Ballad of the Fallen:The “Table Cloth” of the Table Mountain as the Spirits of the Dead
Ballad of the Fallen:The “Table Cloth” of the Table Mountain as the Spirits of the Dead

Summary/Abstract: According to local foundation myths, the Table Mountain in Cape Town, South Africa, is the metamorphosed body of the giant Umlindi Weningizimu (Watcher of the South), wounded in a fight between the giants and the Great Dragon of the Sea. The legend has spawned numerous myths about the phantoms haunting the mountain. The Portuguese poet Luís de Camoẽs gave in his epic poem The Lusíads another explanation: Table Mountain is the metamorphosed body of the cursed titan Adamastor, sent into exile for falling in love with the goddess Tethys. Nineteenth century people attributed the night lights on the Table Mountain to the bright carbuncle crowning the head of a mythical serpent. A later Afrikaner version relates “the table cloth” to the story of Captain van Hunks who beat the devil in a smoking competition, both being eventually transformed into a pall of mist. Whoever the cloud over Table Mountain might represent, it symbolizes the storms which Cape Town has always been associated with.

• Details
• Contents