Page 52 - Dark Matter Women Witnessing

After the anthology was published, I visited Gillian Van Houten, one of the

contributors, at the wild animal preserve, Londolozi in South Africa. Her story of

hand-raising the lion Shingalana and releasing her to the wild is in the anthology,

as are stories from many of her colleagues at other reserves in Africa. We tried

to make contact with one of the several breeding herds that live at Londolozi but

the elephants had, conspicuously it seemed, avoided us. Sighting elephants is

commonplace at Londolozi but I was denied connection, which I took to heart. It

seemed I was not ready for what I was imagining – not to view, but to sit in

council with elephants.

I needed to prepare. That is what I did. In Chobe, Botswana, on Epiphany,

January 6th, 2000, my heart and soul were ready.

“Slowly the elephant lifted his head from the grasses and began

walking along the river. He did not stop to graze nor did he look

around but walked with clear determination and intention....focused,

deliberate, determined, conscious, aware intention.

He stopped directly in front of the truck and raised his trunk

toward us. It was over and under itself and up and over again.

That is, he tied his trunk into an impossible knot.... I was on my

knees in the flat bed of the pickup.... My hands were open on the

edge of the truck so that the elephant knew that I was empty-

handed and that I had no weapons.

In my mind I spoke to him.

“I know who you are and what kind of beings your people

are. I have some sense of the extent and depth of your intelligence

and development. And I know that you are of a holocausted people

....”

Then I silenced my mind. I had said enough. Humans have

said enough.

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