Saturday, September 1, 2018

INGWAVUMA: Lion King


INGWAVUMA~The Lion King


The White Lions of Timbavati
are wandering through my dreams.
Enlightenment bearers,
beings as old as time's moonbeams,
born under an ancient star that fell to earth,
they carry a choice for humankind:
eternal darkness or rebirth.

The shaman says:
"At the end of the world, a white lion
will roar for the last time.
The sun will disappear forever from the sky.
If white lions vanish from the land,
we all will cease to be,"
too late, by then, to start to wonder why.

Ingwavuma,
Sun God, captive,
backed against the rock,
trapped, he turned and stared 
his hunters down.
He offered humankind a choice:
the Light, or stay forever in the dark,
our fate determined by the bullets' arc.

He walked towards them proudly, unafraid.
They chose, for they had paid;
they raised their guns.
He walked to meet his fate, his eyes old fire,
and, as he fell, his last roar dimmed the sun.

Ingwavuma died aligned with his heart star,
in the Leo constellation from which he came,
marking the proud death of a Lion King -
(they tell me Ingwavuma was his name.)
The human psyche will forever
bear the scar.

Their shots rang out.
Ingwavuma, spirit undefeated, fell.
The hunters chose our fate.
There is little more to tell.







This story is told in The Mystery of the White Lions, Children of the Sun God, by Linda Tucker, who is in love with the white lions. She formed the Global White Lion Protection Trust, and protects the lions she has been able to rescue in a wild sanctuary in their ancestral home of Timbavati, in an effort to keep them from being hunted to extinction. There they roam free, hunt and raise their cubs wild, but in protected territory.

The only other known white lions are kept in captivity, some in a compound in the USA, the others in a compound in Africa for Great White Hunters to shoot, in an enclosure where there is no escape, for a fee of $25,000, and a piece of their souls.

The courageous Ingwavuma, whom Linda knew and loved, was not himself a white lion but was believed to carry the gene, so he would have sired white lion cubs. He was cornered in a "hunting" enclosure. When he saw there was no escape, he did not cower. He met his fate bravely and, thereby, those hunters perhaps cursed mankind to eternal darkness. Certainly their hearts were dark.

Shaman Credo Mutwa told Linda that, long ago, a star fell to earth, after which all animals in the area where it fell bore white offspring, the few remaining white lions descending from that time. The shaman says the white lions, who have blue eyes, guard a secret that can save humankind: to turn towards enlightenment, or remain forever in darkness. He says when the last white lion is gone, the sun will disappear. It is, perhaps, the most fascinating and stirring book I have ever read.

shared with the Poetry Pantry at Poets United. I have shared this before, but felt like posting it again today, with so many ecosystems disintegrating. It seems timely. The trump nightmare invaded my dream last night. I was saying: "I can't do it. Don't make me. Make him stop." LOL. 


22 comments:

  1. This is such a sad tale, Sherry....yes, indeed, there is little more to tell. I have been thinking as well about the animals that are on the verge of extinction I am sad for the orangutans whose numbers are being depleted because humans are using palm oil. Humans are just so greedy and cruel.

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  2. 100,000 orangutans have died so far.......and there are substitutes for palm oil.

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  3. I know, Rosemary. My heart breaks over and over........you might like this book. I loved it and will read it again.

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  4. I saw a pair of white lions at a conservatory in S.Africa.. absolutely gorgeous creatures, how anyone can raise a gun at them is beyond me. We are a horrible species that kills for some perverse pleasure.

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  5. Oh this is heartbreaking 😥 I will be sure to check out that book, Sherry.

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  6. Lions are such beautiful, regal creatures. I despair when I read about the way they are slaughtered.

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  7. It is not sport to kill an animal in its own environment...it is murder. If we need to kill animals for fun and selfish pride those humans feeling the same should be allowed to shoot and kill each other! I am sure a reserve for this purpose can be arranged.

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  8. This is heartbreaking. Your piece reads like a beautiful but sad bit of myth meant to warn humans against folly. Sadly, some never listen.

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  9. Oh, we have indeed chosen our grim fates.
    Your narration of this story is excellent.
    -HA

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  10. "He offered humankind a choice:
    the Light, or stay forever in the dark,
    our fate determined by the bullets' arc."

    alas we made that choice aeons ago and still do alas. A very moving poem - as a Leo I especially relate though I think my totem is a white mouse

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  11. this is absolutely heartbreaking..

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  12. The stor of mankind, with his brothers, is heartbreaking. A beautiful story well told, in your poem. Thank you Sherry. It is truly heart breaking.

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  13. A stirring write Sherry
    Happy Sunday

    much love...

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  14. Oh this is a dark story, and so telling of what we do today... the last forest, the last piece of coal, the final ore.. it's taken, and we know for sure, that last bullet we aim at ourselves.

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  15. Oh, Sherry, this is an amazing story. You tell it with all the power of a fable at a fireside.

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  16. As an animal lover, this tugged and tugged at my heart. So sad.....

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  17. What an impactful and edifying post, Sherry. Your poem articulates the plight of the White Lions poignantly and with stirring empathy. A fascinating story.

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  18. This breaks my heart Sherry. We humans are so full of greed and blood lust. So many animals killed for the sake of a few rich men.

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  19. These people have no souls. Let the punishment fit the crime. When they pay the 25000 dollars...put the hunters in the enclosure unarmed with the lion.

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