They told their tale to an incredulous
depict a small figure with arms out-
Although it was declared a national
barman. They also decided to recount
stretched on the top of the pinnacle,
monument in 1955, Mukorob’s history
the story of their dramatic feat to Hu-
surrounded by an expanse of blue sky
began many years earlier at the end of
isgenoot magazine, who bought the
and a few puffy white clouds.
the Gondwana ice age, 280 million years
story – and their mind-boggling photo-
The Finger of God is also known as
ago. As the glaciers began to melt, they
graphs – paying the students enough to
Mukorob, derived from its Nama name
formed lakes and swamps in which gla-
cover the cost of their holiday. On their
‘Mûgorob’ meaning ‘someone saw’.
cial debris and clay-sand sedimentation
way back to Cape Town, they made a
Whether its unusual name stemmed
collected. These deposits solidified over
stop in Asab to drop off a copy of the
from the Nama legend inspired by the
thousands of years when the lakes dried
printed article for the barman.
rock pinnacle is anyone’s guess. The
up forming the grey shale below and
The photographs show the two seri-
legend, of which there are several vari-
the more weather-resistant sandstone
ous-faced young men wearing helmets
ations, tells the story of how the Nama,
of the Weissrand Escarpment above.
and carrying coils of climbing rope, and
who live in the arid southern reaches
With the breaking up of Gondwana
of Namibia, were visited by a large
120 million years ago into the south-
group of Herero from further north. The
ern hemisphere continents as we know
Herero, always at loggerheads with the
them today, the continental edges were
Nama, boasted how rich they were with
raised and slightly tilted to the east. The
their herds of fat cattle. “And what do
erosive power of the Fish River inten-
you have?” they mocked. “Nothing but
sified in subsequent humid conditions,
rocks!” The Nama quickly replied that
cutting a steep riverbank. This was fol-
they indeed had a very special rock
lowed by widespread erosion causing
and that they would be the lords of the
the edge of the Weissrand to move fur-
country as long as it stood. Annoyed, the
ther east over a period of millions of
Herero tied thongs together, wound the
years. Impressive rock islands like Mu-
long rope around the rock and hitched
korob remained, towering into the sky
it to their cattle, trying to topple it.
as the escarpment eroded around them.
But, as hard as they tried, they
An awe-inspiring balancing act, the
we r e
46 |
unable
to
budge
the
rock pinnacle towered over the land
rock. “Mû kho ro!” the Nama
over the aeons, gradually weathered by
shouted – “There you see!”
the wind and rain at the slow pace of