Environmentally friendly: Socio-cultural practices and the Bible’s unclean animals

The baboon people; the eland people; the crocodile people; the monkey people; the buffalo people; the hippopotamus people; the duicker people; the wildcat people; the lion people; the wildbeast people….

I am of the crocodile people, that is to say, those who venerate the crocodile.

Out of curiosity, I did eat it back in 2015 in Aberdeen! I did enjoy the fish like expensive steak. 😂

The Holy Bible’s totems, rather, the so called “unclean animals”, include: pig, dog, donkey, monkey, worm, cat, rabbit, cheetah, shark, dolphin, frog, lion, elephant…

I am reminded of my pious late father, who still never ate fish because his mother had lovingly warned him, when he was a boy, that fish is indeed a water snake. Ironically, it appears that the pilchard fish we’ve always enjoyed at home, with the exception of my father of course, is among the clean animals in the Bible.

This takes me back to my favourite question: what am I actually “missing out” on, because of the beliefs, myths, and claims?

Lentswe la Baratani (lovers hill), anyone?😂

The legend of Lentswe la Baratani is famous tale of two young lovers who were not granted permission to marry (botswanatourism).

In despair, the couple decided to commit suicide by jumping off the cliff, while the other version states that the lovers climbed into a sacred part of the hill and have since vanished. And were, we are told, victim to a huge python that still resides up the Baratani Hill. Hence the name “lovers hill”.

Following on from this, Lentswe la Baratani is said to contain sacred qualities and is regarded as very dangerous. Therefore, Batswana will neither point at the hill nor climb it. The climbing of the hill is forbiden and this is indicated on a sign posts put up by the National Museum (Dewah 2015).

“However the hill is an archaeological site with stone and fired clay, hut floors, trash pits, ceramic and bone refuse dated to the 5th century” (Dewah 2015).

#bible

#sacred

#bakwena

#crocodile

#baratanihill

#conservation

#sustainability

#bangwaketse

#uncleananimals

#lentswelabaratani

#naturalenvironment

#thecrocodilepeople