The Mermaid of Meiringspoort
In days long gone
when the San walked the Swartberg
and passed through the place we now call Meiringspoort
there dwelt in the bottomless pool at the foot of the waterfall
a water nymph,
a mermaid called Eporia
the San knew her well
they painted her image on rock faces in the Kamminassieberge
and above Herold’s Bay
where she frolics with three of her friends
and a merman keeps them company
at times Eporia sulked in her pool…
the rain dried up and the waterfall stopped flowing
there was drought and anguish in the land
and the San had to walk far away from the kloof to find water
at other times she was happy…
the rains came, the streams rushed down the crags
and the river joined her in song
then the San spent months at a time at Boesmansdrif
where they rested beside the stream and enjoyed Eporia’s gift of water
sometimes she raged…
then the rain came in great billowing clouds and flashes of electric light
the crags echoed the roaring of the skies
and the San made for high land, because they knew what would follow
the waters tumbled through the kloof
great boulders were cast aside
trees were ripped from the ground and the San feared Eporia’s anger
the centuries passed
the San disappeared from the land
and new faces came to take their place
Eporia sang her songs:
she lured a smous to the pool’s edge and drowned him there
his ghost walks the road near Klaarstroom
Eporia sulked:
there were two terrible droughts
and then Eporia raged:
in 1998 great floods descended through Meiringspoort
the road was swept away
and as the boulders rolled and trees were swept out to sea
memories of water nymphs and mermaids were evoked…
and stories were told…
a fisherman at the coast had caught a mermaid in his net
her name was Eporia he said
Nature had grown angry with her sulking
and had sent the rains to sweep her from her pool
she had been tossed and turned in the swirling foam and thrust far out to sea
far from her deep dark pool and the sunlight and shadows of the poort
he took her to the CP Nel Museum in Oudtshoorn
for he had read in the newspapers that there was a lady there who knew about mermaids
and the Kunstefees was on the go
there would be lots for Eporia to see…
the stories grew …
people started phoning
where was the mermaid
could they come and see her?
people arrived at the Museum
where was the mermaid?
they had come to see her
people contacted the press
where was the mermaid
had they got photographs?
Anita saw an opportunity to spread the word about meerminne
she got a mannequin from a shop
draped it with chiffon
and hung it in the clock tower
the mermaid could be seen through the windows
“there she is, in her aquarium…”
“that’s a doll”
said the mense - the angry mense
“we want to see the meermin you have hidden in some secret room…”
Perhaps Eporia does sulk and sing and rage in her pool
the San saw something
their paintings show delicate shapes with fishy tails, lithe bodies and short curly hair
the legend continues… The mermaid dustbin next to the Luttig's Mill in Markstraat, Prince Albert
created by Kevin de Klerk at The Watershed Gallery
Information for this story was provided by Anita Holthauzen, former curator of the CP Nel Museum in Oudtshoorn.
