Hundreds of stars are visible in this image taken by the Hubble Space Telescope of the Sagittarius Star Cloud in the Milky Way Galaxy. ... Earth, also known as Terra, and Tellus mostly in the 19th century, is the third-closest planet to the Sun. ... For the philosophical and religious concept, see destiny. ... Death is the cessation of physical life in a living organism, or the state of the organism after that event. ...

Gunab

The god of evil. ...

Heitsi-eibib/Heitsi

One of the most famous heroes, he was the offspring of a cow and some magical grass that the cow ate. He was a legendary hunter, sorcerer and warrior, who most notably killed the Ga-gorib (see below). He was also a life-death-rebirth figure, dying and resurrecting himself on numerous occasions; his funeral cairns are located in many locations in southern Africa. He is worshipped as a god of the hunt. Binomial name Bos taurus Linnaeus, 1758 Cattle (called cows in vernacular usage) are domesticated ungulates, a member of the subfamily Bovinae of the family Bovidae. ... Subfamilies There are 7 subfamilies: Subfamily Arundinoideae Subfamily Bambusoideae Subfamily Centothecoideae Subfamily Chloridoideae Subfamily Panicoideae Subfamily Pooideae Subfamily Stipoideae The true grasses are monocotyledonous plants (Class Liliopsida) in the Family Poaceae, also known as Gramineae. ... In Khoikhoi mythology, Ga-gorib is a mythological monster who sat by a deep hole in the ground and dared passers-by to throw rocks at him. ... The category life-death-rebirth deity also known as a dying-and-rising god is a convenient means of classifying the many divinities in world mythology who are born, suffer death or an eclipse or other death-like experience, pass a phase in the underworld among the dead, and are... A cairn to mark the way along a glacier A cairn is a manmade pile of stones. ...

Tsui/Tsui'goab

Tsui is a god of sorcerery and sorcerers. He is also credited with being the god of rain and thunder. Tsui (also called Tsuigoab) is the Khoikhoi god of magic, rain and thunder. ... A sorcerer or sorceress ( Old French sorcier, fem. ... Rain falling For other uses see Rain (disambiguation). ... Thunder is the sound of the shockwave caused when lightning instantly heats the air around it to up to 30 000 °C (54 000 °F). ...

Monsters

Aigamuxa

A man-eating, dune-dwelling creature that is mostly human-looking, except that it has eyes on the instep of its feet. In order to see, it has to go down on its hands and knees and lift its one foot in the air. This is a problem when the creature chases prey, because it has to run blind. Some sources claim the creature resembles an ogre. In African folklore (specifically that of the Hottentots), Aigamuxa or Aigamuchab is a cannibalistic ogre with eyes on his feet. ... A Japanese aka-oni, or red ogre, vanquishes demons at an onsen in Beppu According to the folklore and mythology of the peoples of Northern Europe, the ogres (related to the Latin Orcus, though it purportedly comes from Hungar or Uigur, meaning Hungarian or perhaps Hun) are a race of...

Ga-gorib

A legendary monster who sat by a deep hole in the ground and dared passers-by to throw rocks at him. The rocks would bounce off and kill the passer-by, who then fell into the hole. When the hero Heitsi-eibib encountered Ga-gorib, he declined the monster's dare. When Ga-gorib was not looking, Heitsi-eibib threw a stone at the monster and hit it below its ear, causing it to fall in its own pit. In Khoikhoi mythology, Ga-gorib is a mythological monster who sat by a deep hole in the ground and dared passers-by to throw rocks at him. ...

In an alternate version of this story, Ga-gorib chased Heitsi-eibib around the hole until the hero slipped and fell inside. Heitsi-eibib eventually escaped and, after a struggle, was able to push the monster into the pit.

Hai-uri

An agile, jumping creature who is partially-invisible and has only one side to its body (one arm and one leg). It eats humans and is comparable to the Tikdoshe of the Zulu people and the Chiruwi of Central Africa. The Zulu are an African ethnic group of about 11 million people who live mainly in KwaZulu-Natal Province, South Africa. ...

References

• Arthur Cotterell: A Dictionary of World Mythology Oxford University Press, Oxford, 1979, ISBN 0192177478
• Dr. A. van Reeth: Encyclopedie van de Mythologie Tirion, Baarn, 1994, ISBN 9051213042