And What the San Still Teach the Sky
In the Kalahari, stories are not just told—they are lived. They move across the sand like wind, settle on the skin like dust, and take root in memory like wild grass after rain.
One such story, “Why Ostriches Don’t Fly,” is a tale as old as the desert itself. Immortalised in Why Ostriches Don’t Fly and Other Tales from the African Bush by I. Murphy Lewis, this collection preserves 22 stories shared by San elders through firelight, illustration, and memory.
The San—sometimes called the Bushmen—are the First People of Southern Africa. Their culture, both ancient and fragile, is made of earth, rhythm, laughter, ritual, and resistance. In Lewis’s book, we don’t just read about the ostrich who lost its wings—we’re invited to walk into the mind of a people who understand that even flightlessness can be sacred.
The Power of a Shared Fire
Murphy Lewis didn’t just write a book. She sat with the San, danced with them, made fire with them, and listened—truly listened. In her illustrations and retellings, there’s a reverence that mirrors our own work at the Vetkat Art Foundation: preserving what the world is too busy to remember.
In her words:
“The Bushmen drew for me and told me 22 tales I had never heard… At night, as the sun set majestically, they danced and sang for us… I hope these stories touch you as they have touched me.”
They do touch us. Deeply.
Because here at Vetkat, stories are not optional. They are the blueprint of identity.
What Ostriches Can Teach Us
In the San tale, the ostrich once flew—beautiful and proud. But pride, impatience, and a refusal to heed wisdom led to its fall from the sky. Today, the ostrich runs—faster than most birds can even dream, but it will never fly again.
This isn’t just a myth. It’s a mirror.
It speaks to the danger of forgetting—forgetting tradition, forgetting humility, and forgetting our place in the web of life.
At Vetkat, we recognise this. The art of Vetkat Regopstaan Kruiper, etched in lines that feel like echoes from the stone, and the poetry of Belinda Kruiper, full of dust, grief, and sacred memory, do what the ostrich tale does: warn, teach, and guide.
A Living Archive of the Kalahari
As the Global Voice Foundation and authors like Murphy Lewis preserve oral traditions through ink and paper, we, too, honour them through our walls, exhibits, pilgrimages, and poetry.
Each drawing Vetkat made—each line shaped by desert winds—is a continuation of stories like Why Ostriches Don’t Fly. Each word Belinda wrote is a bridge between a forgotten world and the one we still have a chance to save.
Let the Stories Fly
The ostrich may never take to the skies again. But the stories can.
And maybe that’s the point.
When we share, we soar.
When we listen, we remember.
When we remember, we become whole.
📖 Explore the Tales
We encourage you to view Why Ostriches Don’t Fly and Other Tales from the African Bush on Amazon or visit the Global Voice Foundation to support the continued documentation of indigenous wisdom.
And if you’re ever in the Kalahari, come sit with us. The fire is still burning. The stories are still alive.