In the Stars

The copyright of this thesis vests in the author. No quotation from it or information derived from it is to be published without full acknowledgementTown of the source. The thesis is to be used for private study or non- commercial research purposes only. Cape Published by the University ofof Cape Town (UCT) in terms of the non-exclusive license granted to UCT by the author. University IN THE STARS Chantal Juanita Michelle Stewart A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the award of the degree of Master of Arts in Creative Writing. Faculty of the HumanitiesTown University of Cape Town 2013 Cape of Supervisor : Etienne van Heerden University Declaration : This work has not been previously submitted in whole, or in part, for the award of any degree. It is my own work. Each significant contribution to, and quotation in, this dissertation from the work, or works, of other people has been attributed, and has been cited and referenced. Signature: ..................................... Date : ......................... ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The information about African star lore was obtained from various sources. I have mixed the mythology of the Zulu, Venda, Tswana and Sotho traditions and not separated them. Some of the words which Kingston uses in this regard, for example, the stars being holes in the rocky vault of the sky, come from these concepts. The sources used include Auke Slotegraaf’s website, www.psychohistorian.org, the collection of legends assembled by Dr Dave Laney of the South African Astronomical Observatory, Cosmic Africa, a film produced by Dr Thebe Medupe, as well as The Crocodile Swallows the Sun by Maritha Snyman, Bheki Ntuli and Danisile Ntuli. Geographical, historical and cultural information was obtained from visits to Swaziland and discussion with a wide rangeTown of people, including a chief from the Lubombo region. The scientific information about astronomy was obtained from a variety of books and articles and I haveCape taken liberties with some of this information to suit the needs of the story. For example, the total eclipse on Kastelorizo refers to a real event in ofApril 2006. This has been changed to September in the novel. Lipoid proteinosis is a rare autosomal recessive genetic condition and is referenced in many medical text books. With reference to the cultural views on madness I have read many articles but would particularly like to cite the Master’sUniversity thesis of Beauty Ntombizanele Booi entitled: Three Perspectives on Ukuthwasa: the View from Traditional Beliefs, Western Psychiatry and Transpersonal Psychology (Rhodes University 2004). I have used one quotation from By Grand Central Station I Sat Down and Wept by Elizabeth Smart and have used lines from a few popular songs. I would like to acknowledge my Supervisor, Etienne van Heerden, for his help and guidance. The last few months have been quite a journey. I would also like to thank Anne Schuster who has given me input and encouragement for many years. Lastly, I would like to thank my family: my father for always believing in me and Ian for insisting I try harder. 1 ABSTRACT This is a book about the nature of reality and the illusions we embrace to smooth our paths through the vagaries of life in an uncertain world. It is about the dichotomies which exist in life and how our perceptions of life define our realities. It uses the stars, moon and sky as a tool to explore these differences by counterpoising the two main characters as having different views of the same subject. Thus Gabriel is an astronomer with a rational scientific approach to the universe while Lena, though brought up in a scientific tradition, has, through her experiences and personality, learnt to question this approach and developed a more aesthetic and mythological approach to the universe. While this is explored in the tensionsTown between her and Gabriel, her own reality is questioned through her interaction with Kingston Ingovazana Mabilu. Although she is drawn to his philosophical views on life, in the end she has misgivings about Capethe extremes to which these beliefs will eventually take her and is unable to commit to cultural beliefs which are so different from her own. of The different perceptions are also explored in relation to ideas about health, medicine, causes of illness and their treatments. This brings into opposition the two prevalent paradigms in Southern Africa of the Western medical view and the alternative traditional view. The book tries to demonstrate howUniversity these are both valid with the characters showing justifications for their own points of view. Finally, the relationship between Lena and Gabriel focuses on the delicate fragility of relationships between people, in their attempts to understand each other, to communicate, to trust and to truly know each other. In the end, these challenges may be insurmountable. The themes of the book were inspired by the everyday dichotomies of life in Southern Africa; the different languages, religions and world views. It seemed important to explore issues of life and death, health and illness, particularly in a country where, less than a decade ago, the president of the 2 country declared that HIV was not caused by a virus. The constructs of madness also warranted elucidation, as different cultures view these behaviours very differently. The second theme of astronomy versus mythology of the universe was inspired in part by Ben Okri in Starbook and The Famished Road, where magical realism opens up new ideas about the nature of reality in an African context. I also noted the tension between these ideas and the advanced technology of the Square Kilometre Array to be developed in South Africa. The book merely hints at the political past of South Africa but concentrates on the present paradigm of differing beliefs. I have drawn from various texts to authenticate the astronomical data and have consulted a number of books and websites to obtain information about African star mythology. Town Cape of University 3 IN THE STARS A novel by Chantal Juanita Michelle Stewart Men of philosophical disposition are known for their constant premonition that our everyday reality, too, is an illusion, hiding another, totally different kind of reality.Town Nietzche For my part I know nothing with anyCape certainty but the sight of the stars makes me dream. of Vincent van Gogh University 4 CHAPTER 1. 1. I stand at the large window cradling a dewed wine glass in my hands. Table Mountain is silhouetted in black outline like a Rorschach spot. The moon moves from behind a cloud picking out the dog droppings in the garden, the bicycle leaning against the neighbour’s shed, the rough lines of a wooden post box, and I wonder whether I will ever look at the night in the same way again. It is hard to know where this story begins. Is it in the unclouded waters of my childhood, or in my life as it was before I learnt to see it through his eyes? Perhaps it starts with his story as I grew to disentangle it from the maze of misdirections. And even then, does his storyTown begin now, as we each struggle to find our own salvation? In the end there is only one starting point. It is that night of stars when I met Gabriel. Cape Cape Town steamed gently in late summerof sunshine. As I crested the hill on Eastern Boulevard with the sprawling mass of Groote Schuur Hospital on my right, the sea lay suddenly before me with the high-rises of the city centre in front of it. Every time I saw this view it made me suck in my breath. Today the moon hung low in the evening sky. I twiddled the knobs on the radio to find some music that I liked, and settled for KFM playing the Waterboys, The WholeUniversity of the Moon. ‘I pictured a rainbow. You held it in your hands. I had flashes. But you saw the plan.’ I glanced at the flyer on the seat beside me as I turned from Wale Street into Queen Victoria and steered into a parking place next to the golden stone walls of St Georges Cathedral. PUBLIC LECTURE – PLANETARIUM SOLAR ECLIPSES – HOW THEY HAPPEN BY PROFESSOR GABRIEL POWELL 5 The last words of the song faded out as I turned the key ‘blazing your trail. Too high, too far, you saw the whole of the moon.’ A yellow-coated car guard was at the door as soon as it opened. The Planetarium is set at the far end of The Gardens. I wanted to stretch my legs after sitting in my office all day. So I walked down the long path through the trees, past the exotic bird cages and the fish pond. The Rose Garden was in full bloom with its spiral arrangement of plants and, glancing to my right, Lion’s Head reared up against the clear blue sky. I turned past the fountain to the imposing columns of the SA Museum with the dome of the Planetarium on its right. The ticket queue curled outside the door and down the steps – a few school kids, some earnest looking scientists, staff obviously from the Planetarium, a selection of interested citizens. The solar eclipse was generating quite a lot of attention. It was the first time in forty years that there was to be a total eclipse in South Africa. This was the first of a monthTown long series of talks to generate awareness about astronomy. A few yards from me a heated argument was going on amongst a group of three people. Cape “He’s a brilliant scientist. Sinceof he’s joined the Astronomy Department the number of publications has rocketed.

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