Martha Sibila Khoeses

/Hai-hab (Grey Horse), The Mysterious Horse Rider Martha Sibila Khoeses

(/Hai Hab) Grey Horse is a legendary folktale of the Damara people (#Nukhoen, Khoe-khoen) residing in Namibia. The story has been modified for the modern readership. Through the lenses of the main character (Ti-a) we look at the cultural heritage of the clan and its efforts of reconciling modern lifestyle and age old believes. It depicts the young woman's quest in finding her identity while growing up in an increasingly modern African society surrounded by western ideals and the Christian faith. There is however an ancestral call on her life to serve her people. In a modern society many African beliefs are seen as either superstition, witchcraft and/or barbaric thus she shies away from her calling. Fear of victimization causes her to distance herself from her grandmother and subsequently the entire clan and adopts a lifestyle befitting modern cultures. During this time she was challenged in many areas, be it her religion or her blackness. The experiences brought home some of the teachings of her grandmother through dreams and she starts the conquest to return. /Hai hab the Damara tale is deconstructed to fit the new story-line. Ti-a, the main character romanticized this character and later builds it into her persona upon returning to her birth place.