Celebrating Stories
Celebrating Storytelling
I’m celebrating on several fronts this week. I was thrilled to learn The Wisdom of Elephants is a semi-finalist in the North Street Book Competition for self-published books! It was very encouraging to learn the book was among the top 4% of 1,946 books submitted. On the photography front my black and white image from the cover of the book won a nomination in the black and white Refocus Awards. I am so grateful to those who voted for it in the people’s choice category.
Carrying on with the celebration theme, last week was World Hippo Day. In honour of the hippopotamus, the third largest mammal in the world, I’m reposting a wonderful origin story of these fascinating mammals told by Daniel, my Maasai guide.
Why do hippos open their mouths in the water?
“Do you know why hippos open their mouths so wide?” asked my guide Daniel. “No, why?” I asked, sensing a creation story in the making.
Daniel continued, “After the Creator made all the animals, they gathered together in a big meeting so God could locate each and every animal in the right habitat. For example, the lions were put on the plains where there is tall grass and bushes to hide in. The rhinos were also left in the open where there is lots of grass for them to eat. Fish were placed in the water and so on. When the Creator was doing this the hippo raised its head and said, “I have a request. We are getting sunburned in the heat. Could we please live in the water? It is a good place for us, and we will be protected from the sun.”
Hmmmm,” said the Creator thinking. “I’ve already put the fish in the water. There is no room for you.” The hippos would not be deterred. “See all the pools and the rivers across the land?” they said. “They are so big. There is room for us too.”
“Okay, I will let you go in the water,” said the Creator cautiously, “as long as you don’t eat the fish.” As you know, hippos are very big animals, they eat a lot. The hippos promised they would not eat the fish and the Creator let them live in the pools and rivers. When hippos are in the water you will see them open their mouths wide showing their large canine teeth, proving to the Creator there are no fish in their mouths.
Hippos also mark their territories at entrances and exits to the water. They wag their tails like propellers and spray the bushes along the riverbank with their poop. Every evening the hippos leave the water to graze on the savannah in the cool of the night. They return to the water at dawn.
Since hippos are grazers their droppings contain grass. They leave another message for the Creator along the shoreline; “See, there are no fish bones in my droppings, only grass.” This pleases the Creator, who is very happy that to this day the fish and the hippos co-exist peacefully in the water.
Here’s a fun video of a hippo making a big splash as it runs back to the river at sunrise. Despite their size hippos can run fast!
A good safari guide has lots of stories to share. I love listening to them share their experiences about wildlife and their culture. There’s so much to learn on safari!