Synopsis "Cloud Eater (in English)"
The Zulu people have colourful names for their children, which often come to resemble the nature of the child, and so it was with fifteen-year-old Thulani. His name meant Be Still in Zulu and his parents often wished he were, for Thulani was a lively boy who loved telling wild tales, which bestowed on him the nickname Cloud Eater. This perfectly described the boy's dreamy nature, his stories were gossamer as the clouds themselves, yet the stories always had meaning. The Zulu paid heed to the tales of Thulani, for they kept in their memory, what once had been for all men.In Zulu culture there are strict rules on upbringing, children are taught to keep silent around the adults, yet the elders loved listening to tales of the Cloud Eater. A common sight was a group of men gathered around, while Thulani recounted his latest adventure, the boy was in fact something of a Zulu seer. Many of his fables were part of African folklore, while others will become part of folklore, the Eaters of Clouds they are called in Africa. Whimsical philosophers who are the lifeblood of African culture, because history and traditions are passed on orally in Africa.The tales of Thulani point the way to a modern South African fable at the end of the book, an allegory where animals are humanised and given employment, discover what happens if the Foxy Editor plays the music and the Government Elephants do the dancing? What will transpire if Foxes learned how to write, and controlled all animals through newspapers, under pretension of protecting animal rights. They threw out the humanitarian African philosophy of Ubuntu, and replaced it with a neoliberal system that idolized individuals, namely the individual media controller Foxes.
