In Praise of Ancestors
We honour those who gave birth to us,
With them we watch the spectacle of the moving mists.
They have opened their sacred book to sing with us.
They are the mystery that envelops our dream.
They are the power that shall unite us.
They are the strange truth of the earth.
They came from the womb of the universe.
Restless they are, like a path of dreams,
Like a forest sheltering the neighbouring race of animals.
Yes, the deep eye of the universe is in our chest.
With it we stare at the centres of the sky.
We sing the anthems that celebrate their great eras.
For indeed life does not begin with us.
~Mazisi Kunene

In Praise of Ancestors
We honour those who gave birth to us,
With them we watch the spectacle of the moving mists.
They have opened their sacred book to sing with us.
They are the mystery that envelops our dream.
They are the power that shall unite us.
They are the strange truth of the earth.
They came from the womb of the universe.
Restless they are, like a path of dreams,
Like a forest sheltering the neighbouring race of animals.
Yes, the deep eye of the universe is in our chest.
With it we stare at the centres of the sky.
We sing the anthems that celebrate their great eras.
For indeed life does not begin with us.
~Mazisi Kunene