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Serpents

The Bushmen tell of many enormous beasts that are not known of in modern days. There are tales of serpents big and strong enough to kill a full-grown antelope. There are numerous paintings of snakes and serpents in caves where bushmen were known to live. One of them is believed to depict the master of the water: Kouteign Koorou.

This serpent was much larger and dangerous than a hippo this serpent roamed the reeds and the swamps in the rivers of the bushmen. The only way the bushmen could capture this beast was by weaving traps of reeds and poles. These had to be strong enough that the serpent could not break through. When the serpent was caught in one of these traps it would try to escape with all its might. He would lash at the water in such a matter that it would make a spray so big that a rainbow would appear. The serpent received his name by this rainbow "crowning" him. There are a lot of paintings of this serpent in this state.