ǀKaggen

ǀKaggen is a trickster who is able to shape shift into the form of any animal. He is most frequently represented as a praying mantis but also takes the form of a bull eland, a louse, a snake, and a caterpillar. His wife, ǀHúnntuǃattǃatte̥n (sometimes spelled as Coti Their adopted daughter is represented as a porcupine. ==Eland myth==

One of the first animals created by ǀKaggen, and his favourite, was the eland. ǀKaggen's wife ǀHúnntuǃattǃatte̥n gave birth to the eland, and ǀKaggen hid it near a secluded cliff to let it grow. ǀKaggen was angry, and told Gewi to put the blood from the dead eland into a pot and churn it. Blood spattered from the pot onto the ground and turned into snakes. Mongoose (ichneumon) variation The scholar David Lewis-Williams recounts a variation of the eland myth involving the meerkats. ǀKaggen's daughter the porcupine married the meerkat, kwammang-a. ǀKaggen used to take honey to feed his favourite, the eland. The people were curious as to what ǀKaggen was doing with the honey, so they sent the mongoose to spy on him and find out. While ǀKaggen was out gathering honey, the meerkats persuaded the mongoose to show them where the eland was. They called the eland out of its hiding place and killed it. ==See also==