Throughout Africa the myth takes different paths. Like the Kenyan version - in Malawi, Mozambique and Tanzania - it is said that God had given the message to the chameleon but was overheard by the lizard, who, being swifter, ran ahead to pass on the news. The lizard misheard God’s words and informed the people that they were destined to die and there would be no eternal life. When the chameleon finally arrived with the real story he was ridiculed by the people who told him that he was stupid and they already knew that they would die and that death would be the end of everything. From that moment onwards the poor chameleon was branded a liar, a cheat and one never to be trusted.
To this day the belief lingers across Africa, either in real life or superstition, that man’s eventual destiny has been caused by the actions of the slow-moving and hesitant chameleon resulting in the animal being greatly feared and hated.
The list of myths associated with chameleons is long and varies from country to country. Some say that if a chameleon touches your skin they will attach themselves and they can only be removed along with the skin itself. The fact is simple; chameleons live most of their lives climbing in trees and bushes hanging on to slender branches for dear life. With this lifestyle their grip is bound to be firm, but by no means possesses the quality of some super adhesive.
Other myths claim a chameleon crossing your path brings bad luck, or if a pregnant woman sees one she will have a difficult childbirth, or that a young woman will remain unwed if a chameleon looks into her eyes. One myth I heard, was that if hunters came across a chameleon they should abort the hunt as it has been cursed. But I have also heard the same myth about woodpeckers and bush babies.
It can be expected, and understood even, that a creature with the ability to change colour, swivel its eyes independently and possesses a tongue which is as long as its body and can be sent darting from its mouth to capture prey, is bound to be treated with suspicion. But I had never expected to witness, first-hand the degree of fear they are capable of invoking.
Some years back, while staying at one of Kenya’s best known hotels, the Keekorok Lodge on Kenya’s Maasai Mara, I had a run in with a high-casqued or helmeted chameleon (trioceros hoehnelii to be precise). Actually the run in was with the chamber maid who had come to attend to my room while I was out on a game drive, and not with the actual creature itself.
On my return as I walked between the hotel’s rooms which were located beneath mature and lushly foliaged trees I hadn’t a care in the world. During the course of the game drive I had witnessed one of the most spectacular sights I’ve come across in Kenya; a pride of fourteen lions who had been chased high up onto a rocky outcrop by two very large buffalo. For over an hour I had watched as they perched safely on the rocks, well beyond the reach of the angry bovines, where they stood peering down and shivering like a family of scared kittens.
Suddenly my thoughts were shattered by a piercing scream. For some reason my immediate thoughts were that a lion or leopard had somehow infiltrated the hotel’s well-secured grounds. There, outside my room, a large Kenyan woman had dropped her mop and buckets and stood rooted to the spot, one hand over her mouth, the other pointing in fear to the tree above. Behind her an equally large man stood cowering for protection behind the flimsiest of bushes.
In the tree where I expected to see a leopard, a chameleon, about ten inches long, made its way along a long branch in slow, deliberate movements. The woman when she saw my presence began to babble. Meanwhile a Maasai security guard was arriving carrying enough weapons to undertake a dawn raid on a neighbouring tribe’s cattle. Mr Chameleon was about to meet his doom I feared.
The story, which I made up on the spot, went something like this. I told her that the chameleon was my totem; it was my own personal good luck charm. She seemed unsure. Everywhere I go in Kenya, I told her, a chameleon turns up and watches over me, like the spirit of a benevolent ancestor. The woman appeared calmer and began translating to the ‘warrior’ who in turn lowered his weapons. I smiled, “Kinyonga, rafiki,” I said. “The chameleon is my friend.”
For some strange reason the creature, who moments earlier was only a tongue-flick from death, was spared and the maid and her companions went on their way, occasionally looking over their shoulders nodding their heads at the strange white-man.
That evening at dinner I was approached by the hotel’s manager. “So,” he said smiling wryly, “you are the one with Kinyonga watching over you. Next time you come to visit, please,” he implored, “let me know in advance that you will have a room guest.”
He turned and walked away, but I was sure I could hear him snigger softly as he left the room.
The author stayed at Keekorok Luxury Safari Lodge, Masai Mara, Kenya.
http://www.mahlatini.com/kenya-safaris/masai-mara/keekorok-lodge?ad=keekorok&gclid=COvX37Wgl7ACFQpC4QodBlif1w
Located in the very heart of Kenya's fabled Masai Mara National Reserve, Keekorok, meaning motley abundance in the local Masai language, was one of the first Lodges constructed in the reserve on a choice eighty acre site in an area of permanent springs and lush grassland. The location of Kekorok Lodge is excellent for wildlife, animals will come right up to the lodge allowing you a great up close experience before you have even got out on a game drive. Guests are accommodated in rooms in single storey stone bungalows made to have a low impact on the environment whilst giving guests a high standard of comfort.
